Overview
A young girl discovers a fantastical world where her dreams come true, but at a sinister cost.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- eerie
- whimsical
- unsettling
- family movie night
- halloween season
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a visually stunning, imaginative, and entertaining stop-motion fairy tale with unusually dark material for family audiences.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The button-eyed parallel world and the Other Mother's manipulation make the film playful yet distinctly disturbing for younger viewers.
The Other Mother's perfect version of family life is designed to lure Coraline into surrendering her autonomy.
LAIKA's stop-motion sets, button eyes, secret passage, and transformed house give the fantasy a tangible gothic strangeness.
The bricked-up door leads Coraline from her mundane home into an altered counterpart populated by Other versions of familiar people.
Films like Coraline, and why
ParaNorman
Shares stop motion craftsmanship, child protagonist, dark fantasy, and a whimsical but unsettling fairy-tale atmosphere.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Shares a child-centered dark fantasy adventure involving an uncanny alternate reality, emotional growth, and gothic visual design.
The Boxtrolls
Shares a young protagonist confronting supernatural danger in a visually imaginative family-oriented fantasy with eerie undertones.
Spirited Away
Shares portal fantasy, childhood isolation, imaginative world-building, and a sinister threat hidden beneath wonder.
Movie Details
- Director
- Henry Selick
- Release Date
- 2009-02-05
- Runtime
- 100 min
- Rating
- 7.9 / 10 (9472)
Cast
- Dakota Fanning
- Teri Hatcher
- Jennifer Saunders
- Dawn French
- Keith David
- John Hodgman
- Robert Bailey Jr.
- Ian McShane
- Aankha Neal
- George Selick
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Hulu
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Coraline about?
- A bored girl enters a dazzling button-eyed parallel world and must outwit its seemingly perfect mother before wonder becomes captivity.
- What is Coraline like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Coraline as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Coraline violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Coraline as mild.
- What did critics think of Coraline?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a visually stunning, imaginative, and entertaining stop-motion fairy tale with unusually dark material for family audiences.
- Which films are like Coraline?
- Films with a similar feel include ParaNorman, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Boxtrolls, and Spirited Away.
- How long is Coraline?
- Coraline runs 100 minutes.
- Where can I watch Coraline?
- In United States, Coraline streams on Hulu.
