160 Fun Facts About Coraline

What technique was used to animate the film *Coraline*?

*Coraline* is renowned for its intricate stop-motion animation, a meticulous process where physical puppets and sets are adjusted incrementally and photographed frame by frame to create the illusion of movement.

Who wrote the 2002 novella that the stop-motion film Coraline is based on?

Neil Gaiman's 2002 novella is a British fantasy horror story written for children.

What is the name of the old house divided into flats that Coraline moves into with her parents?

Pink Palace Apartments is the old house divided into flats; the Jones family later throws a garden party for its residents.

Which actress provides the voice for Coraline Jones in the English version of the film?

Dakota Fanning voiced the curious and courageous protagonist, Coraline Jones, bringing her distinctive personality to the animated character.

What distinguishing feature do the residents of the Other World initially have instead of normal eyes?

The inhabitants of the Other World, including the Other Mother and Other Father, are characterized by their unsettling large, black button eyes.

What is the true name of Coraline's main antagonist, often referred to as the Other Mother?

Beldam is an archaic word for a witch or sinister old woman, which is exactly what the ghost children reveal the Other Mother to be.

Inside what object does Coraline discover her kidnapped parents are trapped?

Coraline tricks the Other Mother into opening the door, throws the cat at her as a distraction, and grabs the globe before escaping with the key.

What color is Coraline's hair in the film adaptation?

The film *Coraline* famously portrays its protagonist with distinctive short blue hair, a detail not explicitly stated in the book.

What was Miss Spink and Miss Forcible's profession before they retired to the flat below Coraline's?

The two eccentric downstairs neighbours read Coraline's fortune in tea leaves and warn her that she is in danger.

Why was Wybie Lovat, absent from Neil Gaiman's novella, added to the film Coraline?

Wybie exists only as a passing mention in the novella; the film built him into a full character so Coraline had someone to react to on screen.

In Coraline, what kind of animal is upstairs neighbour Mr. Bobinsky supposedly training for his circus?

Mice, in a jumping-mouse circus, is the claim of Coraline's eccentric Russian neighbour; the Other World's version turns them into rats.

What magical item do Miss Spink and Miss Forcible give Coraline for protection?

The holed stone is 'good for bad things', and Coraline later looks through it to find the hidden souls of the ghost children.

What is the full name of Coraline's busy, distracted mother in the film?

Melinda Jones, 'Mel' to everyone, is voiced by Teri Hatcher, who also voices the Beldam.

How many ghost children does Coraline encounter in the Other World?

Coraline meets the spirits of three ghost children who were previously lured and trapped by the Beldam.

Who directed the stop-motion animated film *Coraline*?

Henry Selick, known for his work on *The Nightmare Before Christmas*, directed *Coraline*, bringing Neil Gaiman's story to life with his distinctive stop-motion style.

What is the Cat's distinguishing ability in Coraline's Other World that he does not possess in the real world?

Speaking is the Cat's Other World trick; back in reality it is an ordinary, silent black cat that nonetheless travels freely between the two.

Which ensemble performed the film's score?

The choral parts are sung in a nonsense language by the Children's Choir of Nice, one of whose members happens to be named Coraline.

Which Japanese illustrator was brought on as the film's concept artist?

Uesugi shaped the colour palette, muted in the real world and far more vivid in the Other World, and ended up designing sets and backgrounds for over a year.

Which animation studio produced the film *Coraline*?

Coraline was the first feature film released by the Portland-area stop-motion studio, which went on to make ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings.

In the Other World, what sets the Other Wybie apart from the real boy?

Unlike his real-world counterpart, the Other Wybie cannot speak, and he later helps Coraline escape back through the passageway.

In which city was the film's animation staged, in a 140,000-square-foot warehouse?

The puppets built there had swappable upper and lower face parts that allowed more than 208,000 facial expressions.

What is the first gift the Other Mother gives to Coraline?

Upon her first visit to the Other World, Coraline is immediately greeted with a lavish and delicious meal, a stark contrast to her real-world bland dinners.

In the novella, what does the Other Mother call the cat?

The cat itself has no name, explaining that cats do not need names to tell each other apart.

How old is Coraline in the film?

