Samantha Vraa
3/2/09
English 1106
Coraline is a horrific children’s book that was produced into a movie in 2009. Written by Neil Gaiman, the book was published in 2003 as juvenile fiction. Gaiman’s twisted ingenious mind has even frightened adult readers. This creepy fairy tale clearly draws much of its inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. What started out as a children’s novel became a hit movie in theaters. What is so spectacular about Coraline may be the colorful characters, the unexpected turn of events within the story, or the fact that it is the first stop(Stop?) animation movie to be viewed in 3-D. The combination of Gaiman’s story with Selick’s (who is Selick? Producer?) talent for movie
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"I'm your other mother," she says.” Coraline finds out that she has other version of all the residents including her parents in the Pink Palace. Mr. Bobinsky, is a very entertaining circus ringleader with synchronized mice that are able to perform fantastical acrobats. Ms. Spink and Ms. Forcible became active and energetic acrobatic performers on a massive stage where they took Coraline to partake in swinging from high wire swings above the crowd of terrier dogs below. Even Wybie, her newest friend is a double that mysteriously doesn’t talk. The Other Mother told Coraline that she felt she would enjoy him more that way. This perfect world that she finds changes her entire perspective on the life that she knew on the other side of the door. Her real parents were busy working for a plant publishing journal, while her other parents were tentative, caring, expressive, and just plain fun. But Coraline learns eventually that even though her other home seems perfect, there is something very peculiar and dark that lurks beneath the button eyes of all the people she meets. Button eyes are a great symbolism in Coraline. These buttons represents not having a soul. Coraline’s other mother turns out to be this cruel creature, the Beldam, who lures children through the secret door. She creates this perfect world for the child, giving them everything they wanted, promising to love them, and the only
Coraline gives many instances where the main character believed that the grass was greener on the other side, only to find out she was exceedingly misguided. This is shown throughout the movie using much symbolism. Monsters come in all shapes and forms, and sometimes lure people in with their vast appeal. This is demonstrated in the children’s film Coraline. Many people struggle with jealousy and lustful thinking over what they wish they could have instead of real life.
Fairy tales have existed for years, some starting as oral stories for decades before ever being recorded on paper. These tales continue to hold an importance in the present such that they reflect the changes in time and progression of thought and ideas. Over time, many fairy tales are retold for various reasons including reforming them to be used for new audiences to make the story more relatable or to convey a different point of view to various specific audiences. This can be seen in various renditions; Andrew Anderson’s Shrek can be compared to Steig’s “Shrek!” and Perrault’s “Sleeping Beauty in the Wood” and evaluated as a retelling of either based on specific criteria. Although some may argue that William Steig’s “Shrek!” appears more closely similar to Anderson’s Shrek, as evaluated from the presence of similar characters, general plot structure, and targeted audience, the movie Shrek is more closely a retelling of Charles Perrault’s “Sleeping Beauty in the Wood.”
The story of Coraline is written by Neil Gaiman as a novel. Other text types have been made from the story, a graphic novel illustrated and adapted by P. Craig Russel, and a film adaption directed by Henry Selick. There are many differences between the characters in the three texts. Often the gothic features play a big role in making the story has terrifying as it is. Some features include the secret passageway between the worlds, and the supernatural being pretending to be the ‘Other Mother’. Other elements of the gothic story include, old events that point towards the future, mysterious disappearances, suspense, supernatural things that happen, visions and dreams. These features help to instil a feeling of discomfort
You cannot change what you are, only what you do. In the book “Coraline”, Coraline is mostly tending to her own, and as she does she needs to have a strong sense of self because she has no family or friends to rely on. Her parents are always too busy for her as we see when Coraline asks her father to play with her and he replies with a simple ‘busy, working’ response without even looking at his one and only child. Coraline understands that even if no one else can get her name right, or even if everyone forgets her, she is still who she is- Coraline. Besides Coraline herself, there are other identities that must be delved into in the book; as in Who is the other mother?, and How is the other mother similar to her own real mother?, and the three ghost children, even if they don’t have names, do they still have an identity?
