138 Fun Facts About Coraline

What do Coraline's parents write about for a living in the film?

Plants fill the catalogue her parents are racing to finish, though Coraline scoffs that they hate dirt; at the end her mother admits, 'You were right, Coraline. I really hate dirt!'

What did Miss Spink and Miss Forcible do with their pet dogs after they died?

Had them stuffed, because they couldn't bear to part with them, and the dogs now stand on display in their flat.

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

Pink Palace Apartments belongs to Wybie's grandmother, who won't rent to people with kids, so Wybie is surprised she let Coraline's family move in.

What does Wybie say he's hunting when Coraline accuses him of stalking her?

Banana slugs are his quarry, and when he proudly shows off one he calls Slugzilla, Coraline snaps that he's just like her parents, who don't listen either.

What does Coraline's mother refuse to buy her while they shop for school uniforms?

Gloves, a colorful pair Coraline models in the store, go back on the shelf, yet at the end her mother surprises her with them as a gift.

What does Coraline call the doll Wybie found in his grandmother's trunk?

Little Me is her name for it, even though Coraline tells her mother she's way too old for dolls.

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

A snow globe holds them, so Coraline grabs it and races back through the door to escape home with it.

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

Blue, and when a doll Wybie found turns up with the same blue hair, Coraline asks if he made it look like her.

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

Stage actresses in their day, the pair put on a show in the Other World where they unzip their old bodies to reveal their younger selves on trapezes.

Why did the Coraline film expand Wybie into a full character?

To give Coraline someone to talk to, so she isn't always talking to herself; Wybie ends up rescuing her from the Other Mother's severed hand.

What does Coraline's mother say is really wrong with Mr. Bobinsky?

He's drunk, her mother insists, denying she ever called him crazy, yet by the end Coraline sets her straight: Mr. B's not drunk, just eccentric.

What do Miss Spink and Miss Forcible give Coraline, saying it's good for bad things?

An adder stone, found in a dish of 100-year-old candy, is good for lost things too, Miss Forcible insists, and Coraline uses it to spot what the Other Mother hid.

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

Melinda Jones, 'Mel' for short, keeps typing when Coraline says she nearly died yesterday, barely looking up from the catalog she's racing to finish.

What creature is the Other Father's tractor built to look like?

A praying mantis inspires the machine, and when the Other Mother turns him against Coraline, he attacks her from it while pleading that he doesn't want to hurt her.

What insect is Coraline's hair clip shaped like?

A dragonfly, and in the Other World the paper dragonflies over her bed flutter to life to greet her.

What treat from Zanzibar does the Other Mother offer Coraline?

Cocoa beetles, she purrs, since chocolate never hurts, but Coraline recoils in disgust and demands to be with her real mom and dad.

What do Coraline's trapped parents write for her on the fogged-up glass?

Help us, written backwards, tells Coraline the Other Mother has taken her parents, so she goes back to the Other World to rescue them.

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

He is mute because the Other Mother thought Coraline would like him more if he spoke a little less, so she 'fixed' him, and Coraline says she likes it.

What does Coraline wear outdoors on her first day exploring her new home?

A yellow raincoat, and she heads out in it with a forked stick, hunting for an old well.

What awaits Coraline on her first visit to the Other Mother's world?

A delicious meal, yet the next morning her mother says Coraline only dreamed she ate all that chicken and tells her to take her multivitamin at least.

What does the Other Mother call the Cat when Coraline brings him along?

Vermin, she sneers when he turns up with Coraline, but Coraline shoots back that she brought a friend.

What does Coraline's dad tell her to go out and count?

Doors and windows, and when he later spots her cut knee, he jokes that he asked her to count the windows, not put her knee through them.

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

Pontiac, Michigan, Coraline tells Wybie, after he guesses she's from Texas or Utah, 'someplace dried-out and barren'.

