History Fridge / Coraline

** On that note: since they don't shake hands, the Other Mother doesn't have to keep her word -- letting Coraline and the ghost girls go -- if Coraline wins. But that also meant ''Coraline'' doesn't have to keep ''her'' word -- staying with the Other Mother and getting buttons sewn on her eyes -- if she ''loses'' (which, again, she technically does). Depending on how damning a handshake is for sealing a deal in the Other World, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain the Other Mother may have essentially]] [[ForWantOfANail caused her own loss by not shaking on it.]]

* One of the ghost children is explicitly a ''fairy.'' In most fantasy settings, theFaeFolk are immensely powerful and very old, likely far older than the Other Mother herself. Yet the Other Mother is so powerful that she can ''eat the soul of a fairy'' and effectively ''kill it'', with nothing that the girl's own kind could do to save her.

* When Ms. Forcible reads Coraline's tea leaves, she sees a hand-like shape, but Ms. Spink turns it upside down and insists it's a giraffe. They're ''both'' right -- not only is a stuffed giraffe one of the toys we see in Coraline's room in the Other Mother's house, but the shape Ms. Spink sees also resembles the Other Mother's severed, claw-like hand.

** 1) The Other Mother is a [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic coward]]. She's very much someone who is only willing to try to bait someone who she ''knows'' would have difficulty fighting back against her. Adults are overall a much harder target to bait, and would fight back much harder. And the people at the Pink Palace are (or once were) very capable of possibly giving her a hard time in one way or another. Mr. Bobinsky is an athletic acrobat, Ms. Spink and Ms. Forcible were former acrobats and are implied to have [[{{Seer}} psychic abilities]], and Mrs. Lovat was able to hold the Other Mother at bay for ''decades''. Even if they couldn't physically fight back, they could still make things very difficult for the Other Mother. The only reason the Other Mother was likely able to grab Coraline's parents was because they were exhausted from being overworked and stressed.

* The reason why Mister Bobinsky is blue? Look closely and you'll see that he sports a badge from the Chernobyl cleanup. Selick himself states on the DVD commentary that he also likes to spend time outdoors and exercise, and it's winter... even more reasons why he's blue. This is possibly also why he's so "eccentric" if you're bitter enough not to believe in the mice.

* If one listens to the lyrics of the song the Other Father sings more closely, they appear to be actually warning Coraline about what will happen if she continues coming to the Other World.

** 3) The Other Mother's childish need to get her vengeance on Coraline for defying and (temporarily) escaping her overrode her sense. The Other Mother, for all of her age, tends to act a lot like a [[PsychopathicManchild spoiled angry child]] when she doesn't get what she wants. She likely fixated so hard on getting back at Coraline that any alternatives simply didn't occur to her.

** 1) The Other Mother is a [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic coward]]. She's very much someone who is only willing to try to bait someone who she ''knows'' would have difficulty fighting back against her. Adults, even very old ones, are overall a much harder target to bait, and would fight back much harder. And the people at the Pink Palace are (or once were) very capable of possibly giving her a hard time in one way or another. Mr. Bobinsky is an athletic acrobat, Ms. Spink and Ms. Forcible were former acrobats and are implied to have [[{{Seer}} psychic abilities]], and Mrs. Lovat was able to hold the Other Mother at bay for ''decades''. Even if they couldn't physically fight back, they could still make things very difficult for the Other Mother. The only reason the Other Mother was likely able to grab Coraline's parents was because they were exhausted from being overworked and stressed.

** 2) The people of the Pink Palace would not have fallen for her scheming. [[OlderAndWiser Adults are, at least in general]], much more worldly and would have seen through the Other Mother's lies near instantly. Additionally, it's notable that the majority of the Pink Palace tenants are satisfied with their lives, or at least content. What would the Other Mother have been able to bait them with?

