Both the book and film adaptations of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline are certainly worthy of the praise and fandom they’ve received since they’ve hit their respected shelves. Gaiman’s gruesome yet kid-friendly tale of a girl who discovers a parallel world in a secret room of her house has delighted and terrified readers for years, and so has the movie.
Bringing a book to the big screen is never an easy challenge, but Henry Selick did an excellent job with this stop-motion masterpiece. But how well does the adaptation hold up against the source? Which moments were better for the big-screen and which should have stayed in the book? Let’s open the door and find out.
Splendid on Screen: Other World
The other world in the book is almost identical to the one Coraline leaves behind, well… except for the people with the button eyes. Okay, visually it’s still the same but the inhabitants make it a world our heroine wants to return to. That’s all well and good, but we have to say it does far better with a visual enhancement.
The film’s version of the Other World makes the Pink Palace into a whimsical wonderland of treats and delights. It’s almost a complete opposite in terms of color, angles, and presentation. It’s a similar set, but not the world we leave behind.
Book is Better: Neil Gaiman’s Gift for Words
Just like a film brings us visual treats like the Other World’s creative designs, the original text has the advantage of Neil Gaiman’s wonderful writing to bring the story right off the page. If you’ve never experienced one of Neil Gaiman’s novels or comic books, we highly recommend his work.
Comparing a book to a movie can often be like apples and oranges, but considering the film in question, we’ll make an exception. A great deal of Gaiman’s touch carries over to this movie, but there are just certain elements (some of which make this list) that would just be a trifle difficult to put to film. Some things are better left on the page.
Splendid on Screen: The Beldam’s Spider Motif
We’ll keep things on an even field and say that both the written and the animated Beldam were terrifying in their own ways. The book version has a sort of elder/ancient monster vibe that really gives us the shakes, but the film’s use of spider-like imagery is both creepy and poetic in the sense she lures her victims into her trap.
The final battle with her in her wiry web definitely serves up a dish of nightmare-fuel and watching Coraline escape by climbing up the rungs definitely had us on edge. The book version had a slower burn, but this was just a really creative choice.
Book is Better: The Other Father
The Other Father is one of the most unsung characters in the book and the movie. While the film’s version is colorful, musical, and sympathetic, the book’s version definitely should have made it into screen-form but we can understand why he didn’t. It would be a bit over the top on the fear-factor.
In the book, the confrontation with the other father is equal parts sympathetic and sinister. We see him revealed for what he truly is, a misshapen puppet concocted by the Beldam. Though he feels remorseful even when trying to attack her, the deformed dough-like creature with melting features might be too much for some viewers.
Splendid on Screen: The Doll
Normally, we’re not the biggest fans of changing elements in the books to fit the feature film, but we’ll gladly make an exception for this one. The use of the doll as the Beldam’s spy/connection to the real world is not only incredibly creepy but creative as well.
Even from the title sequence, there’s an unnerving feeling that resonates with watching the doll be transformed from one person to another. It makes us think about how many times the doll has been used/reused for new victims. On second thought, we’d rather not think about that.
Book Did Better: No Wybie
We know we’re kinda taking a blow to the low hanging fruit of the movie, but we’re just going to say it. The main reason Wybie existed at all was just to provide exposition we might have figured out on our own. He’s not the worst way to get exposition, but did it really need an entire character?
Basically, if the audience paid attention during the opening sequence, they probably would have figured out that the doll was one of the ghosts and made the connection there. Call us picky, call us book snobs, but sometimes adding more takes away from a film’s beloved book.
Splendid on Screen: Bobinsky
One thing we will commend the film for expanding on has to be the Amazing Bobinsky. In the book, the character known as the Man Upstairs did have a legion of trained mice but seeing the film dive deeper into that idea and giving us the adorable mouse circus really blew our hair back.
They don’t call him amazing for nothing, ya know? Bobinsky’s character and performance by Ian McShane are absolutely infectious and delightful. His showmanship and eccentricities radiate from the tips of his toes to the points of his mustache and make us want to visit the circus again.
Book Did Better: A More Realistic Coraline
This one might be splitting a few fans, but we have to admit, the version of Coraline feels more realistic than she is on screen. Don’t get us wrong, Dakota Fanning’s portrayal of the blue-haired heroine is definitely a character we can get behind. But Gaiman’s original just feels more like a real girl than an animated character.
To put it bluntly, Coraline is more flawed in the book than she is in the movie but that’s what makes her relatable. She can be selfish, sweet, frightened, and fearless all over the course of the same book. She feels more natural and less like an animated heroine. Gotta give Gaiman some credit on this one.
Splendid on Screen: The Cat
If the movie got one thing 100% book-to-screen accurate, it was the Cat. The film’s version was definitely mangier, but just as mysterious as the one presented in the book. The fact that he’s voiced by the incomparable Keith David is just a cherry on our sundae.
The film definitely toys with what many of us were thinking during the book, playing with the Cat’s Cheshire Cat nature and giving us a dark Wonderland feeling while watching him vanish and reappear with a snarky quip to follow. What can we say but we adore Coraline’s feline friend?
Book Did Better: Foreboding Atmosphere
One thing the book did absolutely better than the movie was its chilling atmosphere. Right from when the rats make their first appearance in Coraline’s house, you already know that there’s something afoot. Once Coraline passes through the Other Door, it becomes a waiting game.
Right off the bat, Coraline and the readers can tell there’s something wrong with the Other World, but it’s the slow burn that gets us on edge. When the horror elements come into play, they’re all the more amplified because of the writer’s choice of pacing. The movie had it as a big reveal, but the book made it a waiting game.
