Coraline the movie is rated as PG meaning that some material is not intended for children. That being said, is Coraline really a movie for children? Coraline the movie is based on Neil Gaiman’s children’s novel and was adapted for the screen. The genre for the movie Coraline is one of many, from fantasy to animation as well as action and adventure. The movie cannot be placed in one specific category when it comes to its tone and the messages/themes that the audience receives from watching it. This movie is not suitable for children even though the ratings say otherwise. Coraline uses its creative cinematic features to allure children to watch the movie; however looking at the movie under a microscope it is evident that it is mostly creepy in its tone and far too sophisticated in its context and imagery for children.
Children films are known for being magical in their visual effects and colorfull. In class during discussion, there were some students who agreed that the movie is suitable because the children in this decade are used to watching fantasy like movies that contain a lot of special effects. Coraline is a character who goes through this door which can be called a portal and travels to a parallel universe like her own. At a glance this can be seen as a movie who is just exploring a child’s imagination. The new world that Coraline enters appears to be full of magic and contain everything a child could ever want. However, in order to stay in this world Coraline discovers that you must pay a price. Most children dream to have a world where everything is about them therefore an audience of children can connect to the main character in that sense but the price to pay is one that may be too inappropriate for a child to have to ponder on. The price was to allow her “other mother” to sew on buttons over her eyes. The thought of that alone can creep out anyone in regardless of how old you are. Although Disney movies illustrate a fantasy world for children, this movie does more than that. Coraline’s new world has parents who they themselves have buttons as eyes but that disturbing image is overlooked by the audience by the “generosity” illustrated by the parents. The movie contains a lot of eerie features that do not stand out all at once because it is covered up by other innocent features.
On the other hand the movie Coraline “alludes to other children classics” as pointed by the Christian Century. Coraline is a character who is like the children’s classic Pinocchio in the sense that they are tempted by superficial things. Some can argue that these similarities to other children films makes it an automatic film for children but the context in this movie is at a much more mature level. For example the “other mother” tempts Coraline with the opportunity at a life in this perfect world but the “other mother” underneath is a grotesque figure who has needles to take out the eyes of kids. A character in Coraline parallel universe has his mouth stitched up which keeps him from talking and forces him to always smile. The movie is clearly full of gore but it isn’t obvious from the beginning of the movie. Reason being that the picture is truly beautiful and artistic. The stop animation can make for a unique children’s film but this one is not the case.
Coraline enters her parallel universe because as she calls herself, she is an explorer, she also gets bored easily and her parents are too busy to play with her. These are things to which are relatable to children. Most children have at one point or another gone up to their parents like Coraline to tell their parent that their bored. Most kids have wished to have things differently like being able to eat what they want but only because kids can relate to these things, it does not mean that the movie should be under children’s film. Instead it should be PG13 for adolescents and older.
This movie is crafty at creating a realm in which imagination s endless. There is a scene that seems harmless, it is when the ghosts of children appear and ask Coraline for help. At first they seem like just ghosts or angels that are in another realm but in reality it is their souls that have been trapped by the evil ways of the “other mother.” Ultimately the price to pay for a life away from the real life is ones soul. Why would a child be allowed to have to sit through a movie that talks about their soul? It is understandable that PG means that some content is not for children but what if the basically the entire movie is full of frightening scenes? There is more than what meets the eye in this movie because these scene are more than just frightening. It is not ok to have buttons as eyes. Why buttons is a good question, it may be because buttons are things that kids loose all the time from their clothes. It may be that since dolls sometimes use buttons as eyes that it makes it seem innocent and all in good humor for characters as so to exist in the movie. Underneath this spectacular piece of cinema art, there is also a movie that is most suitable for a more mature audience.
Coraline conveys important life lessons for any child to receive but it can do so in a less errie manner. It is obvious that one of the several morals from the story is that children should be grateful for their family. Although this is a great lesson for children, they do not need to be frightened into appreciating their own family. In the scene when Coraline comes home and escapes the other world and is lying in her parents’ bed without them, we feel as the audience feels for Coraline. Poor little girl is lying in bed hoping she was with her parents. They aren’t there anymore because of the villains in the story. In reality a child would be scared out of their mind to come home to an empty house where their parents aren’t coming home because their trapped somewhere else. This scene would be inappropriate for a child because children are completely dependent on their parents. Being home alone would make a child get sad and worry and they would probably not know what to do at first. Chances are they wouldn’t have gotten the idea and bravery that Coraline got to save her parents. A child in real life might call the police might not; they would most likely not just go sound asleep like Coraline did. Scaring a child to teach them that family is important because they might not be there one day and you will end up alone in your home is not the correct approach for children. Granted this scene showed courage and bravery from the heroine of the movie and it also showed that Coraline realized her mistakes but nonetheless it was inappropriate.
There is debate among parents and movie goers whether Coraline is suitable for kids, some say it depends on the child. Others can argue that the movie is all science fiction. Although the arguments have a truth to them, overall it is safe to say that any child that sees this movie will be introduced to much more than just an imaginary world. Instead, questions will arise about complex subjects that some children are simply too immature to handle in their young age. It is not to insult the intelligence of a child but to wait for the right time to introduce them to scary movies that depict childhood differently from what it really is like. Overall, Coraline is not a movie for kids. The character conveys an interesting child who is an explorer and the hero of the story but it all occurred over chilling scenes.