!!AC:FridgeHorror

[[AC:FridgeLogic]]

** 1) The Other Mother is a [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic coward]]. She's very much someone who is only willing to try to bait someone who she ''knows'' would have difficulty fighting back against her. Adults, even very old ones, are overall a much harder target to bait, and would fight back much harder. And the people at the Pink Palace are (or once were) very capable of possibly giving her a hard time in one way or another. Mr. Bobinsky is an athletic acrobat, Ms. Spink and Ms. Forcible were former acrobats and are implied to have [[{{Seer}} psychic abilities]], and Mrs. Lovat was able to hold the Other Mother at bay for ''decades''. Even if they couldn't physically fight back, they could still make things very difficult for the Other Mother. The only reason the Other Mother was likely able to grab Coraline's parents was because they were caught off guard and were exhausted from being overworked and stressed.

** 1) The Other Mother is a [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic coward]]. She's very much someone who is only willing to try to bait someone who she ''knows'' would have difficulty fighting back against her. Adults, even very old ones, are overall a much harder target to bait, and would fight back much harder. And the people at the Pink Palace are (or once were) very capable of possibly giving her a hard time in one way or another. Mr. Bobinsky is an athletic acrobat, Ms. Spink and Ms. Forcible were former acrobats and are implied to have [[Seer psychic abilities]], and Mrs. Lovat was able to hold the Other Mother at bay for ''decades''. Even if they couldn't physically fight back, they would still make things very difficult for the Other Mother. The only reason the Other Mother was likely able to grab Coraline's parents was because they were caught off guard and were exhausted from being overworked and stressed.

[[AC:FridgeBrilliance]]

[[AC:FridgeHorror]]

** It's just as likely that she [[ScatterbrainedSenior ended up suffering a lapse in judgment due to her old age.]] Which could easily end up being a point of horror in itself, because what if she had suffered this lapse in judgment sooner? The Beldam could have fed and regained her strength, and because Mrs. Lovat can't survive forever, it's entirely possible that she could have ended up dead before the Beldam would ever starve again. It really is horrifying to consider how this dangerous predator was literally only being held back by the efforts of one elderly woman for decades, all the while knowing that a [[AllForNothing single lapse in her judgment would be all it took for her efforts to be rendered meaningless...]]

** It's just as likely that she simply ended up suffering a lapse in judgment due to her old age. Which could easily end up being a point of horror in itself, because what if she had suffered this lapse in judgment sooner? The Beldam could have fed and regained her strength, and because Mrs. Lovat can't survive forever, it's entirely possible that she could have ended up dead before the Beldam would ever starve again.

* Wybie says that his grandmother, Mrs. Lovat, never rents the Pink Palace to families with children. Why has she decided to rent it out to a family with a child now? Well, Wybie's the same age as Coraline, and he loves to wander around, sometimes a little too close to the Pink Palace. Wybie is just as susceptible as Coraline is to being lured to the Other World. Did she, out of fear for her grandson, rent out the flat to a family with a kid to use them as a ''scapegoat''?

* The reason why Mister Bobinsky is blue? Look closely and you'll see that he sports a badge from the Chernobyl cleanup. Selick himself states on the DVD commentary that he also likes to spend time outdoors and exercise, and it's winter... also a reason why he's blue. And possibly why he's so "eccentric" if you're bitter enough not to believe in the mice.
* The neckbrace that Coraline's mother is wearing is a StealthPun: to her mother, Coraline's antics are a ''pain in the neck''.
* On closer examination, The Other Mother becomes thinner each time Coraline visits. She is starving, and is accordingly getting more desperate to make Coraline stay each time.

* Pay careful attention to the promises each of the two Mothers make. Coraline's real mother says "I promise, if things go well, I'll make it up to you". The Other Mother "promises" that if Coraline does find the ghost eyes and her real parents, then she will let go of all her captives. Only one of them keeps their end of the bargain when Coraline keeps her end (being rescued by your daughter does count as "[[ExactWords things go well]]", even if she doesn't remember).
* Wonder why Coraline returns to the real world after falling asleep in the Other World the first two times, but ''not'' [[OhCrap the third time]]? Because the first two times, Coraline only visited the Other World [[AstralProjection in her dreams]]. The third time she goes, she visited the Other World ''in person'', during the day. That's where she goes to bed, and that's where she wakes up.

