Coraline reflection

The immediate difference between the two setups is the fact that in the movie we start with the puppet being made and sent off into the nothing as an unintelligible song plays. Then we have a moving vehicle being unloaded in the house and the camera moves over to where Coraline is searching for a well she’d heard about.

Compared with the novel, its much different, instead in the novel we are immediately in the house and Coraline is bored, watching TV and has already met the neighbors at this point.

Once again in the movie, it isn’t until after she meets the neighborhood boy that she explores the house, and even that scene is different. We also don’t meet the neighbors until the next day.

Both scenes have their merits but personally I prefer the way the movie has been set up even though Neil Gaiman still writes a beautiful opening. I think the animated movie really does the novel justice.