From Page to Screen:

A Comparison of Coraline’s Book and Movie Adaptations

Abstract:

The British novelist Neil Gaiman started writing Coraline (see fig. 1) in 1990, which ended up being published by Bloomsbury (UK) and HarperCollins (US) in 2002. The book ended up winning 3 awards in 2003 (Coraline, Awards and Grants). The 2009 animation adaptation, written and directed by Henry Selick (see fig. 2), became very popular as well. I remember watching this movie in my childhood and getting swept up in the fantasy world of Coraline. Later, when I was a teenager, I read the original novel by Gaiman, and although it was a short book (only 210 pages), I was once again enthralled by the dark fantasy and horror elements of it. The overall theme, narrative and visuals of both the book and the movie made a permanent mark in the way I view art and illustration, which is why I chose this topic to dive into. This essay will compare the two creations, focusing on different elements of style, design, color and narrative.

Fig. 1. Dave McKean cover for Coraline by Neil Gaiman, 2002. Published by Bloomsbury and HarperCollins.

Fig. 2. LAIKA Studios, Coraline directed by Henry Selick, 2009.

The story of Coraline begins when she and her parents move into an old apartment building during the summer break. One day, while exploring the house, she discovers a small, locked door, and becomes very curious about it. Then, one night, she finds the door open and enters through it, passing a strange hallway and arriving at "the other place": an exact replica of her house, but everything that Coraline hates about it is now interesting and exciting. She also meets her "other parents", who are nice and have time to play with Coraline, unlike her real ones. These new parents, although on the surface a dream come true to the girl, want Coraline to stay forever with them. According to a review by The Guardian, Neil Gaiman "made it scary in a very succinct manner and still his book tells a fascinating story that is both weird and wonderful at the same time" (Reporter, The Guardian).

Illustrated by Dave Mckean, the original book images have an expressionist, gothic style, marked by McKean's weird and unusual artwork (see fig 3, 4, 5 and 6) (Cook, 24). When asked what kind of materials he uses, Mckean said that "if the story needs close storytelling and a light, simple style of narrative, then probably pen and ink, or brushpen, or pencil would be best." (FAQ, Dave Mckean) This was the case for his illustrations in Coraline, as those are marked by fine ink drawings filled with details and expression, contributing to the unsettling tone of the novel (Cook, 24). Having worked with Gaiman in previous projects such as Black Orchid and Good Omens, Neil described him as "the most artistically talented person I had ever encountered", and that people were "astonished at the simple elegance of his pen-and-ink drawings" (Neil Gaiman on Dave McKean).

Fig. 3. Untitled, Dave Mckean illustration from Coraline, page 63. Bloomsbury 2002 edition.

Fig. 4. Untitled, Dave Mckean illustration from Coraline, page 46. Bloomsbury 2002 edition.

Fig. 5. Untitled, Dave Mckean illustration
from Coraline, page 4. Bloomsbury 2002 edition.

Fig. 6. Untitled, Dave Mckean illustration
from Coraline, page 4. Bloomsbury 2002 edition.

Fig. 7. LAIKA Studios "Behind the Scenes of Coraline.” Laika Studios, www.laika.com.

Fig. 8. LAIKA Studios "Behind the Scenes of Coraline.” Laika Studios, www.laika.com.

Fig. 9. LAIKA Studios "Behind the Scenes of Coraline.” Laika Studios, www.laika.com.

Fig. 10. LAIKA Studios "Behind the Scenes of Coraline.” Laika Studios, www.laika.com

As for Selick's movie adaptation produced by Laika, it combines stop-motion animation techniques with modern
3D art, which was getting popular by the early 2000's (J. McLean). The overall production lasted over 4 years, and the crew had over 500 people. Everything in the movie was made by hand, from the complex background scenarios (see fig. 7) to the tiny hand- crafted knitwear (see fig. 8) of the characters and multiple pairs of 3D-printed hands and facial expressions (see fig. 9). To create the 3-D effect, the director used a double-camera technique, shooting each part of the scene with two different cameras (see fig. 10) and then combining the footage (LAIKA Studios).

The Japanese visual designer for the movie, Tadahiro Uesugi, explained in his interview with Bill Desowitz that he was given a lot of control over the design choices, and apart from telling him which images from the book he had to translate into the movie, Selick gave him a lot of creative freedom. He first made the characters designs based on the Japanese version of the book and was told to specifically not make it based on the original illustrations by Dave McKean. Then, with direction and resources, he designed setups and backgrounds for the conceptual art of the movie (see fig. 11 and 12). In the same interview, Tadahiro talks about his influences being Graphic Designs from 1950 to 1960, including the Walt Disney 101 Dalmatians production (Uesugi and Desowitz).

When talking about the differences between the book illustrations and the movie, color seems to be a very important element that sets them apart. In McKean's work, he refers to Victorian and Gothic Children's literature style, with black and white pen drawings that reject conventional linear perspective and set the tone of the story (Cook, 23). His harrowing illustration of Coraline's shadow (see fig. 5) fits the description of McKean's "striking, edgy black and white illustrations" (Evans). Although it is hard to notice in the original illustrations by Dave McKean because of the artist's choice of drawings in black and white, the importance of color in the story of Coraline does not get dismissed if one reads the book. In the chapter in which she stays the night in her "other bedroom", Gaiman wrote the follow passage:

"It was different from her bedroom at home. For a start it was painted in an off- putting shade of green and a peculiar shade of pink. Coraline decided that she wouldn’t want to have to sleep in there, but that the color scheme was an awful lot more interesting than her own bedroom. (Gaiman, 30)"

It explains the message then, even without the aid of the illustrations being colorful. This way, it is left to the reader's imagination to visualize the other world.