* Towards the end of the Exploration scene, Coraline lists off what she finds in the final room to explore: "One boring blue boy in a painfully boring painting, four incredibly boring windows, and ''no more doors''." It takes a while to catch on: this [[TemptingFate leads in]] to how there is [[ForegoneConclusion ''one more door'']] to find...
* While Other Miss Spink and Forcible reciting "Hamlet" for their performance is somewhat meaningful, one wonders specifically ''why'' they had to recite it. Then one realizes, the real Miss Spink and Forcible have posters for past performances they've done, mostly ''Shakespeare''. The Other World merely mirrors their passion for such theater material.
* While driving home from shopping for her school uniform, Coraline's conversation with Mel has her asking her mom why she locked the little door if she doesn't think it leads to a flat of "Jones Imposters". She responds "I found some rat crap and I thought you'd feel... safer." On the surface, it comes across as Mel [[KickTheDog snidely discrediting]] her daughter's claims (by mentioning "[[StealthInsult rat crap]]") and saying she's crazy (by implying ''she'd'' feel safer). This is meant to effectively paint Mel as not only being [[ParentalNeglect negligent]] but also [[{{Jerkass}} mean-spirited]]. Second time watching it, one realizes it's a RedHerring, meant to hide that perhaps Mel ''did'' find rat feces from the Other Mother's rats, and she locked the door because she was [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold genuinely concerned]] about her daughter playing with diseased rodents.
* Contrast the song Coraline's dad sang during dinner with the Other Father's song. Her real father is horribly overworked. Coraline would like more of his weird little songs but he never has time anymore.

* If you pause the movie when Wybie shows Coraline the picture of his Gramma and her sister, you can see that his Grandma's sister the CuteGhostGirl, is slouching in a curve, and looking at the camera bashfully. Just like ''Wybie'' -- he takes after her!
* When Ms. Forcible is reading Coraline's tea leaves, she sees a hand-like shape, but Ms. Spink turns it upside down and insists it's a giraffe. They're ''both'' right -- not only is a stuffed giraffe one of the toys we see in Coraline's room in the Other Mother's house, but the shape Ms. Spink sees also resembles the Other Mother's severed, claw-like hand.
** Notice how the Other Mother's final form is very long and has 4 legs ''like'' a giraffe...

* The Other Mother never eats. While the Other Father's plate is always piled with food, the Other Mother's plate is always empty at meal times, chocolate-bug snacks notwithstanding. Very subtle way of showing the Other Mother cannot sustain herself on her own creations and that they're at most an illusion. She can only feed on the [[PoweredByAForsakenChild love of]] [[EmotionEater others]].

* In the film at least, the Other Mother straps the Other Father to a giant praying mantis. Female praying mantises are famous for eating their own mates, as are some female spiders.
* For a while, it seemed off that Coraline had a rash from the Poison Oak branch on only one hand, but in the scene where Wybie shakes her hand, he accidentally smeared mud on the unaffected hand. The mud protected her skin from the Poison Oak.

-->Making up a song about Coraline
-->She's [[ImAHumanitarian a peach,]] she's [[CreepyDoll a doll,]] she's a pal of mine
-->She's as cute as a [[EyeScream button in the eyes]]
-->Of everyone who ever laid their eyes on Coraline
-->When she comes around exploring
-->Mom and I will [[YourHeartsDesire never ever]] [[LotusEaterMachine make it boring]]
-->Our [[RuleOfThree eyes]] [[BigBrotherIsWatching will be on Coraline]]

* The movie changes from Coraline having to save the souls of the children to having to save their eyes. Seems like a minor change, maybe to keep religion out of the issue, right? Well, consider that some believe that one's eyes are a reflection/gateway to their soul. Also keep in mind, ''the Other Mother replaces eyes with buttons''. And the implication is that agreeing to give up one's eyes for buttons is the equivalent of selling your soul to the Other Mother!
* During Other Spink and Other Forcible's presentation for Coraline, their button eyes are white. Remember how the real Spink and Forcible argue about being blind? However, when they strip and become younger, their button eyes are black.

