Coraline vs Alice in Wonderland

I was recently on youtube watching someone's analysis of Coraline when I noticed something I probably should have eons ago. Coraline is very similar to Alice In Wonderland. They are both about young girls on the cusp of turning into teenagers that venture into this "rabbit-hole" of types into another, very fantastical world. Eventually they realize that the things they once thought amazing and incredible are dark and evil. Then, there is an escape from the distorted ideal, back into the real world that they now so badly want to return to (sounds very Wizard of Oz, too, doesn't it?). Coming-of-age stories are about accepting things and moving on with them. I think that Coraline is a good coming-of-age story, because it is a tad creepy, but our main character is brave. She learns that she should appreciate the things that she has, but she isn't shamed for her mistakes. She starts out a strong character, unlike Alice who can't seem to make decisions and relies on others for drive and help. They are similar stories with very different main characters (might this have to do with the time periods they were applied to? Perhaps).
It was very fascinating for me to consider these comparisons between the two films. What do you all think?

Comments

  1. pajama partyNovember 23, 2018 at 2:07 PM

    This is a really interesting connection! Most traditional Hollywood fare tends to recycle the same plot line to appeal to a general audience, because mass audiences gravitate towards what is familiar. There are some films that are very good at hiding it though. For example, there is a great video how The Big Lebowski is actually a retelling of Alice in Wonderland too. The Cohen Brothers cleverly hid the connections behind visuals and plot devices instead of just duplicating the story.

    Here is a link to the video:
    https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/22/big-lebowski-alice-in-wonderland_n_7421682.html

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  2. Sophia CalnanNovember 25, 2018 at 8:11 PM

    Wow. I have no idea how I have never noticed this before! I think that this is a great connection. It does make me wonder if that was the intention of the creators of Coraline and why they would want to do that rather than create something completely original. Additionally, if it really is based off of Alice in Wonderland, then could there maybe be some clues in the movie that hint to that that we may have never noticed before? It is definitely something to think about the next time I watch Coraline.

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