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

Something spider-like: raging that Coraline is a horrible cheating girl, she turns the whole room into a vast trap of threads and dives down after her.

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

Spy on unhappy kids, and when Coraline warns Wybie the doll is her spy, he first thinks she means it spies for his grandma.

What is Coraline's father's name?

Charles Jones, 'Charlie' for short, whispers to Coraline for some of her dream's magic mud to treat his writer's rash, until her mom clears her throat.

What does Mr. Bobinsky say is in the misdelivered mail Coraline brings up to him?

Cheese samples, he explains, since his new songs go oompah but his performers only play toodle-toot, so he's switching to stronger cheese.

Which band performed the 'Other Father Song' in Coraline?

They Might Be Giants demoed several songs for the film, yet this is the only one that made it in.

Which Other World spot turns out to be a portrait of Coraline when she sees it from above?

The Amazing Garden was the Other Mother's idea, the Other Father beams, since she knows Coraline like the back of her hand.

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

Mrs. Lovat thinks the house is so dangerous that Wybie says she'd kill him if he ever went inside.

Why does the Other Mother lure children into her world?

To devour their souls, the ghost children tell Coraline: she said she loved them, then locked them away and ate up their lives.

When Coraline tries walking out of the Other World, where does she end up?

Back at the house, because the Other Mother only made what she knew would impress Coraline, the Cat explains, so walking away just takes you around the world.

What did the director want left visible on Coraline's puppets, before being overruled?

Seams in the faces would have shown off the puppets' handmade craft, the director felt, but he couldn't win over the people in power.

Which name do Coraline's neighbors keep calling her by mistake?

Caroline, Wybie assumes, then scoffs that an ordinary name like that can lead people to have ordinary expectations about a person.

Coraline's muted real world and vivid Other World were meant to echo which film's famous shift?

The Wizard of Oz, going from black-and-white to color, inspired Selick, and the crew built the real world's sets cramped while the Other World's got more depth.

Which play's 'What a piece of work is man' speech do the Other Spink and Forcible recite?

Hamlet supplies their lines, and mid-speech the pair swoop down from their trapezes and pull Coraline right out of her seat to fly through the air.

In Coraline, what is behind the small door when Coraline's mom first unlocks it?

It's bricked up, closed off when the house was split into flats, her mom figures, and after her first night visit Coraline finds the bricks back, as if it was all a dream.

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

Her fondness for games means she won't refuse a challenge, the Cat says, even though she may not play fair.

In Coraline, what is Coraline's mom wearing after the family's car accident?

A neck brace, from the crash when she hit a truck, though when Coraline insists that wasn't her fault, her mom says she never said it was.

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

His great-aunt, his grandma's twin sister, was 'stolen' as a child, and once she's freed, Coraline tells Wybie to bring his grandma by so they can tell her together.

What does Coraline complain the chard on her plate looks like?

Slime, she grumbles, and her dad snaps back that it's slime or bedtime, fusspot.

In Coraline, who was supposed to drive Miss Spink and Miss Forcible to the theater?

Coraline's parents were their ride, so when they vanish, the ladies fret over tickets they waited months for and a walk of nearly two miles.

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

Portland, close to home, since Coraline was animated nearby in a Hillsboro warehouse.

What 'good news' does Miss Forcible see in Coraline's future?

A tall, handsome beast, she announces, but Miss Spink says she's holding it wrong, turns it around and sees danger instead.

What is Coraline's hidden door covered with when she first finds it?

Wallpaper, and Coraline pesters her busy mom until she cuts around it and unlocks the door.

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

Up also made the Best Picture list that night, after the Academy doubled that field so films usually confined to other categories could compete.

What is Wybie's full first name?

Wyborn, which Coraline mocks as 'Why-were-you-born' when his grandma calls him home, though he says the name wasn't his idea.

What is the Other Wybie's hand made of, as Coraline learns when she urges him to escape with her?

