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Our podcast is an eccentric "meeting of the minds." We will discuss a wide array of movies, ranging from classic science fiction to modern horror and beyond. From beautiful masterpiece movies to atrocious amalgamations of cinematic error, we will discuss every movie we so please. We fully intend to delve into the films of our choosing with an open mind to discuss their inner complexities, narratives, strengths, and weaknesses. So get your popcorn and join us for a journey into the movies.
Unknown Speaker 0:00
This is a Kun V studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. Lights,
Unknown Speaker 0:14
camera, action. Welcome to rebel film Friday. We talk about films of all kinds every Friday at 6pm and I'm your host, Cameron.
Unknown Speaker 0:30
Hello rebels, and welcome to rebel film Friday. I am Cameron. I'm once again, joined by Corbin, Jaden and AJ. This week for our spooky movie, we will be talking about Coraline. Coraline is about a twitchy, witchy girl that is adapted from Neil Gaiman's novel and was released in 2009 to financial and critical success. Coraline is a staple of spooky movies and stop motion so without further ado, let's get into the discussion. Coraline is made by Leica Studios, which is well known for their work with stop motion movies. Coraline is among their most iconic films. However, it was originally intended to be a live action movie instead of a stop motion one Dakota Fanning coordinators voice actor was going to portray the role in live action, and when she heard it was going to actually be in stop motion, she gave her voice towards the character. How do you think the stop motion nature of the film enhances it, or makes it what it is, gives it its personality.
Unknown Speaker 1:26
I think the stop motion added something pretty amazing that the film. It makes everything look like puppetry, which feels, it feels reflective of the beldam at the end of the movie. And it feels it gives it makes it creepier, like even the most what's the word? Innocent things look creepy to some extent, especially if you look at them for too long. Everything in this movie looks creepy because of the stop motion nature of the movie.
Unknown Speaker 1:57
I think if it were live action, it would have become like, not, not to say that the plot or anything is like poor, but I think if it were to be live action, it would lose some of that kind of vibe, because I think it would just kind of become like an average. I don't, I don't even would say horror would just be, yeah, I don't know.
Unknown Speaker 2:19
It definitely does play into the elements of the story I feel. And overall, I just think, without it, you would definitely have to change some of the story, because it wouldn't feel as fitting or reflective of the story or the characters, especially the beldam at the very end, for it to be there, because it feels so out of place, and it would definitely have to be, you know, way more CGI. And it just feels out of place for a story about dolls and all, you know, creating this world where, since the stop motion, you can actually fit with more of that vibe. And it makes it that much more creepy.
Unknown Speaker 3:03
I definitely agree with all your claims. I definitely think that the stop motion nature of the film lends itself towards the style. It's very like a timber in style, where it's rigid edges and very kind of Gothic in a way, but all the characters are also a part of that design. I feel like if it wasn't in stop motion, the character design wouldn't be as good, because when you take a silhouette of one of the characters from the movie, you can definitely, you can tell it's one of those characters. So if you see why the silhouette, it's why you see, if you see Coraline silhouette, it's Coraline, you could immediately tell right off the bat, because the character designs are all so unique and so different, and that's just some really good art direction. And the characters are also really expressive. So throughout the movie, you see how characters kind of zip around sometimes, and the stop motion nature of the characters makes them move differently than live action. And so I I appreciate that on top of the fact that it's about dolls, and dolls are, like, physical and they have, like, they have different materials made out of them, and the stop motion nature kind of it pays homage. I won't say pays homage. I'd say it just kind of fits the vibe of the movie. Yeah. Alright, so next question. One of the side characters in this movie is yvy, YB Lovat, the neighbor of Coraline who rides the bike and has the mask with the rotating lenses. He's the grandson of the woman who owns the pink Palace apartments. And as it turns out, YV isn't originally in the novel by Neil Gaiman that the movie is based on so do you think YV was a meaningful addition as a character, or do you think the story would be better without him?
Unknown Speaker 4:47
I think adding YB into this story added another element of mystery, because it's throughout the movie, like right up until the end, you can tell that. He knows something that you don't as the viewer, or as Coraline even, and it adds more mystery as to why he's so um, concerned, or, like, kind of dodgy.
Unknown Speaker 5:15
He also kind of acts as, like, this outstretched hand from his grandma, who, like, it's his grandma, right? Who knows about the house and what like happens at the house? Yeah, especially with the door. So he does add, I want to call it a necessary element. But if it worked before without him, then I don't know if it's all that necessary.
