I love this scary movie. It can be too spooky for some kids, but it’s based on a delightful children’s book by Neil Gaiman. Part of the Spooky is a gift of the talented director, Henry Selick, known for Nightmare Before Christmas. Coraline’s definitely a great movie for an October night, but you can enjoy the redemptive elements in the story any time of year!
Like many stories, it starts with moving into a new house. Coraline’s parents move the family to a quiet little town where they can work on their book without distraction. They don’t have time to explore with their daughter, or to prepare decent food or even to talk to her. Coraline starts to feel like she’s being ignored (she is). In many ways she is dissatisfied with the life she lives. When the neighbor boy, Wybie (why be born) gives her a doll that looks just like her, things start to change and she is able to leave the real world and go to the Other World where everything is exactly how Coraline wants it to be. Most importantly, her Other Mother gives her undivided attention (and yummy food).
We are often dissatisfied with our lives, and with good reason. We live in a fallen world. Nothing in this world can really satisfy our inner-most desires. But, we try. Oh how we try to satisfy longings with food, play things… money. Biblically, this stuff is called “Mammon”. It’s anything we desire to satisfy ourselves that isn’t God. Other Mother is a lot like Satan, promising us whatever we think will make us happy, and encouraging us to believe that these things WILL satisfy us. (BTW, he’s lying, Just like Other Mother.)
She later finds out that the Other Mother is actually a beast called “The Beldam” who traps children’s souls by stealing their eyes. The Other Mother abducts her parents and traps them in an attempt to further encourage her to give up her eyes. It is implied that the Beldam uses the life force of the kids to sustain herself.
Satan has a vested interest in seducing us to focus on what we’re “missing out on”, he wants to keep us away from God. Why? Because he is jealous of us. Just like Other Mother, Satan will not play fair, he will lie, and none of his promises are worth anything.
Coraline offers herself as a prize in a challenge with the Beldam and is eventually able to save her parents as well as the souls of some children who were held by the Beldam, sealing the passage between our world and the Other World. Coraline then throws the key into a deep well, to protect other children from ever getting caught in the Beldam’s web.
Jesus sacrificed Himself on the Cross to save us. Christ overcame Satan and Death on our behalf. Additionally, Jesus said He holds the key to Hell and Death. One Day Satan will be locked away in the Abyss with all who followed him, and never be able to deceive anyone away from God, the only One that can satisfy our desires.
Discussion Questions:
- Do you ever feel neglected or less important than other people, like Coraline did?
- The other mother offers Coraline the life she always wanted, but asks for something in return. If Coraline had said “yes” to the button eyes, do you think Other Mother would have really let her have everything she promised?
- Have you ever wanted something so much that you might even do something wrong just to have it? Many times our hearts tell us we need something that we don’t really need. It may even be Satan whispering to our soul. Satan offers us things we want, but they always come at a cost. What does Satan want from us? (Jer. 17:9, Matt. 4:1-11)
- Coraline’s parents made some mistakes, such as ignoring her feelings and desires. God never ignores us. He wants us to be happy more than our parents do, and he will not keep good things from us. Do you know that He gave us the greatest thing ever? Jesus is the fulfillment of all of our desires and the comforter of all our hurt feelings. (Matt. 7:11 , Phillipians 4:19)
- Just as Coraline held the key to the Other World, Jesus has the key the hell and death, meaning He is in control and we do not have to worry. (Rev. 1:17-18)