Sawdust, which he blows away to show he can't follow her, then he shoves Coraline into the tunnel and shuts the door behind her.

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

April and Miriam, and when Miriam says April's eyes are going, April snaps back that she's blind as a bat.

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 living room, where Coraline claims her parents are behind the little door, and the Other Mother, sure she's wrong, turns to open it.

What is Wybie riding when he first startles Coraline?

A motorbike, and he swoops down the bluff and snatches her stick, knocking her to the ground.

What do the Joneses host once Coraline has defeated the Other Mother?

A garden party, where Mr. B tells Coraline his performers now call her their savior and plan a special thank-you show.

Who provides the Other Father's singing voice?

John Linnell sings for the Other Father, who greets Coraline at the piano with a welcome song written just for her.

Once home, what do Coraline's parents remember about being kidnapped?

Nothing, and they breeze in announcing they're going out tonight because they've got a lot to celebrate.

Gaiman offered Selick Coraline as a fan of which earlier Selick film?

The Nightmare Before Christmas made Gaiman a fan, and he brought Selick the story before the book was even finished.

When Coraline returns to the Other World theater, what have Miss Spink and Miss Forcible become?

A taffy monster, but Coraline ducks at the last second so the attacking bat-dogs slam into it instead.

What was used to make the fog effects in Coraline?

Dry ice, because the filmmakers wanted even the effects to look crafted rather than computer-generated.

What does Wybie warn Coraline her 'dowsing rod' really is?

Poison oak, Wybie tells her as he rides off, and Coraline drops the stick at once.

Along with lunch, what does the Other Mother leave for Coraline in a gift-wrapped box?

A new outfit she made, and once Coraline is dressed and outside, the Cat turns up and, to her surprise, can talk in this world, though he warns her she's wrong about it.

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

It wanted creepier music, one band member recalled, while Selick said the film changed and wasn't going to become a musical.

When the Other Mother's severed hand attacks Coraline, what does Wybie smash it with?

A big rock, which shatters the hand, and Coraline later tells Wybie she's glad he decided to stalk her.

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.

As Coraline flees home through the tunnel, what does the Other Mother scream after her?

I'll die without you! are the Other Mother's last words, wailed from behind the door as Coraline crawls home and locks the little door.

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

Roger Ebert praised its beauty yet warned it was 'nightmare fodder for children, however brave, under a certain age.'

In Coraline, what does the Other Mother do with the key after locking the little door?

Swallows it, and when Coraline asks why she has no key of her own, the Other Father lets slip: 'Only one key.'

Why does Mr. Bobinsky tell Coraline she can just call him Mr. B?

He already knows he's amazing, the self-styled Amazing Bobinsky explains, then seems to tumble off his third-floor porch before cartwheeling back in.

Which object in the Other World turns out to be the first ghost eye Coraline finds?

A gearshift knob: the Other Father pulls it off his runaway tractor, cries 'Take it!' and sinks under the water.

When Coraline demands a clue, where does the Other Mother say the ghost eyes are lost in plain sight?

In each of three wonders she made just for Coraline, she says, yet she won't give any clue about where Coraline's parents are.

At Coraline's first Other World dinner, what brings the gravy around the table?

A model train pulls a gravy boat car around the table as the Other Mother giggles, 'Here comes the gravy train! Choo-choo!'

In Coraline, how does Coraline try to get home after turning down the Other Mother's offer?

By going to sleep, as before, but this time she wakes still in the Other World and gasps, 'I'm still here?'

What does Coraline do with the doll after finding it remade to look like her parents?

Burns it in the fireplace, then goes back through the little door to rescue her parents herself.

In Coraline, why does Coraline's mom say she locked up the little door?

She found rat droppings, she says, but Coraline shrugs off any danger: they're jumping mice, and the dreams are the most fun she's had since moving.

In Gaiman's novella, what does Coraline insist nobody really desires?