* The Other Mother ended up being a GiantSpider-like monster woman. The holes in the button eyes can be looked at as eyes themselves. 4 holes in each button make 8 eyes, the same as spiders have.

* The bat forms of Ms. Forcible and Ms. Spink's dogs don't make any sense until you realize that their dead real-word counterparts also have wings. This is a reverse example of the film's theme of the Other World creatures' true forms matching the real world, as the bats were in the book, but not the real ladies' dead dogs and their angel costumes.

* Why are the Others Wybie and Father helping Coraline and not anything/anyone else? Because, everything in the Other World was made to ''entertain'' Coraline and nothing more--except for Other Father and Other Wybie, who were created to ''love her and be her friend.''
* The Other Father calls the Other Mother "Mother." It's not just because the Other Mother means to replace Coraline's real mother in the girl's eyes, it's because ''the Other Mother created him.'' In a sense, she really ''is'' his mother! (Can add another layer of horror to how she [[BodyHorror mutilates]] and/or destroys her own "children".)

* When Coraline asks for a clue as to her parent's location, the Other Mother merely taps her eye, causing Coraline to angrily respond "Fine, don't tell me." But that was the clue -- Coraline needed to look closer, because her parents had been hidden right in plain sight!
* The Other World has subtle ways of showing it's a MirrorUniverse. Wybie and Coraline's dad in the real world are totally useless at helping her or giving her advice, thinking she's just acting out for attention or [[CloudCuckooLander is plain nuts]]. Wybie is even the one who gives her the doll which starts the whole mess. The "other Wybie" and "other father" are the only two characters created by the Beldam who try to warn Coraline (and help her where they can) of the dangers and they both intentionally let slip important information.
* The Other Spink and Forcible both have an ImpossibleHourglassFigure, at least when they shuck their old lady suits. If you look in their apartment, their Other selves look a lot like the stylized versions of themselves on their old posters. Which makes sense; Coraline has no idea how the two ''actually'' looked when younger (and the Other Mother, who created them, might not either), so the idealized versions of them are based on the best visual reference available.
* As Coraline lies in bed after seeing the Other Mouse Circus, the Other Mother, Father, and Wybie are there. What does the Other Mother do right as Coraline falls asleep? She ''shushes'' the Other Father. Which might not make sense at first, until one remembers that on her previous visit the Other Father, almost immediately upon meeting Coraline, seemed to try to warn her with a song, and the Other Mother continues to struggle with censoring his subtle rebellions.
* When Other Mother first brings up replacing her eyes with buttons, Other Father chimes in with "So sharp you won't feel a thing!" until the Other Mother shushes him. He delivers the line like it's a good thing, but no child has ever reacted positively to the thought of sharp needles. He is trying to drive home to Coraline how horrific the procedure would be, in case she is wavering.
* After Coraline's second visit she goes to see the door because bits of the mice bait was still on the floor, proving her dreams were real. However, Mel locks the door claiming to have found "rat crap" and wanted Coraline to feel safe. Later on the cat in the other world hunts one of the circus mice and when he kills it, it turns into a rat. Seems Coraline's mother has had some experience with rats enough to know what their feces looks like, even though Coraline is convinced they were mice.
* The Other Mother's line "I'll die without you!!" Sounds melodramatic at first, but knowing what she does to the kids that she gets bored of... it has a double meaning since if she doesn't eat the kid she'll starve to death. And with how long she has been without food... no wonder she's desperate.
* Beldam, the name given to the Other Mother by the Ghost Children, can both mean hag, or witch, but is also an anagram of Bad Mel (Mel being the name of Coraline's mother.) More likely a case of deliberate name choice for Mrs. Jones when they made the film, as she does not have the name in the book.