In terms of plot, the movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline is extremely true to the source material. It still tells the story of a young girl who grows unappreciative of her real family and finds a magical door in her new home that leads to a better, fantastical version of the family she has now. The creepiness and scary moments are also true to form, with this world being only a copy of the real world, created by the Other Mother in an attempt to trap Coraline forever. The quest to rescue the three ghost children is almost exactly the same, with two of their souls being found in Miss Spink and Forcible’s theater and Mr. B’s circus. But since the movie added a scene in which an enticing garden is used as an item to gain Coraline’s trust in the Other Mother’s fake world, one of the ghost souls was placed in this location instead. Another major difference between the book and the movie is the addition of the character Wybie. He acts as a source of inside knowledge about The Pink Palace and helps kill the Other Mother’s hand at the climax of the movie, while in the book Coraline gathered her information about her home from her parents as well as Miss Spink and Forcible, and killed the Other Mother’s hand by tricking it rather than crushing it. The use of stop motion animation was also a benefactor in bringing this terrifying story to a visual format, as stop motion tends to look uncanny and unsettling at times. Both works are masterpieces of writing and storytelling, and
Pearl, the leading child in the novel, is an excellent example of childish innocence combined with almost preternatural perception. Her willpower and imagination make her a blessing and a curse to her mother, who
Connie’s parents, who choose to isolate themselves from their daughter, tremendously impact Connie's development. Throughout Connie’s journey she is often isolated. A large part of this is due to Connie's relationship with her mother. Whenever Connie
At a young age, the Walls children may have enjoyed the freedom and the fun that Rex and Rose Mary Walls gave them, but when the time came they all realized the shortcomings of the life they were provided. Rex and Rose Mary were both loving parents yet their needs were far more important to them than their kids’ needs. They both had their skills and specialty which could’ve lifted up their lives but they fell short and didn’t work
What images come to mind as you reflect on your childhood? Playgrounds, blackboards, and soccer balls may be among the warmest of memories. Yet for many mermaids swim their thoughts, princesses get swept of their feet, and lions roar to their loyal place in the animal kingdom. There is no doubt that today’s entertainment has most of its touch using classical influences. Walt Disney has produced animated films that have captured the heart and imagination of audiences of all ages around the world through the magic of storytelling and imagery. Many of us appreciate the imagination and magic that Disney puts into its animations with out knowing they are based off of classical and traditional storylines
Pixar has been very successful in terms of producing and filiming movies that targets the younger generations. It means that they're aiming for children who loves to have some fun in watching movies as much as they want. This is why Pixar continues to innovate no matter what story are they making. However, this is something that the kids must look forward to, and it's never been "darker" than before. As a result, they've decided to release a short tale that would make things interesting for the children. This is something different that you've ever imagined for good. This is not just like any other Pixar films that you've seen out there. This is not just like Toy Story, Finding Nemo (and Dory), Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles, A Bug's Life, Brave or so. Without further ado, this short Pixar tale is what we call 'Borrowed Time'.
The author of Animating Revolt and Revolting Animation, Judith Halberstam, uses rhetorical strategies to speak to her point that animated movies can be used to reach a wide ranging audience to convey deep underlying messages in a way that is entertaining for all. The author points out how Pixar movies brings non-traditional characters to life and faces them against real life struggles but does so in a happy ending manor that captivates audiences. This is accomplished by the author introducing a plot line from a Pixar movie that illustrates a struggle or classic battle and then describes the characters that are in the struggle and how they live through it. The author then describes an actual real life struggle and relates it back to the animated movie.
At night, Carolyn walks into Jillian’s room, which is covered in rainbows, unicorns, and teddy bears. Music from Jillian’s unicorn jewelry box slowly fades out. Carolyn turns her daughter’s nightlights on asking if Jillian said her prayers. She tucks her daughter into bed and kisses her goodnight. She walks out of the room leaving the door ajar.
This hatred-ridden mask of pure despise that can tear through your flesh right to your delicate emotions, if you are willing to let your soul be monitored by the beholder. Gretchen easily hides behind this persona, using her seemingly innocent trick/smile to swarm your brain with cowardly thoughts as if she, herself, is the mastermind behind mind-control. Hazel wonders if a smile from girls these days is even possible. If they have hoarded so much disgust for their own selves that even the simple task of a true, genuine smile will somehow make their bodies turn to stone and crumble, exposing all of their self-hatred. Both parties bring up flaws in another person 's life that seem unchangeable. When Gretchen’s posse realizes that Hazel is more prepared than they imagined, they jump onto the fact that Hazel’s family is different. Raymond, Hazel’s disabled brother, basically has a bullseye on him at all time. Anyone can easily snipe him with physical and emotional abuse. By either taking his allowance or calling him names, no one backs down from targeting Raymond. That’s exactly what happens with Mary-Louise and Rosie. With absolutely no surprise, they go after Raymond hoping to trigger Hazel, as their last, suffocating attempt to make Hazel wary of the race that creeps closer, like vultures scarfing down the left-over remains of a lion’s dinner.
From the moment the world introduced us to television, we have been bombarded with images of fantasy and “happily ever after’s.” Perhaps the most well known corrupter of reality lies within the Disney franchise. Disney’s, The Little Mermaid, follows a typical fairy tale format in which all goals and dreams are achieved. Its counterpart, however, moves to the beat of a different drum. Hans Christian Andersen’s, The Little Mermaid, portrays a more serious plot much different from Disney’s loveable adaptation. One may conclude that the most these two stories have in common is their titles, but a deeper theme runs throughout both of these fictional plots. Despite these two stories’ conflicting agendas and the
Traditionally, animated films have been made for and consumed by children, with the plotlines and themes being relatively basic and forthright. However, recent years have seen the release of animated films that explore significantly more adult themes and thought provoking ideas. Perhaps the most confronting example of adult themes in an animated film is in 2016’s ‘Zootopia’. The film forces viewers to think about concepts such as racial segregation, nature vs. nurture and the debilitating effect of stereotyping. Although Zootopia features anthropomorphic animals, it is easy to draw a connection between the film’s prey vs. predator narrative and racial divide in our own society.