Analysis

The Lion King is a children’s film which was based on the epic Shakespearean tale of Hamlet. Hamlet is not a story that can be interpreted entirely into children’s literature nor film because it encompasses the entire make up of a tragic love story, a revenge tragedy full of murder and an ending that most children would not like. To begin our analysis we notice that the Lion King has characters that are all animals and it is a Disney film that tells us that it was meant for children. However in Hamlet, the characters besides being humans are all adults. None of the dramatis personae were ever children in any part of the story.

Looking deeper at both works we see that the beginning itself starts on different tones. The tone in the book Hamlet comes off as one that is creepy and a bit scary because the line in Act I Scene I says “Tis struck twelve,” at midnight it is dark and most people are sound asleep and if you are not then something must be occurring that is out of the norm. In the movie, the sunrise is occurring and the ceremony for the king’s son presentation is taking place. There is a clear distinction into the type of story that will take place right from the beginning.
However throughout the movie the Lion King it s evident that it adapted parts of the story Hamlet. For starters both are stories about a King and each king loses their life. In the movie, Scar the brother of Mufasa the king plots his killing to take over his throne. Scar framed Simba into making him think that he killed his father. There is murder in the movie but to a lesser degree than in Hamlet. In Hamlet in Act II Scene 2, Hamlet puts on a play called “murder of Gonzago” as a test to see if his uncle did indeed kill his father. This is not the only part of the story where a murder takes place. In total 6 people are killed. In the Lion King Mufasa’s death lead to the rest of the storyline but that is the only killing that takes place. Simba the main character for which all the kids root for and are hoping will get his happy ending does not kill anyone. At the end of the movie Simba has the opportunity to kill Scar and take his revenge in that way however he instead just fights and then lets him go. ON the contrary Hamlet takes every opportunity he gets to kill Claudius and ends up killing others instead. Hamlet doesn’t just kill Claudius but he thinks about it carefully because in Act III Scene III Hamlet could’ve killed him but he notices that he is praying and does not want to kill him and send him straight to heaven. The mindset and plotting that went on in Hamlet is another level than in the Lion King.
The plot of the Lion King includes several songs and most of the characters are Simba’s allies and do not end up betraying him. For example Scar and the hyenas are made clear from the beginning that they are against Simba. In this film since it is a children’s story, the characters are not as complex as the ones in Hamlet. Simba has several friends in the movie who all help him gain his throne. For instance the character Rafiki helps Simba see why he should return home to Pride Rock. On the other hand Hamlet has several friends at one point in the story but by the end only Horatio stays true to him and to how Hamlet chooses to handle the choices coming his way. In the Lion King children can see how friends are good and stay true to each other but in Hamlet since the audience is not children, there is a lot of betrayal among the characters even if they were friends at one point or another.
There is an evident similarity between Hamlet and Simba and that takes place in the scenes where they speak to their dead father. For Simba it is when he meets Rafiki and Rafiki leads him to a pond where Simba sees his reflection and denies seeing his father. However then he looks again and it’s his Father who then gives him instructions. Likewise, Hamlet speaks to his father but it appears as a ghost but he too gives him instructions. Mufasa tells Simba to return home and take his place back as king and Hamlet in Act I Scene IV listens to his father’s instructions which is to avenge his death but to go easy on his mother. Hamlet and Simba each chose to follow their father’s direction and go on their quest to fulfill their dead father’s requests.
The ending ends in each of theses pieces of work differ and at the same time they have several commonalities. For example both Hamlet and Simba completed their mission. However, Hamlet dies along the way and does not gain his right as the heir to the throne. He looses his life, he lost his lover Ophelia, his mother died and several characters who started off as his friends passed away as well. On the other hand the Disney film the Lion King does have a happy ending. Simba regains his throne, his kingdom is completely given back to him and to his love Nala. They live happily ever after with a daughter and the evil character his uncle Scar is kicked out of Pride Rock. Hamlet proves itself to be a revenge tragedy.
Overall we can clearly distinguish how the Lion King was indeed based off of Hamlet. Of course it was modified for its audience which are children but there were evident pieces from Hamlet in the plot of the Lion King. The Lion King had villains but the main character lives happily ever after and Hamlet begins with an eerie tone and ends in a murder. Hamlet is undoubtedly too complex of a story for children. Disney censored the Lion King to fit all the broad components that Hamlet contained like a love story but it is no Shakespearean tale.