The 2009 Off-Broadway musical made her nine, and cast an adult, Jayne Houdyshell, in the role.

Where do Coraline and her family move from at the start of the film?

The Jones family relocates from Michigan to an old Victorian house in Ashland, Oregon.

In her final showdown with Coraline, what does the Other Mother's true form resemble?

The Beldam's skeletal, arachnid true form emerges once the facade crumbles, and she challenges Coraline to find her parents.

According to the ghosts Coraline meets, what did the Other Mother use her look-alike rag dolls to do?

Spy on unhappy kids and lure them in; the doll Wybie hands Coraline once belonged to his missing great-aunt, and he later asks for it back.

What is Coraline's father's name?

Coraline's often busy and somewhat awkward father is named Charles Jones, typically called Charlie.

How many identical puppets of Coraline were built for the film?

Each puppet's face came in swappable upper and lower halves, giving the character over 208,000 possible expressions.

Who voices both Coraline's father and the Other Father?

John Hodgman handles the dialogue; a different performer supplied the Other Father's singing voice.

Which musical group performed the 'Other Father Song' in the film?

The band's John Linnell also supplied the Other Father's singing voice, and this was the only one of their songs to make the finished film.

Which set was the most complicated one built for the film?

Hundreds of handmade flowers were rigged to grow and move as Coraline walked through it.

What is the surname of Wybie's grandmother, the landlady of Coraline's building?

She is voiced by Caroline Crawford, and it is her sister who vanished from the house as a child.

Why does the Other Mother lure children into her world?

She spies on unhappy children first, then tempts them with a better version of their lives before closing the trap.

Who voices the sarcastic, wise Cat in Coraline?

Keith David gives the Cat its deep, dry voice; the Cat can travel between worlds and speaks only in the Other World.

What did Laika owner Phil Knight have digitally removed from the puppets, against the director's wishes?

Knight, the Nike co-founder, owns the studio, and his son Travis Knight serves as its president and CEO.

Why was the novella's story expanded for the screen?

Neil Gaiman invited the director to adapt the book as he was finishing it, and the added material included the character of Wybie.

Coraline's palette is muted in the real world and vivid in the Other World, echoing which classic film?

The Wizard of Oz's sepia-to-Technicolor switch was the model; concept artist Tadahiro Uesugi's designs guided the film's look for over a year.

What year was the film *Coraline* initially released in the United States?

The critically acclaimed stop-motion film *Coraline* premiered in February 2009.

Re-releases lifted Coraline's gross to what total, third among stop-motion films ever?

Its original run ended around $126 million; the re-releases added another $60 million on top.

Which body named Coraline one of the top ten films of 2009?

It also won three Annie Awards and lost the Best Animated Feature Oscar to Pixar's Up.

What is the Other Mother's price for Coraline staying in the Other World forever?

Staying forever comes at the price of button eyes, the same fate that befell the ghost children before her.

In Coraline, what is the initial state of the small door in the living room before she finds the key?

It's bricked up. Coraline finds the small door behind the wallpaper while exploring, and takes it for an architectural quirk.

Which trait of the Other Mother does the Cat suggest Coraline exploit?

The Cat advises Coraline to challenge the Other Mother to a game, knowing that 'her kind of thing loves games and challenges' and cannot resist.

Where does Coraline finally dispose of the Other Mother's severed hand and the key?

In the film Wybie turns up just in time to smash the hand before the two of them throw it and the key down together.

Who composed the film's score?

The French composer's score won the 2009 Annie Award for best score for an animated feature.

In Coraline, one of the ghost children turns out to be which relative of Wybie's?

His great-aunt vanished from the house as a child, and the rag doll Wybie hands Coraline once belonged to her.

What type of food does Coraline often complain about her real father making?

Her father spends most of his time working at his computer, which is part of why the Other Father's attention is so seductive.

How long did the principal photography for *Coraline* take?

The intricate process of stop-motion animation meant that the principal photography for *Coraline* took a substantial 18 months to complete.

What is the name of the removals company seen at the beginning of the film?

The movers are modelled on Joe and Jerome Ranft; the late Joe Ranft was a previous collaborator and major inspiration to the director.

In which Oregon town is the film's Pink Palace Apartments located?