* Near the end, the Other Father starts to resemble a pumpkin, which is probably what the Other Mother made him from--sort of a creepy, BodyHorror-style twist on the [[Literature/{{Cinderella}} Fairy Godmother turning a pumpkin into a carriage to satisfy a little girl wanting more.]]
* The Other Mother's face near the end of the movie has cracks on it, the same cracks that you'd typically see on broken porcelain or clay. It's a visual way of showing how the Other Mother's "mask" (specifically one put up to fool young children) as a loving parent is falling apart as Coraline begins to see her true character.
* Near the end of the movie, the Other Mother calls Coraline a "selfish brat". In the scene where Coraline found the Ghost Children, the spirits told her that they were given love, good food, toys, and never-ending fun by the Other Mother, only to end up wanting more. In real life, children require unconditional love from their parents and tend to heavily rely on them for guidance. The children the Other Mother lured in to trap and eat them might have seen her as their real parent and expected her to act like one. No wonder the Other Mother thinks children are all-take-and-no-give!
* Just a minor observation: in the opening cutscene, where the Sweet Ghost Girl's doll gets remade into the Coraline doll; the cotton stuffing gets pulled out of the doll, it gets turned inside out, and filled with sand. When the Other World begins to deteriorate later on, we see that everything appears to actually be made of sand. So perhaps, whatever the Other Mother's doll is filled with is the substance that the Other World ends up being made of.
* On reflection, the film is similar to the legend of ''{{Theatre/Faust}}''. Both main characters are dissatisfied with what they have. The Other Mother is practically an {{expy}} of the Devil in the legend in that she gives Coraline her desires. It's only when she offers buttons for her eyes is when Coraline realizes that she made a DealWithTheDevil.
* In the beginning of the film, Wybie says that the cat would visit him a lot. Considering the cat knows about the Other World, it's likely that he does so to protect Wybie from it.
* A blink and you miss it moment -- when Coraline enters the circus tent to retrieve the last ghost eye, the Other Mr. B (or what's left of him) briefly takes on a decidedly ratlike pose.
* A tiny hint that the Other Mother has no intentions of holding up her end of the bargain is that she offers her hand to be shaken, but is interrupted by Coraline asking for a hint, after which she leaves. So the two ''never shake on the deal'' and never actually agree to the terms, showing that the contract won't play out to its stated conditions.
* Even with all the perks and promises given by the Other Mother, the movie still presents the {{Squick}} of sewing buttons in your eyes as an obvious dealbreaker. Coraline is automatically aghast at the suggestion, raising the question of why three other children wouldn't have had the same reaction. Then you remember that the ghost children grew up in completely different eras to Coraline; where sexism, racism, and classism were heavily detrimental to a child's quality of life. To say nothing of the possibility that, unlike Coraline, their home lives could have been ''actually'' abusive and not just plagued with moving stress. Their fantasy worlds wouldn't have just been refuges from negligent parents, but from abusive ones, or an abusive society. They would have had far more reason than Coraline to be desperate for a better life, making their fates even more of a TearJerker. Also, social awareness and education has changed, with more emphasis put on stranger danger. Coraline just fell into the pitfall of believing that an apparent fairy tale would be excepted from that.
* It is clear from the book (and directly stated in the movie) that Coraline wishes her parents would pay more attention to her. Now on the foreground, the Other Mother merely ''pretends'' to pay attention to Coraline in order to entrap her. But some bits of interaction (the [[HatesBeingTouched unwanted hugging]], the "learn to be a loving daughter" and such) give the Other Mother a behaviour typical for AbusiveParents, specifically of MyBelovedSmother -- which often happens if parents pay '''too much''' (unhealthy) attention to kids. Coraline ''really'' got [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor what she desired]] -- and it was horrible for her, ''on top'' of the whole evil Fairy stuff.