Whatever they want, Coraline insists, since getting everything you ever wanted just like that wouldn't mean anything.

Which two Best Novella awards did Gaiman's Coraline win?

Hugo and Nebula voters both honoured a story Gaiman began for his young daughter Holly, set aside, and only took up again years later.

Coraline's famous epigraph says fairy tales teach us not just that dragons exist, but that dragons can be what?

Beaten, and though the line is often credited to G. K. Chesterton, it's really Gaiman's own paraphrase of a longer Chesterton passage.

What does the children's choir sing on Coraline's film score?

Nonsense words, sung by the Children's Choir of Nice, and one of its young members happens to be named Coraline.

Offering to sew buttons into Coraline's eyes, which color does the Other Mother call traditional?

Black, she says, though she'd gladly do pink, vermillion or chartreuse instead, even if Coraline might make her jealous.

After Coraline's first Other World dinner, which game does the Other Mother say they'll play in the rain?

Hide-and-seek in the rain, she says, the very outing Coraline's real mom had vetoed because rain makes mud and mud makes a mess.

In the Other World, why does the Cat say he killed a circus mouse?

It was sounding an alarm, he says, dropping what is plainly a rat, and adds that he doesn't like rats at the best of times.

In Gaiman's novella, why does the Cat say he has no name?

He knows who he is, the Cat explains, so he needs no name; people have names because they don't know who they are.

Back home, what does Coraline apologize to the Cat for?

Throwing him at the Other Mother, which she says was all she could think of, and the Cat's angry look finally softens.

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?

A grub-like creature, soft and doughy, is his punishment for telling Coraline too much, while the film turns him into a pumpkin instead.

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

Scotties, and when Coraline returns to their Other World theater, the dogs have turned into bat-like creatures.

When Coraline says her father can't play piano, what does the Other Father reply?

This piano plays me, he beams, and though her real dad can't play a note, he bangs out a brand-new song all about Coraline.

When Coraline calls him the other cat, how does the talking Cat correct her?

I'm not the other anything, he says, 'I'm me,' and when Coraline asks how he can talk here, he simply answers, 'I just can.'

When Coraline asks, 'You mean my other father?', what does the Other Mother call him?

Your better father, she says, sending Coraline to the garden since he must be hungry as a pumpkin, and a pumpkin is just what she later turns him into.

Which actor voices Mr. Bobinsky, the eccentric mouse-circus trainer upstairs?

Ian McShane, a British actor, gives Mr. B his Russian accent, and he'd later play the con man Mr. Wednesday in Gaiman's American Gods.

Which actress voices both Coraline's real mom and the Other Mother?

Teri Hatcher voices both, so when Coraline protests 'You're not my mother', the button-eyed copy answers in Mom's own voice, 'I'm your Other Mother, silly.'

Coraline was first planned as a live-action film starring which young actress?

Dakota Fanning was meant to play Coraline on screen, until the film switched to stop-motion and she ended up voicing Coraline instead.

In the novella, what does Coraline set up over the old well to trap the Other Mother's hand?

A dolls' tea party, with the key on a paper tablecloth over the well, so the hand grabs it and plunges in, and Coraline covers the well with heavy boards.

Miss Spink and Miss Forcible are voiced by Jennifer Saunders and which longtime comedy partner?

Dawn French voices Miss Forcible, though she and Saunders were first cast in each other's roles until Selick had the double act swap.

Who does the Cat say told him the Other World isn't the dream come true Coraline thinks?

The Other Wybie told him, and when Coraline scoffs that Wybie's copy can't talk, the Cat replies that cats have far superior senses to humans.

In Gaiman's novella, what is the name of the eccentric old man who lives upstairs?

Mr. Bobo, though for much of the book he's simply 'the crazy old man upstairs', and the film stretches his name into Mr. Bobinsky.

Unlike the American-set film, which country is Gaiman's original novella set in?

England, but Selick moved the story to the U.S. because, he said, he was more comfortable writing American English than British English.