             For the group presentation Coraline, each person in the group did their part to make up the entire time we spent presenting it to the class. Personally, from having read the story and coming to understand just how interesting of a character the little girl Coraline was, I decided to come up with the opening of the group presentation. Having each one of our classmates describe Coraline in one word I thought would be a fun easy way to engage everyone into the rest of our presentation. Each one of us in the group had to come up with our own question to present and the supporting details from the book and or movie to add one to the discussion. The purpose of my question was to bring together all the stories we’ve read. Each character, specifically every girl had a motive/motives for going through the portal, therefore it was an insightful discussion item. I also helped in brainstorming the format of our presentation, we didn’t want to seem repetitive since the story was relatively short, and we did our best on really focusing on discussion items that didn’t overlap one another.

       The Wizard of Oz is a story for all ages. Both the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the Film Wizard of Oz has grabbed the hearts of fans everywhere no matter how many years have passed since the book and movie were made. However the resolution in each of these two items does can portray reasons for why some fans may prefer the book or vice versa the movie instead of the book.
        In the film Wizard of Oz, Dorothy has quite an adventure when she gets caught up in the tornado and then ends up in a new Land. From there she meets the Good witch and learns a lot about herself in her journey to the Wizard. Towards the end she decides that she wants to go home and visits the Wizard. Once she meets the Wizard and defeats the bad witch the movie is basically done. The Wizard decides to help her get home. However, of course like any storyline the first option of leaving easily in a hot air balloon does not work out. The Good witch returns and asks Dorothy to tell her what she has learned before sending her home. With her slippers Dorothy wakes up in a matter of seconds back at home.
The solution to Dorothy getting home doesn’t take so many twists and turns, the movie would’ve probably been too long If it included all the extra parts that the book has before Dorothy gets home. The ending in the movie seems more appropriate for the screen because viewers always want a happy ending without so many problems behind it. I’m sure the audiences enjoyed the Hollywood version of this story because it adds on to the imagination where all you have to do if you want to get to your favorite place is simply by tapping your heels together and saying “there’s no place like home…” The film offers just as many great morals/themes as the book but it also does not overdo the process to the happy ending unlike the book.
       The book offers many more obstacles for Dorothy to cross even after the Bad Witch is defeated and after she meets with the Wizard. Young readers get a much more realistic version of this story in the book than in the film due to its length of reaching home. We all know that in real life we can’t simply tap our shoes together to get to where we want to be in life and it’s a journey to get there and it takes determination. The book’s resolution did a greater job in portraying this to its audience. Nonetheless fans of this story will never exhaust from reading and watching all the remakes of the Wizard of Oz.

I have always been a fan of most of the Disney movies. When I was a little girl I enjoyed watching the animation in the Disney movies. The colors, the animation and the storyline fascinated me. After all what little girl didn’t dream about being able to be a princess and live happily ever after. However when it came to the Disney movie Alice, I never quite understood the purpose of it. I liked the tea cup scene because that is actually one of my favorite rides at Disneyland; however this movie was not one that I wanted to watch as a teenager or much less an adult because it confused me as a child. Most of the Disney female characters were those who I liked but Alice never was one that I cared much about until now that I have seen both the older Czech version and the Disney version.
The two versions of the Lewis Carroll Alice both depict a curious little girl who is willing to explore just about anything that comes here in this adventure into another world. In the Czech version she tasted the cookies and a liquid that would either make her grow taller or change into a miniature size. Even though that kept occurring, she continued eating it and tasting it. In the Disney movie in the tea cup setting the same thing keeps happening to her who is that she has to move around the table and she never gets to drink her tea yet she keeps trying and trying. Both of these scenes show the same type of Alice, one that is curious, kind of naïve, a little girl who isn’t quite sure about what she has gotten herself into.
Although the character development is similar, the setting and tone of each movie is significantly different. For example in the Czech version, the setting is oppressive with the crummy and rusty objects. The setting sets a tone that is peculiar in an eerie way. The objects such as the floor and table and walls are all rusty and the colors are dark, this is a movie that would not attract children to the theater to watch unlike the Disney movie that brought in children as an audience. The Disney movie has a setting that has several things going on at once. There is never a scene where it is only Alice and another character, whether it is the constant outpour of tea or the colors flashing in the background, the tone is one that is colorful and grabs the eyes of the audience. The tone and setting make up for the strange storyline where the audience is completely distracted looking at the images that in a way it doesn’t even matter if the story makes sense. Overall although now I understand the background of the story Alice and the fascination behind wanting to make it into a movie, it is still one that I will never completely understand.

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