A miniature model of the town even included banners for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

At which city's international film festival did Coraline premiere on February 5, 2009?

Focus Features released it in U.S. theaters the next day.

Roughly how much did the film gross on its initial 2009 release?

Re-releases later pushed the total to about $186 million.

Which category did the film win an Annie Award in?

It was nominated for eight Annies in total.

Which Pixar film beat Coraline to the Best Animated Feature Oscar at the 2010 ceremony?

Up took the prize at the 82nd Academy Awards; Coraline was nominated.

What is Wybie's full first name?

Wyborn, shortened to Wybie, is the grandson who gives Coraline the look-alike rag doll.

What are Mr. Bobinsky's first and middle names in the film?

In the novella he is simply Mr. Bobo, 'the Crazy Old Man Upstairs'.

What are Miss Spink and Miss Forcible's first names?

They are retired burlesque actresses in the film.

Where does the Beldam imprison Coraline when she tries to escape?

That is where she meets the three ghost children.

Which part of the Other World survives when the rest disintegrates?

The Beldam makes her final challenge there in her arachnid form.

What does Coraline throw at the Beldam to distract her in the final confrontation?

The cat gets thrown at the Beldam so Coraline can seize the snow globe; she apologizes to it in the video game version.

What does the Jones family host on the day after the Beldam is defeated?

Wybie brings his grandmother and Coraline begins to tell her about her sister.

Who provides the Other Father's singing voice?

He is one of the singers of They Might Be Giants.

Whose relatives voice the ghost children and Coraline's Michigan friends?

George and Harry Selick are both in the credits.

Which earlier Selick film made Gaiman a fan and prompted him to offer the adaptation?

Gaiman met Selick just as he was finishing the novella.

Roughly how many minutes did Selick think a direct adaptation of the novella would run?

That is why Wybie and other expansions were added.

Into how many lots was the Hillsboro soundstage divided?

They hosted nearly 150 sets.

How long was the miniature apple orchard built for the film?

Three miniature Victorian mansions were also built.

Roughly how much finished animation did the crew produce each week?

More than 28 animators worked at a time.

Which company's 3D printing systems produced the puppets' replacement faces?

Thousands of models, from expressions to doorknobs, were printed.

About how many possible face combinations did the Coraline puppet have?

Her mother's puppet had 17,633.

How long did each Coraline puppet take to make?

It usually took ten people to build one.

What was used to create the fog effects in the film?

Flames were done with traditional animation and painted digitally.

About how many people worked on the film at its peak?

That included 30 to 35 animators in the Digital Design Group.

What was Althea Crome hired specifically to do?

Some of her knitting needles were as thin as a human hair.

Which French city's children's choir sings the score's nonsense-language pieces?

One choir member happens to be named Coraline.

Why did the production use only one song by the band hired for the soundtrack?

The band had been hired to compose an entire soundtrack.

Where did the film rank at the U.S. box office on its opening weekend?

It took $16.85 million that weekend.

Which distributor saw the 2024 run become its highest-grossing re-release ever?

The 15th anniversary 3D run made $12.5 million in four days.

Which country saw the 2024 re-release out-earn the film's original 2009 run?

In the UK it became the second highest-grossing re-release ever.

What approval rating did Coraline hold on Rotten Tomatoes as of 2025?

Metacritic gave it 80 out of 100.

Which critic called it 'a beautiful film about several nasty people'?

He gave it three stars out of four.

Which studio released the film on DVD and Blu-ray in the U.S. in July 2009?

The 3D version came with four pairs of green-magenta glasses.

Which company issued a new licensed edition of the film in August 2021?

A 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray followed in December 2022.

Which prize did the film's interactive website win in 2009?

It won for Best Use of Animation or Motion Graphics.

Who developed the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of the tie-in game?

Art Co. handled the Nintendo DS version.

What serves as currency in the Coraline video game?

Players spend them on outfits or passes to skip hard tasks.

Which physics engine was the console game built on?

Mark Watters composed the game's score.

Which version of the video game features no voice acting?

The console versions had Fanning, Keith David and Robert Bailey Jr. reprise their roles.

Roughly how long did reviewers say the video game took to complete?

Its brevity drew widespread comment.

In what year did Gaiman start writing Coraline?

