My 11 year old and his friends found this really scary!
Coraline
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Cool but creepy animated fantasy too scary for young kids.
Themes in this movie include: family relationships
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 9 and Up
The good stuff
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Role models:
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Coraline was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
Parents need to know that this movie will scare young kids. Slightly less creepy than the book on which it was based, the movie is still quite dark, and the "other" world that Coraline discovers turns into a frightening, dangerous place where she could very well die (and other ghost children already have). Your young kids may be interested in seeing the movie thanks to the massive marketing campaign, but this isn't an age-appropriate pick for them. This movie deals with mature themes -- being careful what you wish for, thinking the grass is always greener, and being disappointed in your parents -- that are best suited for tweens and up. Language is mostly insults (like "jerkwad" and "idiot"), and sexuality is limited to two scantily dressed elderly actresses in one memorable scene.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about the story's theme of wishing for a different, "better" life. Kids: Do you ever feel like Coraline? What about her parents made her initially prefer the Other Mother and Father?
- How do both Coraline and her parents change over the course of the movie?
- Do you think this movie is meant for little kids, or is it too scary?
Have you seen it? Review It!
More on Coraline
What’s the Story?
Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) is an only child who's unhappy about moving to a new house with her self-absorbed parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman), who are too busy working to spend any time with her. The other inhabitants of their building are an eccentric crew: Russian mouse-circus ringmaster Mr. Bobinksy (Ian McShane) and bickering actresses Miss Spink and Miss Forcible (Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French), who are about six decades past their prime. When Coraline (never CARoline) opens a small hidden door in her apartment, she discovers a secret passageway to a parallel other world where everything -- her parents, her house, her neighbors, her magical garden -- seems way better ... or is it? Eventually, Coraline's dream world reveals itself to be a frightening, perilous place.
Is It Any Good?
In CORALINE, director Henry Selick, a stop-motion master best known for The Nightmare Before Christmas, creates a magical, colorful nether-world that's also dark and disturbing. At first, in addition to offering Coraline attentive "Other" parents, the alternate universe boasts a dazzling garden and a fantastic circus and theater acts, courtesy of the Other neighbors. Coraline, along with the audience, gets swept into the magic -- but there's an unnerving edge to all of the perfection. Everyone has buttons for eyes, except for Coraline and a mysterious talking cat (Keith David) that warns Coraline that her Other Mother isn't as warm and loving as she seems.
The 3-D effects (Coraline is Hollywood's first 3-D stop-motion film) are cool without being overwhelming, and the story is a two-pronged cautionary tale -- for parents and kids not to take each other for granted, and for people not to dwell on whether the grass is greener, because it could all be a huge, horrifying charade. Coraline ultimately learns that sometimes imperfect, messy lives aren't always as bad as they seem. Considering how formulaic so many family movies are , Coraline is a refreshing and inventive film. While too intense for some tots, it's a memorable treat for families with thrill-seeking tweens and up.
Movie Details
Studio: Focus Features, Director: Henry Selick
Run time: 100 minutes
Theatrical release: 2/6/2009, DVD release: 7/21/2009
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor
Run time: 100 minutes
Theatrical release: 2/6/2009, DVD release: 7/21/2009
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor
Our Members Say
See all 196 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it
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I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
bro scared to death!
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Kinda creepy.
It's a good movie. Don't take anyone under 7.
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I rate this title off for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
Still having nightmares
Way creepy!
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I rate this title on for age 15 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Coraline lives in a twilight zone - too scary for the younger to watch in the cinema
I watched it in the cinema were movies have a bigger impact of course (comparing to TV/DVD etc). It is a scary idea there - this is about the twilight zone - you're not sure if Coraline is dreaming/having nightmares or whether this is her new reality... As an adult - I loved it. but my 9 years old daughter had nightmares after watching it and for few months refused to stay alone in her room! It is not the Language or the other usual stuff, it is the idea behind the story that freaked her out...
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I rate this title off for age 17 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Negative role models
Perfect for noone.
Hated it. not good for anyone alround.
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
SERIOUSLY 8 AND UP
i am 9 and its my 4th fave. movie. i love it. but my 6 year old sister got freaked out for months and we have to throw it away.seriously 8 and up,to prevent nightmares,and money wasted on little munchkins.THE NIGHTMARE EBFORE CHRISTMAS ROCKS!!!!!!
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
scary movie
This is good and kids 10 and under will find it atleast somewhat scary. The story is good and the movie fantastic!! There is lots of peril and scary images and situations plus some mild languge. But overall age apropreat for older kids.
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I rate this title off for age 7 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Negative role models
Frankly not a kids' film.... really quite scary
Very scary!!!! My child had nightmares, and so did I!! Very imaginative and surreal [for adults] in the vein of Jean-Pierre Jeunet or Tim Burton. But really should not have been marketed to children. Coraline finds her fake mommy ("Other Mother") through the tunnel in the wall who wants to sew buttons on Coraline's eyes (the ghosts of children she has done it to before lurk in a locked room), and she turns into a giant, terrifying spider. Logan's nightmares were about when "Other Father's" face started melting and drooling. I mean, hello!!?!
