Coraline

Coraline is a feature length, stop-animation film based on the children's book of the same name. Originally written by Neil Gaiman and adapted under director Henry Selick for the purpose of the movie, the story is about a young girl named Coraline who is ignored by her busy parents. After moving into a new house she discovers a small door containing a tunnel leading to a house that seems identical to her own. These assumptions are short lived after Coraline meets her 'Other Mother' and 'Other Father' along with the improved, fun and entertaining house. At first this new world seems perfect until she's asked to replace her eyes with buttons. After rejecting the offer the world around her starts to deteriorate and show it's true colours, once Coraline has left this world behind something terrible happens, her parents have disappeared. Following the sighting of her parents in a mirror Coraline knows exactly where they are. Now Coraline has to go back to her other mother and find a way to win them back.

In terms of mise-en-scene. In reality Coraline's house is very dim, it is portrayed with dull shades of white, grey and brown exacerbated by low-key lighting. The Kitchen seems barren of food and the bedroom features very few home comforts such as a photo of friends and a string of birds around Coraline's bed. Her father’s office is full of unpacked boxes and a dated computer on which her father is droning away with bags under his eyes to show how tired he is. All of these contribute to the very dim outlook on their life. As night time arrives the rooms become very dark using chiaroscuro lighting. To show the connection between the real house and the 'other house' Coraline goes through a tunnel consisting of entrancing purple and blue lighting, almost as if to show that something magic is happening.

In contrast to the real house, the 'other' house feels a lot more "homely", the kitchen is full of food and flowers while the other mother is cooking a roast "just in