Unknown Speaker 5:36
I feel like with YB, it feels like he was only one, like, in the story, in the other world, or whatever, he was only one who could really rebel, like, granted her other dad did kind of like rebel against God. I already forgot her name, the beldam. The beldam, yeah, because towards the end, you know other father, he's like, Here you go. I'm not trying to hurt you or whatever, but why be was only one who could do anything. That's why his mouth was sewn shut. That's why, like all this other stuff happened, because he was the only one who could rebel. And I think without him, that she wouldn't have made it as far, or like, it would have been a little bit more difficult, because she's thrown into this world, and no offense, you kind of need someone's help. When you're in this world, you don't understand the rules or the properties, and you're shoved into a mirror realm. Like, how are you gonna get out and do this planning and all this other stuff? Like, you can't you kind of need some help. So I think definitely the addition of that is great. And I think it just ties everything perfectly because of the whole grandmother reaching her final end, because it's easier to be like, Oh hey, tell your grandma to come down
Unknown Speaker 6:50
here, something kind of like what Jaden said. I would definitely have to read the original text to see what was missing or what was added before I could make a conclusion on that.
Unknown Speaker 7:01
Yeah, that's a great point. And in the original text, what Coline would do in like, those kind of situations where she's talking to yb about, like, what's going on, she's just kind of talking to herself, or like, so YB is an addition that allows Coraline to voice her her thoughts without seeming like a crazy person.
Unknown Speaker 7:21
Yeah, I think that. Okay. So in that context, given that information, I feel like it totally changes Coraline character too, because then it prevents her character from seeming like, just like a very imaginative kid to actually having some sort of legitimate, you know, worry, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 7:41
and we might go over this a little bit later, about, do you think the story is real, or do you think it's just in the mind of Coraline? But the fact that YB is there, and there's some like, the fact that YB is there and that she can kind of express her, um, her thoughts about what's going on to him, kind of makes it seem like it's more real. But then again, who knows? In the in the book, it definitely seems like it would be more of like, oh, it's in Coraline head. She's just a kid. She's imagining this because she feels alone. And I think that's all we really have to say about that question. But let's move on to a fun one, who's your favorite character in Coraline and why?
Unknown Speaker 8:27
Okay, my favorite character, I would have to say her, coralines Dad, mainly because, well, one, there was a whole meme made about it, getting online with my friends, and he's at the computer typing, but also that song he does the other dad like that song he does in that realm or whatever. I'm gonna just say they're the same two people, because technically, it's just an alternate, like an alternate version of him. Either way, still the same thing. But that song of Coraline, that was a baller song, I was not expecting that. And like, this is my first time ever watching the movie, so I didn't know what to expect, other than stop motion. But holy, that song did not have to be like, be that fire. They were like, Yeah, we just need a song. And bro turned out to be Beethoven writing like literal fire lyrics and just fire sound and everything. I thought it was amazing. But just like his dad, the dad is really cool. I feel
Unknown Speaker 9:34
I also really enjoy the dad's character, like in both aspects, both the other father and the actual father, I think he's cool. And then, other than the dad, I like YB. I personally enjoy YB as a character, even if he was at a late edition.
Unknown Speaker 9:52
My favorite character is the amazing Mr. Bobinsky, yeah, I just love, I just love. Them, like the original Mr. Bobinsky in like the real world, I guess. And then even like the other Mr. B, how is circus? It was just amazing. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 10:12
the amazing Mr. B, the amazing ski. He's He's so cool. And the character design for him is so amazing. The blue skin really makes you like contemplate why he has that, and one of the reasons he does is the metal that he's wearing in the movie is a Russian metal from basically surviving Chernobyl. So that kind of tips you off to why he has, why he has the blue skin, and why he's a little bit kooky. But on top of that, he has a little mice circus, and that's nice. I wanted to add one more thing onto aj's comment about the song, and the songs in some of the songs in this movie are actually written by the saw the band. They Might Be Giants, including the one with Coraline, other father, other father.
Unknown Speaker 11:02
I just wanted to add on to one thing about Lubinski, holy, He was such a character. He was just straight up funny. And I think he was as much as, like other people were nice to Coraline. I think he was like, he was one of the characters that actually respected Coraline the most, like in the intro of the movie and stuff, like he was just trying to be a friendly neighbor and stuff. And he's
Unknown Speaker 11:25
like the mice, they tell me Be aware, and thank
Unknown Speaker 11:29
you for bringing my cheese and like all this stuff. He's just such a goober man. He's amazing. I love him. He's like, tied with the dad, if not, like, second place, for sure.