* In the movie, in Other Bobinsky's Mouse Circus scene, Mr. B. announces himself as "Sergei Alexander Bobinsky", having apparently forgotten UsefulNotes/RussianNamingConvention. But then you realize that it's to be expected: the Other Mother's rats wouldn't have the least idea of it!
* The "Paragon of Animals" bit from Other Forcible and Other Spink. It's a reference to ''{{Theatre/Hamlet}}'', but the original has a very, very sarcastic tone and doesn't cut off at the word animal. It ends with "...and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?" What is Other Wybie made out of, and what does his hand revert to when it goes beyond Other Mother's threshold?
* Where was the Other Mother when Mel was shopping for groceries and Coraline went to the Other World? The Other Mother left the invitation to (Other) Spink and Forcible's show and the outfit, but she was missing herself. Presumably, she is out getting Coraline's parents. Coraline goes back and they're gone...

** This means that the Other Mother kidnaps the Joneses before she even gives Coraline the option to stay and sew buttons on her eyes. Maybe she is just being CrazyPrepared, but then you remember that the last child she took left behind a twin sister who then spent the next 60 years refusing to rent out the apartment to anyone with a kid, thus depriving the Other Mother of sustenance. She took Coraline's parents both to use as a bargaining chip, and to ensure that no one would raise a big fuss about Coraline's disappearance. The Other Mother survived one long famine, but she knows that she won't survive another and prevents her prey from escaping ''and'' that her trap in the real world won't be cut off again.
* The Ghost Eye hidden in the Theater is disguised as a pearl on a ring. Why a pearl? Well, it's on the Other Forcible's finger, and her character in the play was heavily associated with oysters.
* There are theories that Coraline just delivered the hand and the key right back to the Other Mother by dropping it down that well... after all, it's in a fairy ring and you can apparently see stars from inside, like those the doll was sent into... but ''there's no Other well.'' Coraline mentions it specifically. The Other World is always night, and fairy rings can be protected zones, too. That key (the only one) can never be used again.
** What's flawed about this idea however, is that there ''is no need for an Other well''. Remember that seemingly apart from most of the house (the attic or whichever room the Other Mother's stationary is in), everything is fake. Not every location in the real world is a portal to the Other world counterpart. The only two portal locations that we know of are the door and the well, which both matches the appearance of the tunnel Coraline goes through, and how if you were to go down it, you could see stars during the middle of the day. Now think back to the beginning of the movie, [[OhCrap where the doll appeared to be floating through space, even though the Other Mother isn't even in space...]]
* The Other Mother's starvation makes perfect sense with two offhand details that explain her history: the age of the Pink Palace and the old photograph of the Lovat sisters. Mr. Jones mentions the house is 150 years old, and we see the Other Mother claimed three victims prior to the film, within that 150-year period. According to fairy-tale rules which this film would definitely follow, that would mean she has an exact cycle of feeding once every fifty years, and the Ghost Children's apparent time periods seem to fit that rule if "year zero" was when the first victim was taken. She can survive between without feeding, but that mark needs to be met, like [[{{Literature/IT}} IT's 27-year rule]]. But Gramma Lovat, who was around the same age as her sister as seen in the photo (where they couldn't have been more than ten), is elderly. It's clearly been more than fifty years since her sister was taken, and thanks to her efforts, no children have come in in the years since. That means ''Coraline is overdue''. The Other Mother has had to hold on for perhaps twenty years longer than she expected to in order to feed again. That's why she's starving so quickly on-screen and why she's so desperate. That's why she gives up the act and the Other World falls to pieces. Coraline is quite literally her last chance, and she's a late one at that. Gramma Lovat caused this to go on longer than it should, and Coraline escaping has broken the cycle beyond repair.