It was finally published in 2002.

Which two awards for Best Novella did Coraline win in 2003?

It also took the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for young readers.

Where did The Guardian rank Coraline on its list of 100 Best Books of the 21st Century?

It was one of the few children's books included.

Which Lucy Clifford story did Gaiman cite as a major influence on the novella?

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was the other big influence.

Which Freudian concept did scholar David Rudd argue the novella plays on?

Freud's term is Unheimlich.

How is Coraline physically described in the novella?

The blue hair and freckles were film inventions.

Which weather does Coraline find especially irritating in the book?

She also hates not being taken seriously because of her age.

Why does the Cat say he has no name?

He explains that cats can 'keep themselves together', so he has no Other World copy.

What color are the Beldam's fingernails in her first form?

Her long black hair seems to move by itself.

What limitation does the Beldam have when building her Other World?

She twists and changes things from the real world.

Into what does the Beldam turn the Other Father in the novella?

The film changed it to a pumpkin.

What breed of dogs do Spink and Forcible keep in the novella?

In the Other World the dogs become bat-like.

How do the Other Spink and Forcible appear late in the novella?

They guard the second soul.

What animals does the Other Mr. Bobo train, and is practically made of?

The real Mr. Bobo claims to train a mouse circus.

Which ghost child in the book has silver butterfly wings, hinting she is a fairy?

Her dress has a spider-web pattern.

How do Spink and Forcible read Coraline's fortune in the book?

They agree she is in danger and give her the lucky stone.

Who relays the mice's warning about the door to Coraline in the novella?

The mice send messages through him throughout the book.

Who adapted the novella into a graphic novel in 2008?

Todd Klein lettered it and it won a 2009 Eisner Award.

Which Eisner Award did the Coraline graphic novel win in 2009?

Russell also adapted Gaiman's 'Murder Mysteries'.

Who wrote the music and lyrics for the 2009 Coraline musical?

David Greenspan wrote the book and played the Other Mother.

How old was Jayne Houdyshell when she played nine-year-old Coraline off-Broadway?

Librettist David Greenspan played the Other Mother.

Which are the only instruments used in the Coraline musical?

Both traditional and toy varieties, plus two prepared pianos.

Where did the musical open Off-Broadway in 2009?

It was the first musical MCC Theater ever produced.

Which prize did the musical's composer receive for it in 2010?

Reviews of the show itself were mixed to negative.

Which Chicago company staged the musical's Midwest premiere in 2014?

The West Coast premiere was at San Francisco's SF Playhouse.

Which composer wrote the 2018 Coraline opera?

Rory Mullarkey wrote the libretto.

Where did the Coraline opera have its world premiere?

The Royal Opera House produced it in March 2018.

Which theatre was to premiere a new Coraline musical in April 2025 before it was cancelled?

Allegations against Neil Gaiman were cited for the cancellation.

Which Simpsons episode featured the parody segment 'Coralisa'?

Neil Gaiman voiced the cat Snowball V.

Which character did Neil Gaiman voice in the Simpsons parody?

The segment aired in October 2017.

Which milestone in 3D animation did the film achieve?

Each frame was shot from two slightly different camera positions.

Which Wes Anderson film did Selick leave in 2006 to make Coraline?

He had animated the sea creatures in The Life Aquatic.

In which state was Henry Selick born?

He was born in Glen Ridge and raised in Rumson.

Which streaming service released Wendell & Wild in 2022?

He developed it with Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key.

What was the studio Laika named after when it rebranded in 2005?

Will Vinton Studios was rebranded in July 2005.

Which sportswear co-founder owns the studio?

His son Travis Knight is the studio's CEO.

Which struggling studio was acquired in 2002 and became Laika?

Selick joined as supervising director the following year.

Which planned CGI feature did the studio cancel in 2008, laying off staff?

Coraline became the studio's first feature the following year.

Which stop-motion feature followed Coraline at the same studio in 2012?

Sam Fell and Chris Butler directed it.

Which 1996 documentary made Bruno Coulais one of France's most sought-after film composers?

It won him his first César award.

Which 2004 film's song 'Vois sur ton chemin' earned Coulais an Oscar nomination?

It won him his third César.