Coraline tells the Other Mother she has a very funny way of showing what?

Her love, after the Other Mother purrs 'You know I love you,' and Coraline pushes on to finish their game, since her real parents are still missing.

The two movers at the very start of Coraline are modeled on which Pixar story artist and his brother?

Joe Ranft, Pixar's head of story and the voice of Heimlich in A Bug's Life, was Selick's late friend, and his brother Jerome voices one of the movers.

After her escape, which flowers does Coraline ask whether her dad is going to order?

Tulips, and Dad plays dumb, asking 'What's that?' and insisting he has no idea what she's talking about, just to tease her.

When Mom sends Coraline downstairs, what does Coraline remind her she's called Miss Spink and Miss Forcible?

Dingbats, and Mom just nods 'uh-huh' while still insisting the pair would love to hear all about Coraline's dream.

What does the Other Mother say she needs if Coraline wants to stay in the Other World?

A yes, she says, before the buttons can go in, cooing, 'It's your decision, darling. We only want what's best for you.'

Who did Neil Gaiman voice in the Simpsons' Coraline parody?

Snowball V, the family cat, turns out he can talk once Lisa slips through a secret door into a world of button-eyed Simpsons.

Which milestone did Coraline achieve in 2009?

First stereoscopic 3D stop-motion feature, so each frame was shot twice, a left-eye and a right-eye image, by one camera shifting a tiny distance.

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

Fantastic Mr. Fox, and when both films came out in 2009, they ended up as rivals for the Best Animated Feature Oscar.

When Coraline asks the ghost children who they are, what do they say they can't remember?

Their names, though the boy ghost still remembers his 'true mommy', and the tall girl hushes Coraline in case the Beldam is listening.

When Coraline says she didn't know she had another mother, what does the Other Mother reply?

Everyone does, she says, moments after the Other Father tells Coraline it 'wasn't the same here without' her.

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

A Soviet space dog: Laika was a stray taken off Moscow's streets and launched aboard Sputnik 2 in 1957, and the rebranded studio borrowed her name.

Which sportswear co-founder owns Laika?

Phil Knight, Nike's co-founder, took a stake in Will Vinton Studios in 1998, later bought it outright and remade it as Laika.

What does the Cat tell Coraline the Other Mother thinks of cats?

She hates them and tries to keep him out, the Cat says, but she can't, of course, because he comes and goes as he pleases.

What does a ghost girl warn Coraline will happen even if she wins the Beldam's game?

She'll never let you go, the ghost warns, so Coraline tricks the Beldam into unlocking the little door by claiming her parents are behind it.

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

ParaNorman began as 30 script pages Chris Butler showed Laika's boss while storyboarding Coraline, and when asked for the rest, he bluffed that it was at home.

Which French composer wrote the score for Coraline?

Bruno Coulais got the job after Selick, struggling to find a composer, tried music from all sorts of other films and found the sound of the man behind Winged Migration was what worked.

According to Wybie, what would you see looking up from the bottom of the old well at midday?

A sky full of stars, he says, because the well is supposed to be that deep, and he warns Coraline that stomping too hard will drop her into it.

Which drink does Coraline order when the Other Mother asks if she has any requests?

A mango milkshake, and a chandelier that doubles as a drink dispenser glides down and fills her glass on the spot.

What does Coraline mockingly call the cat after learning he hates getting his feet wet?

A wuss-puss, she jeers, and he remembers it: when the cat first speaks to her in the other world, he throws the insult right back.

Which famous painting does the Other Miss Forcible pose as during her stage act?

The Birth of Venus, which she sings about as she rises from the stage in a giant shell, barely dressed.

Which made-up word does Coraline mutter when her mom says Dad's planning something special?

Gross-gusting is her verdict, moments after Mom floated a mustard, ketchup and salsa wrap for lunch and admitted she had to go food shopping.

