There are many scenes and images in "Coraline" that are likely to scare young children. Parents should know because of strong horror themes, this is film is more for middle school kids.
The Motion Picture Association's ratings board gave it a PG. I originally recommended it for 4th grade and up but on reflection have changed it to middle school and up, though when I saw the film again last night there were younger children in the audience who seemed to be doing fine with it.
A very good film for older kids, teens and adults....but not little kids, as the film will probably scare them out of their wits. Don't let the PG rating fool you--this is NOT like a Disney or Nickelodeon film but more like an even more intensely dark Roald Dahl story done in stop-motion.
Coraline is a 2009 American stop-motion animated dark fantasy horror film written and directed by Henry Selick, based on Neil Gaiman's novella of the same name.
At one point in the movie what appears to be an ample-sized button-eyed Forcible on a stage wearing only glitter shaped patches over her nipples and a thong, revealing enormous breasts (which are animated bouncing) and buttocks along with bare abdomen, legs and back, actually turns out to be a rather skinny woman ...
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including: One of the retired vaudeville performers that live in a basement apartment under Coraline's house repeatedly shows a lot of cleavage. Her breasts take up half her body and are bulging out of her clothes.
Parents need to know that Neil Gaiman's Coraline is pretty creepy, and could be disturbing for sensitive kids: The central adventure is about a girl trying to save herself, her parents, and other trapped souls from the Other Mother in a secret world. But this is a good choice for kids who like horror stories …
Unaccompanied children of any age may watch. A PG film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children. '
While people of all ages can enjoy the creepy horror that is Neil Gaiman's Coraline, the fact that it's a children's movie with a PG rating actually hinders Coraline from reaching its full potential as a supernatural horror movie.
The button eyes of the "Other" world are a prominent and creepy motif. Seemingly friendly characters appear with sewn buttons in place of their eyes, robbing them of humanity and instilling a chilling and uncanny appearance. There are many scenes and images in "Coraline" that are likely to scare young children.
Violence & Scariness. The movie has a very dark, creepy tone overall, and the Other Mother sometimes takes on a frightening appearance. It's implied that she has killed at least three children. Her minions try to catch Coraline and the Cat, but they don't succeed.
Coraline was originally a chapter book for children. After its success it adapted into a graphic novel, and eventually the movie. The book was written by Neil Gaiman, who is an english author that writes stories for all ages.
Is Coraline scarier than Nightmare Before Christmas?
Coraline is a more fully realized experience. I loved the magic Coraline, but it's still Nightmare Before Christmas we're talking about. Coraline may not be as scary as an adult, but it continues to have very disturbing undertones, Nightmare Before Christmas was rather generic in my opinion.
I think a good rule of thumb would be, that if your child can cope with The Nightmare Before Christmas and the original Wizard of Oz then they should be able to cope with Coraline just fine. As a general rule, Coraline the book is much creepier for adults than it is for kids, who tend to read it as an adventure.
First, the movie Coraline isn't a regular animation. It's stop motion animation and is made from clay. With this being such a time-consuming and tedious process, Coraline took four years to make.
In its depiction of conniving and deceptive parental figures, “Coraline” insidiously inverts the soothing adage: “There's no place like home.” Christian parents tend to be warier of what their children watch than most, so I want to be clear that “Coraline” isn't for the faint of heart. (Or the prudish.
CORALINE is an exceptional movie and I really have to admire the folks who made it. However, I should point out that this is NOT a movie for younger viewers because the movie is basically like walking into a nightmare. I think I'd be very hesitant to take a child younger than 10 to see it--it is that dark and scary.
That is kind of the metaphor at the heart of Coraline. She feels neglected by her family and so she dissolves into a world where she is the center of her "Other" parents' world. Children do disappear into their own worlds because their brain is protecting them from the violence that surrounds them; it doesn't go away.
Coraline's behavior is consistent with a psychotic-dissociative cluster as evidenced by her experiencing an alternate universe as well as incorporating fixed beliefs. As these are critical parts of the plot, it is best to formulate Coraline's behavior along a psychotic-dissociative spectrum.
In one scene, Coraline's mother tells Coraline that Mr. Bobinski is drunk. Coraline later tells her mother: "Mr. B is not drunk mum, he's just eccentric."
The Beldam or simply known as the Other Mother is the main antagonist of the film Coraline. She is the ruler of the Otherworld who kidnaps children from the Pink Palace and traps their souls in the Otherworld by disguising herself as the victim's mother with button eyes.