* Doubles as FridgeHorror and piggybacks off of another FridgeBrilliance entry above. Coraline is charged with finding the eyes of the three ghost children, which logically would mean there are ''six'' eyes to find. However, she only needs to find ''three'' eyes. The eyes have enough power to sustain the Other World, but we know that the Other Mother ''eats'' something from the children to sustain ''herself''. She likely has a hunting season of every 50 years, but Mrs. Lovat has kept children away from the property for ''over 50 years.'' Thus, any reserves the Other Mother had are gone as she clung to the hope that she could lure in one more child (hence why she didn't eat these three power sources already). Assuming she eats the literal bodies of the children after stealing their eyes, she likely ate the other three ''eyes'' during the period between the devouring of Mrs. Lovat's sister and the arrival of Coraline. She's not only desperate because Coraline is overdue but also because she's already used up every last reserve she could spare.
* Wybie's second name isn't completely random- near the end of the book a Mister Lovat is mentioned as the previous owner of what is Coraline's apartment, who guessed that the well was about a mile and a half deep. He is only mentioned once, but the possible inspiration for the story link in the movie is there.
* It's noted that the Other Mother not shaking Coraline's hand foreshadows that she won't hold up her end of the bargain. However, she ''had'' offered her hand to Coraline to shake; Coraline simply refuses until she is given a clue. At that point, the Other Mother made sure to disappear before the handshake could happen. Assuming shaking hands would force her to keep her word, it's possible she is open to it beforehand because, until she had to give a clue, she was confident Coraline wouldn't have had enough time to find the eyes and her parents. Note that even ''with'' the clue, she still technically fails since she didn't know where her parents were when time ran out, and she got the last eye with seconds to spare.
** On that note: since they didn't shake hands, the Other Mother didn't have to keep her word - letting Coraline and the ghost girls go - if Coraline won. But that also meant ''Coraline'' didn't have to keep ''her'' word - staying with the Other Mother and getting buttons sewn on her eyes - if she ''lost'' (which, again, she technically did). Depending on how damning a handshake is for sealing a deal in the Other World, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain the Other Mother may have essentially]] [[ForWantOfANail caused her own loss by not shaking on it.]]

* As well as being brilliance, the Other Father's song counts for sounding cheery and innocent, but being pretty creepy when one examines the lyrics: "Making up a song about Coraline. She's a peach she's a ''doll'' she's a pal of mine. She's as cute as a ''button in the eyes'' of everyone who ever laid their eyes on Coraline. When she comes around exploring Mom and I will never ever make it boring. ''our eyes will be on Coraline''."
* "Our eyes will be on Coraline" is a particularly clever lyric because it has a triple meaning: If you don't know the sinister turn things will take later, it sounds like he's just saying that Coraline will have their full attention, something that she feels she lacks from her real parents. Then there's the already pointed out LiteralMetaphor aspect, since The Other Mother wants to sew button eyes onto Coraline's face, and the fact that Coraline has been unknowingly watched via button eyes from the very beginning.
* When Coraline tells her father the food is ready, the piano raises its hand and slaps the Other Father. Could've just been a goofy accident... could've been the piano telling him off for trying to warn Coraline, like how it tries to shut him up later.
* When the Other Mother introduces Other Wybie to Coraline, she mentions that she "fixed" him (with a SewnOnGrin), given that Coraline thinks the Wybie in her own world talks too much. While Coraline's lack of concern about this (before things start getting worse) probably results more from thoughtlessness than blatant desire to control, it underlines how nasty the other world is -- the Other Wybie had his voice taken away simply because Coraline didn't like it. The whole thing resembles ''Film/TheStepfordWives'', in a kids' movie.