Which color does Miss Spink warn Coraline never to wear in her dressing room?

Green, says Miss Spink when Coraline asks what to do about the danger in her tea leaves, while Miss Forcible tells her to acquire a very tall stepladder.

Which deep-voiced actor plays the Cat in Coraline?

Keith David voices the Cat, who wakes a tearful Coraline in the night and leads her through the dark flat to show her what has become of her missing parents.

Which raw vegetable does Mr. Bobinsky hand Coraline, promising it will make her strong?

A beet, handed over with a 'Make you strong' right after he explains that his jumping mice aren't ready to perform yet.

What does Wybie say the cat sometimes brings to his window?

Little dead things, says Wybie, who insists the cat is feral and not really his, even though he feeds him every night.

What does Coraline tell Wybie the doll used to look like before Huck Finn Jr.?

A pioneer girl, she blurts to a guilty Wybie, who has turned up at the door because his Gramma is real mad that he took the doll.

What does Wybie call Coraline as he rides off after their first meeting?

A water witch, he teases, since water witching with an ordinary branch makes no sense to him, and Coraline fires back by demanding where the secret well is.

What does Coraline's dad do that makes her protest, 'I'm not five anymore'?

Tweaks her nose and calls her a dizzy dreamer as he says goodbye, which is far too babyish for an embarrassed Coraline.

Where does Coraline put the ghost children's eyes once she is safely back home?

Under her pillow, after telling the Cat it's time to set them free, and the two of them settle down side by side.

What goes wrong when Coraline flicks off a light switch while exploring her new house?

Her dad's computer dies, its power cut as he types, and his anguished 'No, no, no!' echoes through the house.

Which tool does Coraline pack in her bag before she returns to rescue her parents?

A pair of shears, and they save her: when huge snapdragons in the Other World's garden knock her to the ground, she grabs them and snips off the flowers' heads.

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

Bram Stoker Award voters honoured a novella whose film had a head start: Henry Selick began work on the adaptation in 2000, before the book was even published.

Which snack food did the Coraline crew turn into blossoms for the orchard trees?

Popcorn was popped, cooled and painted by hand to become the blossoms on the orchard's handmade trees.

Fans have matched the medal on Mr. Bobinsky's chest to one given to which Soviet workers?

Chernobyl liquidators were the crews sent to clean up after the 1986 disaster, and some viewers tie his odd skin tone to that work.

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

Oregon Shakespeare Festival banners hang in the tiny town, and Selick said he set the film in Ashland partly because it has a Shakespeare festival.

Which first name does the Other Mr. Bobinsky boom out while introducing his jumping mouse circus?

Sergei Alexander Bobinsky is the full name he booms over the loudspeakers, promising a show to tickle the eyes and ears.

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

A human hair is almost how fine some of them are, Althea Crome has said: shop-bought needles were too thick, so she makes her own from surgical steel wire.

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

The flames were hand drawn, lick by lick, and then composited digitally, so that even effects the crew couldn't build still looked handmade.

Which indie songwriter wrote the music and lyrics for the 2009 Coraline stage musical?

Stephin Merritt, frontman of the Magnetic Fields, wrote the Off-Broadway show's songs for a nest of pianos, with a toy piano for Coraline herself.

Which slang word does Coraline use for her boots while arguing that the doll looks like her?

Swampers is northern slang for heavy boots, and her old friends use the word too when their photo comes to life and asks where hers are.

Which insult from the film appears after Coraline's end credits as a secret contest code?

Jerk wad, Coraline's parting shot at a fleeing Wybie, was the password fans typed into the film's website for a chance to win limited-edition Coraline sneakers.

What did the Coraline crew turn inside out and paint to make the garden's lilies?

Silicone thimbles, flipped inside out and hand-painted, became the lilies in a garden whose snapdragons tickle Coraline until the Other Father scolds, 'Tickle no more, you dragon snappers.'