Which Irish animated film did Coulais score with the band Kíla in 2009?

Its music mixes Continental European and Irish influences.

Which Dakota Fanning film opened the same day as Coraline?

Both were released on February 6, 2009.

Which 2001 film made Dakota Fanning the youngest SAG Award nominee ever?

She was seven at the time.

Which Superman series made Teri Hatcher famous as the Daily Planet reporter?

She later won a Golden Globe for Desperate Housewives.

Which James Bond film featured Teri Hatcher as Paris Carver?

Two years after Coraline began, she was still on Desperate Housewives.

Which other 2009 animated villain did Keith David voice besides the Cat?

He also voiced Goliath in Gargoyles.

Which documentarian's films, such as The War, has Keith David narrated?

His voice work has earned him Emmy Awards.

Which BBC series gave Ian McShane its title role starting in 1986?

He later played Al Swearengen in Deadwood.

Which Neil Gaiman character did Ian McShane later play on television?

American Gods ran from 2017 to 2021.

John Hodgman is known for personifying which product in Apple's ads?

A PC was Hodgman in the Get a Mac campaign, opposite Justin Long's Mac.

Which sitcom character made Jennifer Saunders famous in the 1990s?

She and Dawn French were longtime comedy partners.

Which Shrek 2 character did Jennifer Saunders voice?

She sang 'Holding Out for a Hero' in the film.

Which BBC comedy did Dawn French star in from 1994 to 2007?

French and Saunders ran for two decades alongside it.

Which crime drama gave Wybie's voice actor Robert Bailey Jr. his first role at age six?

He later starred in The Night Shift and Emergence.

Which corporation is the film's distributor Focus Features ultimately owned by?

Focus was founded in 2002 by James Schamus and David Linde.

Which horror prize did the Coraline novella receive in 2002 for Best Work for Young Readers?

The Bram Stoker Award came in 2002; the Hugo and Nebula for Best Novella followed a year later, a rare sweep for a children's book.

How many sets of 3D glasses came packaged with the 2009 3D DVD release of the film?

The glasses were the old green-magenta anaglyph kind; the DVD sold over a million copies in its first week.

In which country was the 2024 anniversary re-release the second highest-grossing film re-release ever?

The 2024 re-release pulled in $52.4 million worldwide and lifted the film's lifetime gross to about $186 million.

Which developer made the Nintendo DS version of the 2009 Coraline video game?

D3 Publisher put it out on January 27, 2009, timed to the film's release; reviews were mostly negative.

Which son of Laika's owner became the studio's president and CEO in 2009?

He started at Will Vinton Studios as an animator before his father bought the struggling company in 2002, and later directed Kubo and the Two Strings.

How many Annie Award nominations did Coraline receive, winning three?

Its wins were for music, character design and production design, and it was also nominated for the Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe.

The film's miniature model of Ashland included tiny banners advertising which real event?

The Hillsboro soundstage hosted nearly 150 sets, including three miniature Victorian mansions.

How many people did it usually take to build one Coraline puppet?

Each of the 28 identical puppets took three to four months to build, with swappable upper and lower face pieces.

Knitter Althea Crome sometimes made the Coraline puppets' clothing with needles as thin as what?

A human hair was the gauge for Althea Crome's needles; a single miniature garment could take six weeks to six months, and wear was faked with paint and a file.

Which visual element in the film was created with traditional animation and then painted digitally?

Computer-generated elements had to look handcrafted to match the puppets; the fog, by contrast, was real dry ice.

Which Brooklyn venue commissioned the Coraline stage musical back in 2004?

The show approached completion in 2008 but did not open until June 2009, four months after the film came out.

The 2009 Coraline musical was the first musical ever produced by which New York company?

Demand pushed the run past its planned June 20 closing to July 7; Ghostlight Records released a cast album in 2010.

Who played the Other Mother in the original Off-Broadway production of the Coraline musical?

Greenspan also wrote the show's book, and the unconventional casting put 55-year-old Jayne Houdyshell in the title role.

Which CGI film, based on a Laura Ruby novel, was Selick set to direct for Vinton Studios in 2005?

It never materialised; his first Laika feature was instead Coraline, the first-ever stereoscopic 3D stop-motion film.