Alternatively, Selick's use of color in the movie is very intentional. The striking difference between the "real world" (where Coraline lives) and the "other world" is marked by the color scheme of the different scenes (see fig. 14). In the real world, the landscape, buildings and even the city are marked by a dull color, mostly gray, dark green, and brown. The only thing that seems to bring life to these scenes are the characters themselves and their clothes. In contrast, the other world seems to be "extremely alive and colorful" (Torres-Fernández), bringing a sense of comfort and warmth to both Coraline and the viewer. This helps with the psychological tricks the other mother uses to invite Coraline to the other world, since it is everything Coraline feels like she lacks in her real life.

Fig. 11 Tadahiro Uesugi concept design for Coraline,
www.awn.com/animationworld/tadahiro-uesugi-talks-coraline-design.

Fig. 12 Tadahiro Uesugi concept design for Coraline,
www.awn.com/animationworld/tadahiro-uesugi-talks-coraline-design.

Fig. 13 Magic Garden from Coraline, LAIKA Studios.
Directed by Henry Selick, 2009.

One scene that really shows the magical sense of the other world is the Garden scene, which in contrast of the dull and gray garden in the character's real life, it has very colorful and crazy plants that shine bright red, yellow, purple and blue lights (see fig 13). It was the most difficult scene to film of the entire movie, because it included hundreds of handmade flowers with their own light sources (LAIKA studios). In interview, Selick says “I really wanted to have a lot of atmosphere, which is a hard thing to do with stop-motion, I wanted the world and the characters to feel alive” (Thompson and Selick).

Lastly, it is worth mentioning that there is a difference in the way images are perceived by the reader/viewer in the two works. As mentioned, McKean's work had a lot of Victorian and Gothic references, and one important aspect of it is the role of drawing in context of the text (Cook, 23). The illustrations in the book have the purpose of helping the reader to visualize new fantastic worlds, a common trait with said Victorian literature. That is, these illustrations appear mostly in the beginning or end of each chapter, and not in alignment with the actions themselves.

This causes a disconnection between image and text, setting once again the weird narrative tone of the book (Cook, 23). Concerning the movie, the images have a far more present and immediate role since they are the most important source for the visualization of the story. Adding to that is the "spooky and seductive" (Focus Features) soundtrack and voice acting of the characters, led by actress Dakota Fanning who voices Coraline.

To summarize, both the novel written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean, and the movie adaptation directed by Henry Selick have strong visuals that overlap and diverge from each other. The dark, edgy and creepy drawings by McKean add discomfort and weariness to the reading experience, aiding the book to achieve its influence as a Gothic novel. Selick's stop-motion attentiveness to detail and construction created a one-of-a-kind film with strong care for color and unit, simultaneously being a translation of the book, but also having its own artistic approach to the story.

Fig. 14 Shots from Coraline, LAIKA Studios. Directed by Henry Selick, 2009.

Sources

Cook, Malcolm. Drawing Coraline: Illustration, Adaptation and Visuality. Bloomsbury Collections, 2021.

Coraline. Directed by Henry Selick et al., LAIKA studios, 2009.

Coraline, Awards and Grants. www.ala.org/awardsgrants/content/coraline. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.

Evans, Scott. “Dave Mckean.” Scott Evans Illustration Blog, 2009, sevans123.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/dave-mckean. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.

FAQ – Dave Mckean. www.davemckean.com/personal/faq.

Focus Features. “An Interview With Coraline Composer Bruno Coulais.” Focus Features, 2009, www.focusfeatures.com/article/an_interview_with_coraline_composer_bruno_coulais. Accessed 9 Dec. 2022.

Gaiman, Neil, and McKean. Coraline. Bloomsbury, 2002.

LAIKA studios. Coraline. www.laika.com/our-films/coraline. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.

McLean, Thomas J. “On The Set With ‘Coraline’: Where the Motion Doesn’t Stop.” Animation World Network, 2008, www.awn.com/animationworld/set-coraline-where-motion-doesnt-stop. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.

Neil Gaiman on Dave McKean. www.neilgaiman.com/Cool_Stuff/Essays/Essays_By_Neil/Neil_Gaiman_on_Dave_McKean. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.

Reporter, Guardian Staff. “Coraline by Neil Gaiman - Review.” The Guardian, 20 Sept. 2017, www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/apr/26/review-coraline-neil-gaiman. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.

Thompson, Anne, and Henry Selick. “‘Coraline’: Henry Selick on the Fantastic Garden.” IndieWire, 2009, www.indiewire.com/2009/03/coralines-selick-on-the-fantastic-garden-186727. Accessed 9 Dec. 2022.

Torres-Fernández, J. Javier. The Story of Coraline(S): A Gothic Coming of Age. University of Almería, 2021.

Uesugi, Tadahiro, and Bill Desowitz. “Tadahiro Uesugi Talks ‘Coraline’ Design.” Animation World Network, 2009, www.awn.com/animationworld/tadahiro-uesugi-talks-coraline-design. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.

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