* The Beldam's world seems to be reserved for children lacking something vital in the real world, such as having an unhappy home life. If Sweet Ghost Girl had an unhappy life, there's two possibles for her sister -- Wybie's grandmother. First, she shared in her sister's misery and was either ignored by the Beldam, left to her sad home life, or she was also ensnared by the Beldam, but managed to escape. Second, she was the favorite of their parents who were either neglectful or abusive to her sister. In short, either Wybie's grandmother lived through something that cost her her sister, or she believes her own favor with their parents drove her away.
* When Coraline finds the door, she asks, "I wonder why it's so small?". The door was just tall enough for the doll to walk through it. And for children. Also, it makes Mel's theory that the door connected to another residential space seem unlikely. Why would two rooms be connected by such a small door? And what could it lead to instead?

* The bed that the Ghost Children hide in has a large puddle in the middle. They have literally wet the bed with fear.
* Wybie said that his grandmother, Mrs. Lovat, never rents the Pink Palace to families with children. Why now did she decide to rent it out to a family with a child? Well, Wybie's the same age as Coraline and he loves to wander around, sometimes a little too close to the Pink Palace. Wybie is just as susceptible as Coraline was to being lured to the Other World. Is it then, out of fear over her kin, she rented out the flat to a family with a kid, to use as a ''scapegoat''?
* Even though Coraline disposed of the key (hopefully for eternity), the Other World is still there in the house and only a single locked door away. Coraline will continue to go to bed at night in a room more or less directly above the doorway to a nightmare creature that tried to enslave her. Even if the beldam withered away and died after Coraline's escape, nobody in their right mind should want to remain in the same country, let alone the same house as that door.

* [=TheTheorizer=] made a theory that the stone that Miss Spink and Forcible gave to Coraline is just an ordinary stone, allowing Coraline to view hidden things in the Other World as it is a real-world object. While some people think the stone itself is an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adder_stone adder stone]] as they have similar functions, the old ladies didn't make "adder stones" in the way they ''should'' be made. Adder stones cannot be made by humans and must instead be created by nature, with water boring a natural hole through it. Therefore, [=TheTheorizer=]'s theory makes more sense.

* While driving home from shopping for her school uniform, Coraline's conversation with Mel has her asking her mom why she locked the little door if she doesn't think it leads to a flat of "Jones Imposters". She responds "I found some rat crap and I thought you'd feel... safer." On the surface, it comes across as Mel [[KickTheDog snidely discrediting]] her daughter's claims (by mentioning "[[StealthInsult rat crap]]") and saying she's crazy (by implying ''she'd'' feel safer). This is meant to effectively paint Mel as not only being [[ParentalNeglect negligent]] but also [[{{Jerkass}} mean-spirited]]. Second time watching it, one realizes it's a RedHerring, meant to hide that perhaps Mel ''did'' find rat feces from the Other Mother's rats, and she locked the door because she was [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold genuinely concerned]] about [[AdultFear her daughter playing with diseased rodents]].

* As well as being brilliance, the Other Father's song counts for sounding cheery and innocent, but being pretty creepy when one examines the lyrics: "Making up a song about Coraline. She's a peach she's a DOLL she's a pal of mine. She's as cute as a BUTTON IN THE EYES of everyone who ever laid their eyes on Coraline. When she comes around exploring Mom and I will never ever make it boring. OUR EYES WILL BE ON CORALINE."

* Just a minor observation: in the opening cutscene, where the Sweet Ghost Girl's doll gets remade into the Coraline doll; the cotton stuffing gets pulled out of the doll, it gets turned inside out, and filled with sand. When Coraline's Other World begins to deteriorate later on, we see that everything appears to actually be made of sand. So perhaps, whatever the Other Mother's doll is filled with is the substance that the Other World ends up being made of.

* Just a minor observation: in the opening cutscene, where the Sweet Ghost Girl's doll gets remade into the Coraline doll; the stuffing gets pulled out of the doll, it gets turned inside out, and filled with sand. When Coraline's Other World begins to deteriorate later on, we see that everything appears to actually be made of sand. So perhaps, whatever a person's doll was filled with is the substance their Other World ends up being made of.

** Caroline's real mother goes to get food. Other Mother goes to get bait to ''lure back'' her food.