Coraline

Button eyes, a suspiciously perfect mother, and a tunnel that definitely should have been left alone. This week we riff on Henry Selick’s stop-motion nightmare-fuel masterpiece, in which a bored kid discovers that the grass is always greener in the Other World, mostly because it’s being grown by a soul-eating arachnid with a sewing hobby.

We cover the things the movie asks us to ignore: why Coraline’s parents have apparently never heard of a “work-life balance,” how the Pink Palace Apartments passed any kind of inspection, and why no adult in this film ever says “maybe don’t go into the creepy door.” We also pay tribute to the Other Father’s surprisingly catchy musical number, and to the cat, who is the only competent person in the entire cast.

Grab your key, avoid anything made of buttons, and join us for a movie that proves childhood was never as safe as we remember.

How will Coraline hold up?

Directed by: Henry Selick Screenplay by: Henry Selick, based on the novella by Neil Gaiman Studio: Laika, released by Focus Features (2009) Music by: Bruno Coulais, with songs by They Might Be Giants

Voice cast:

• Dakota Fanning as Coraline Jones
• Teri Hatcher as Mel Jones / The Other Mother
• John Hodgman as Charlie Jones / The Other Father
• Keith David as The Cat
• Robert Bailey Jr. as Wybie Lovat
• Jennifer Saunders as Miss Spink
• Dawn French as Miss Forcible
• Ian McShane as Mr. Bobinsky