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My highlights are:
Creepy for a PG, but great!
Coraline is creepy, fun, imaginative, and cool! It starts off slow and weird, but then it gets better and better until the end, where it's great! It's not for kids because of it's scariness. It's surprisingly spooky because I thought it was going to be boring and bad. Boy, was I wrong! The "other mother" turns into this frightening creature at the end. Overall, anyone 9 or older should see Coraline, be creeped out, but also LOVE it!
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My highlights are:
Scary!
Great movie, although frightening. If under the age of 9 or 10, I suggest a parent watching the movie with the child. It has a bit of graphical incidents such as when the cat kills the mice. Here is my experience. ---- I started out excited because all I knew was it was supposed to be a good movie. I didn't know a thing about the plot. (I watched it in 3-D, at my house, fyi) My older sibling was just as excited to see it to and sat with me throughout the movie. It started out and the opening credits had a needle pop out at you, which scared me a bit. Then as the plot settled in, I was enjoyed but nervous, the movie had awkward silent 'exploration' moments in it which made my head soar with thoughts. Finally when it was over, I was tired, like always from sitting around in one position forever. I was also scared to be in a room by myself for the night. But I was all excited to read the book next.
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
Brilliantly imaginative!
Coraline is not for little kids. Even some older kids will likely be scared - the movie has a very ominous, dark atmosphere. It's almost a PG-rated horror movie. But if your kid isn't scared too easily, watch this with them! Creative, wild, and massively entertaining.
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I rate this title on for age 7 and give it
Okay for older kids, but younger kids might get scared
Loved this movie, and so did my 7 year old, but it freaked my 5 year old out just a little. Neil Gaiman is one of the best fantasy writers out there, and this movie is just as dark as his books.
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I rate this title iffy for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
...
I feel stupid right now, reading other reviews. At first, I got scared, then, after seeing the woman's face, I went from peepy to screepy. I was terrified, but I suddenly got used to mama spider. I chickened out in the beginnning, and wrote a review in the middle of the movie. I erased the whole thing except the first sentence. Then, I finished watching the whole movie, and felt glad that it finished. I used my copy book here to shield my eyes just in case something scary happened. My brother showed up, eight going nine, and shooed him away, not wanting him to go through the movie. I watched the movie because of Dakota Fanning! Or you can say that...I saw it on Box Office long time ago, and told myself I would watch it, but that is until I saw that Dakota Fanning voiced the main character. I went from happy to excited to gloomy to scared to terrified to relieved. Funny how much this movie puts on me.
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
perfect
perect!!! in my opioin that was the best animted movie that i have seen in years!!!!!
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
Okay for older children
I thought this movie was okay for my 8 year old, but I didn't like the name calling...i don't allow my child to call people ugly names. Other than that, nothing else really bothered me about it.
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I rate this title off for age 7 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Negative role models
good for older (9+) kids but not sutable for yonger ages.
I mistakenly let my 5 year old watch this movie when given to her by a friend. Although the movie was very well made. It is defenatly unsutable for children under 9. Very disturbing, morbid images and a storyline not condusive to a child younger than 9.
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I rate this title on for age 7 and give it
Loved this movie! We brought our 7 year old to see Coraline and initially were concerned that it would be too much. It was disturbing at times, she was definitely scared but in the end the lessons learned far outweigh the fright. We still make comments about and reference the lessons in that movie (like if you really want something that we have said "no" to, you can go stay with your "other parents") it made quite an impression on my child (in a good way.) Also that you can't always jude a book by it's cover. Sometimes people may look or be a bit odd but that may not be the whole story.
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I rate this title iffy for age 7 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Negative role models
This movie was overall very entertaining. the special effects were neat, however, the movie could be potentially frightening for young viewers. Usually your parents protect you from the villian, but in this movie, her mother is the villian! the other mother is creepy with the whole "button eyes" concept, and towards the end she turns into a spider thing with fangs and frayed hair (shiver.) It is also implied that she has killed three other children that Coraline meets the ghosts of. The sex is nothing throughout the movie, however, there is one particular scene which some parents may consider to be inappropriate for their children. These two women are performing an opera and they were stars over their top area, and a g-string. One of their outfits is based upon the famous "Birth of Venus" painting. Yikes! Overall an entertaining flick, if your kids are the right age.
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I rate this title iffy for age 7 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Negative role models
This movie was overall very entertaining. the special effects were neat, however, the movie could be potentially frightening for young viewers. Usually your parents protect you from the villian, but in this movie, her mother is the villian! the other mother is creepy with the whole "button eyes" concept, and towards the end she turns into a spider thing with fangs and frayed hair (shiver.) It is also implied that she has killed three other children that Coraline meets the ghosts of. The sex is nothing throughout the movie, however, there is one particular scene which some parents may consider to be inappropriate for their children. These two women are performing an opera and they were stars over their top area, and a g-string. One of their outfits is based upon the famous "Birth of Venus" painting. Yikes! Overall an entertaining flick, if your kids are the right age.
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Ratings at a Glance
| 59% | of parents say it's too violent |
| 35% | of parents say the sexual behavior isn't age appropriate |
| 27% | of parents don't think the messages are positive |
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