Unknown Speaker 11:41
I really like the scene at the end where they're planting all the tulips. And instead of planting tulips, he's pulling them out of the ground and planting what is a He's planting beets, beets, yes. So we're gonna get on to the next question. And as AJ was mentioning earlier music. Coraline has a really great soundtrack, and we were talking about it while we were watching the movie too. Is we were really impressed by how much the soundtrack stands out. So what do you think it makes the soundtrack so so vivey, I guess, is the word. It very much matches the esthetic of the movie, which is like a fairy tale vibe. So what do you think? What do you think in the soundtrack lends itself towards this movie? Something
Unknown Speaker 12:26
distinct that I noticed about this movie as opposed to other ones, is that, well, yeah, as opposed to other movies, is that the soundtrack is very intentional, like it was just very well made. Like every single scene where the music is there, it adds to the scene, and if it does take over it, it tells a story on its own, like it's, yeah, it's very well crafted.
Unknown Speaker 13:00
I think just immersiveness, again, on what you're saying, of it doesn't really distract from the story. It's doing something, whether it's like immersing the person in and like kind of weaving in feelings or whatever, to the point you're almost essentially a part of the story, even though you're not in the story. Or also the idea of that is helping tell the story, whether it's the very intro song or whatever, it plays a role, and it almost feels like a character, especially in the very beginning. It plays a character. It's telling us the story in the very beginning. And I just think it's amazing. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 13:40
definitely doesn't detract from the movie at all. How
Unknown Speaker 13:43
do you guys think you'd describe this soundtrack? Because I I'm trying to think of how I would. I can't come up with anything.
Unknown Speaker 13:50
I think I describe it like a music box, like the kind of ones that you like wind up. It's very much like that, where it's like a nice little melody, almost like a lullaby, but kind of creepy. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 14:02
I agree, oh yeah, for sure, like 100% and I think that's, again, what adds to the movie. It's all about this idea of playtime dolls and a music box. It's all this triangular effect or whatever, because of not only the animation, you have it matching with the dolls, and then you have the music box, which is also commonly, like, accompanied by a doll or whatever. I think it just blends in so perfectly.
Unknown Speaker 14:30
All right, any other comments on that one? No, we're good. All right, so, yeah, it definitely gives the the fairy tale vibe. And much like a fairy tale, Coraline is kind of a tale of hubris. Coraline feels like she's ignored by her parents at the start because, you know, they just moved. They're busy working on a garden catalog, and her other mother, in the other world, provides her with the attention she's been seeking, all the attention, all the love, all the good things, unfortunately, like in many. Fairy tales, good things usually have a cost. So when something's really good or like, Ah, come into my house, young child, I have candy for you kind of thing, it's at a cost. So there's always something that needs to be paid for it. And in this case, it's Coraline having to basically have have buttons sewn into her eyes so that she could stay there forever, which is how the other three ghost children are kept, or how they how they're taken. So how does Coraline as a story echo a lot of grim fairy tale stories? And how do you think, like, how do you think the tropes of those stories fit into the movie.
Unknown Speaker 15:41
I think one of, I think a story that comes to mind is Hansel and Gretel, so, like, the very kind of, like, alluring nature of the candy house, and then it's a witch who eventually wants to try and eat them. I think it like fits pretty perfectly.
Unknown Speaker 16:01
I don't really remember the full story, but it's kind of It reminds me a little bit of the boy who cried wolf in the sense on how there's not really much of a threat. Like, yeah, her parents and like, everyone isn't fully listening to her, but there is no real threat. There's nothing like, Oh no, my parents. How dare are they in? Like, granted, I will say that I kind of thought her mom was a tad too rude in the very beginning of the movie. I'm like, I was thinking horline was like, a rude character, and then I saw her mom. I'm like, Oh, that makes sense. But there wasn't this she I felt like she was making much of she was making a bigger deal out of it than what it actually was. So that's the reason why I think it's kind of the boy who cried wolf, because it's nothing really there.
Unknown Speaker 16:51
Well, that's the part that entails coralines hubris. She wants attention, but her parents won't give it to her, so she'll seek out another means to get attention, and that's how the beldam gets her, influences her, and tries to trap her.
