♛ I have chosen to analyse the wonderful animated movie, Coraline (2009). It's one of my all time favourites, I definitely reccomend it. Despite it being an animation, it managed to give me a few chills. (I analysed this in chronological order of the clip) ♛
When the sequence starts you can hear quite low notes of a piano being played and it gets louder each time which creates a sense of anticipation. Especially as we haven't seen any main footage from the film yet, just credits on a red background. Then we see the title of the movie- Coraline- appear and the music changes a little to let us know that the title is significant (as it should be). We can hear some sort of singing however the lyrics are unintelligible which adds to the mystery of the whole film. Furthermore it sounds like little children are singing the song which portrays the theme of innocence and childhood. As the music continues when the actors and actresses names are listed, it gets a little more eerie suggesting that the whole idea of innocence/childhood may end up being more twisted than we first imagined. This also builds up suspense as again we still haven't seen anything from the movie.
After the acting credits, we see a doll flying into a window and the background music seems to consist of symbols lightly clanging giving a magical feel, making the audience feel happy in a way. However then we see metal hands grab the doll which instantly puts things into retrospect. The twist to the innocence. In the background there is a soothing lullaby which again links with childhood and the doll could be symbolic of that. For most of the clip it has been non-diegetic music but now we start to hear some sound effects. We hear the scissors cutting the back of the doll. This seems significant as the film makers have singled out this particular noise. It makes us uncomfortable as not a lot of people would think about cutting up their doll. The sound effect compliments the visuals creating a near to sinister effect.
Although the lullaby is in the background, the music to the lullaby is quite metallic and unnatural which relates to the image of the metal hands we see. Something ordinary turned into something we are not accustomed to. The second sound effect we hear is when the mouth of the doll is being ripped open. This again makes us feel uncomfortable and rings alarms in our head, foreshadowing danger. The lullaby is playing throughout which puts a spin on everything. It either makes what happening seem innocent or makes us feel tense about what is happening and let's us know we shouldn't trust what's going to happen in the movie so easily. Probably the latter. The saw dust being poured into the doll is another diegetic sound and this takes us into the action as if we are there with the person making this doll. The music alters a little when the drawer of buttons is opened so this tells the audience that the buttons must be significant in the movie.This is also hinted at when we see the title of 'Coraline' and the 'o' is replaced with a button.
When the hair of the doll is being put on we hear a female humming and the audience will assume that it could be the person making the doll humming. It lets them know that she is a human but there is definitely something 'wrong' with her or something in general is out of place. It raises questions in their heads: who is she?, why is she doing this? etc. The sound of the pins being placed in the doll's dress is audible and quite unsettling. Then we hear the spinning of the thread which gives the whole work area an old fashioned feel which gives the audience clues about the movie. Right at the end when the doll is being flown out of the window, the music turns more eerie and suspenseful so we know that when the film actually starts we'll probably be seeing the doll again. Also we hear a dull thud when the window closes signifying the end of the title sequence.
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