Unknown Speaker 17:06
Yeah, I think that's a really great analysis of the movie, either way that you look at it, Coraline could be rude. She could just be a kid that wants attention. I mean, what kid doesn't? And it leads to a story that feels like those classic fairy tales, but has modern spins on it, so it feels timeless. Speaking of the other mother, The Other Mother is referred to as the beldam by the ghost kids, which means an old woman or witch, and commonly back in the day on Halloween, what kids would do is they'd find the beldams house, and they'd have to go up to the door and knock and run away, kind of thing, which is some interesting history about that. But in the context of Coraline, what do you think the beldam is?
Unknown Speaker 17:55
In all honesty, when I first heard heard the name, I My immediate thought was something that had to relate to, like 1800s London or whatever, because you have the Belgium, and to me, at least, it sounds more like a London ish name, because it's an ancient creature. It's an old creature. And the way on how I or how this can be interpreted, there's not really, there's technology, but it's not technology, if that makes any sense. It's not newer tech. It's all older tech, whether it's the praying mantis and what is technology that back then, people perceived as technology that would happen in the future or whatever, but it was all kind of like more so engineering, rather than like laptops or this teleportation device, it was all kind of like old timey tech, which is why I think it's a little bit like London, but older or whatever. Oh,
Unknown Speaker 18:51
I actually have a differing opinion on that. I think that, I think that beldum is like a cryptid, like an American kind of cryptid that's like in the the Pacific Northwest kind of area, because it takes place in Oregon. Coraline takes place in Oregon, and it the beldam Reminds me of creatures such as like Mothman, or many of the other American mythology creatures. And so I just, I think the beldam is also links back to the to England and to Europe, like you were saying with the tale of hubris things, because a lot of grims Fairy Tales came from London, came from England, and were meant to like, hey, children, you should behave. This is a story that tells you you should behave. And I think it's kind of a mix of the two of the the tale of hubris and the American cryptid, making a really interesting villain.
Unknown Speaker 19:41
One thing I think some people might look over is the fact that the beldam at like the very end, starts to take the appearance of a spider, and instead of like this whole world she's made, it's kind of deteriorated into this web, like this web that Coraline, she gets stuck on the web, and. And the web vibrates, and that's how the beldam knows where to go. So it's just a weird thought that the beldam is this spider cryptid that's trapped in a weird dimension that she can only formulate based on the like power behind the eyes she gathered, or behind the imagination of children.
Unknown Speaker 20:26
Yeah, I think that's really interesting. And the fact that in the towards the climax of the movie, she's caught in her web, and her web is untangling, it's like, it's very much like how a spider catches a fly. They like lure them in, and then once they're caught, they can't escape, and that's very similar to how the other mother does stuff with a few things that are different, because the other mother makes the kids want to stay there, and that's how they get trapped, which harkens back to the Grimms fairy tale kind of side of that.
Unknown Speaker 20:59
One thing I would like to point out is so my mind, just like I don't remember initially, what you had said about the beldum. How ever, uh, turns out it is actually a 17th century Roman folklore, and it is supposed to be an ugly forester, which who will hunt, who will haunt and eat unwary people wandering in the forest. Which is why they use this, because she also has shape shifting ability. I
Unknown Speaker 21:32
think there's some creative liberties taken with it, too. It's obviously not like adapted one for one, but the concept is adapted for the story, and it works really well in this story. I'm gonna transition right on to our next question, and it's the voice cast in any animated or stop motion movie. Voice caster super important. And Coraline has some stellar performances, such as Dakota Fanning as Coraline, Terry Hatcher as other mother, and Keith David as the cat. What can stellar voice acting add to an animated or stop motion movie?
Unknown Speaker 22:07
I would like to say that it just immerses the aspect. Because if you have good voice acting, you're gonna be more immersed because, oh, don't go in there. Coraline, whereas you have someone that kind of fits the character, like, Don't go in there. Coraline, like, if you have the voice match the character, I think it blends it really well. So you're not taken aback, but you're more so again, once again, with the whole music, you're immersed in the story. You're not thinking about how long is this movie? You're like, Ooh, this is a cool world. And you start to have favorite characters.
Unknown Speaker 22:40
I think we kind of talked about this aspect in the rango episode, and it was like, how, by the actors being, like, playing their animated character, they get more, like, a better performance out of it. And so like with this, the casting. It's really, like AJ said, it's really important to get a person who fits the vibe of the character, like, even, like, even though they could be of the same cow caliber in terms of acting ability, you need somebody who really fits him. That's
Unknown Speaker 23:17
one of the problems I have with like celebrity voice casting. Is sometimes when you celebrity voice cast, you get celebrities that don't match the character, and instead, kind of detract from the character, because you're distracted. You're like, Man, this is just the celebrities voice. I can't hear the character through this. And in Coraline, you don't really have that problem. I can hear each of the characters very clearly. And it's it just adds to the performances like the cat. Keith David did amazing as the cat, even if the cat didn't talk for a solid portion of the movie. Coraline is a fantastic protagonist, and of course, the amazing Mr. V has a great accent, has a great performance. And a lot of this can be attributed to both the cast, who are amazing, and director Henry salick, who did a great job on this movie, he did amazing on the art direction, did amazing on the performances, and it's just an awesome movie. All throughout I'm going to transition to some of our closing questions. So Coraline is packed with details. For those who are looking attentively defined. One such detail is that the garden, the other mother's garden, when Coraline is in the other world, looks like coralines face, but at the end of the movie, the garden in the real world shows the other mother's face like the other brother's true face. What are some other details that you found, or just some cool things that you picked up on throughout the movie. Okay,
Unknown Speaker 24:43
I remember, so I don't think I'm wrong about this, but in the very beginning, before the doll actually turns into Coraline, it's the exact same like figure or whatever, even though it's like mentioned, way later on, it's the exact same figure of. Uh, the beldams last victim, which we can see, is the ghost. That's really the only thing I can think of. And I mean, granted, I watched it last night so, and it was my first ever time. So I was trying to pick on details, but I'm sure I could maybe see some more later on. But other than that, I can't really think of anything else.
Unknown Speaker 25:20
Well, one detail I wanted to point out. One of the reasons I asked this question is the opening, and the opening holds up really well on rewatch. And because I've seen this movie a few times, the opening hits me a little bit different than it hits someone who's watching it for the first time. Because for the first time, it's just, oh, this is a really cool scene. A Doll's getting undone. It's getting made up in the image of our protagonist, who we're about to meet. But when you watch it for a second time, you're like, Oh, this is the beldam taking the doll that was the one that lured in the last ghost child and remaking it so that she can try and lure in another kid. This is literally the start of the narrative. This is the catalyst to everything that's about to go on.
Unknown Speaker 26:00
Yeah. So, okay. So coming from that, I searched up the rating for this movie, and it is PG, but the actual kind of content of the villain of the beldam is actually so disturbing, the fact that there are, like these three missing kids that have been eaten, basically, and now they're ghosts trapped in this prison. Is so disturbing, actually, for, I guess, kind of like a kids movie, basically, it's actually, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 26:35
yeah. It's quite a disturbing movie for a kid's movie, but it does remind me of, like, the kind of movies that kids would watch in the 80s, kind of thing, where PG ratings were definitely not what PG ratings would be today. And I, I think it adds a lot. I feel like there's still a lot kids can learn from Coraline. It's once, like we said before, a tale of hubris. It's a tale of, you know, the grass maybe may look greener on the other side, but once you're there. I mean, it may not be. So you've got to appreciate what you have. You can't be greedy kind of things very much those old fairy tale kind of vibes. And something else I wanted to bring up in terms of details, is how many cool, like, physical details there are in the sets. First of all, towards the end of the movie with the the snow is made from super glue and baking powder, which is super cool and gives it a lot of texture. There was one crew member that was hired to knit mini sweaters for the characters, which I think is adorable, but also super tedious. And the amount of sets, there are over 130 sets built. And it took up 4.22 acres of like, land, which is crazy for a stop motion movie. It took them, like, two years to film, but it's, it's such an amazing movie. There's so much attention to detail, and we're gonna get into any closing remarks that we have on the movie before we wrap up for
Unknown Speaker 27:56
today. Uh, definitely an amazing movie. You should watch it like right now. Rewatch it. I don't care. This was my first ever time, and it blew me away. It was an amazing movie. So watch it right now. Go.
Unknown Speaker 28:10
You great movie. I'm gonna give it a solid 8.5 out of 10.
Unknown Speaker 28:19
Solid nine,
Unknown Speaker 28:20
solid nine, solid
Unknown Speaker 28:21
nine over here as well. I
Unknown Speaker 28:23
don't, I don't really, I don't really want to do ratings on this show. Personally, you guys can, but for me, I just kind of want to say I recommend it. I definitely think that you should watch it and form your own opinion on it. It's a great piece of art, and I think all the movies we've watched so far, we've basically recommended. They've all been pretty good movies, so I think we're gonna have to start getting into some stinkers. But that's all the time we have for today, folks. And remember, never trust the other mother, or you might up. You might end up never leaving. Thank you so much, and we'll see you next week.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai