I get the thought process behind these theories but usually they can be explained by something very common- aesthetic. Having Coraline go to bed and waking up in her real room in the same position makes for a very pleasing time-lapse cut. Easier to animate. And having Coraline "walk around the globe" and having her come back to the front of the house is, again, just because it LOOKS nicer. This problem comes up a lot with movies in general- directors and editors just want pleasing aesthetics and then audience members take it as "oh that's wrong it has to mean something"

I read one theory regarding why Coraline returns home after falling asleep in the Other World: it's because she didn't reject the real world. Notice how the first two times she goes, it's at night and she thinks it's a dream, so she's not fully committed to the Other World. But the third time, she intentionally goes during the day in an act of rejecting her life in the real world... and thus cannot go back like she used to.

I think someone mentioned this in their theory but the Beldam doesn't just want their souls but the love of the children bc it's more powerful that way

I always thought the first two times Coraline went to the Other World, it happened in her dreams. Dreams induced by the Other Mother, sure, but still dreams. The fact that she woke up in the "real world" every time, and the weird spiral things you can see through the windows when Coraline runs through the hallway in the real (dream) world... I never even thought twice about it.

The only thing wrong with this theory comes when reading the book. There's a decent amount of things that are different such as Coraline getting the magic rock before going through the door for the first time in the book.

It's like a spider's web, she has to lure and wait for people to come through the door and get trapped (she cant drag them through), but she can also cut people out of the web and send them back. The door is an unreliable escape but it's either that or the beldam cutting you out.

My theory is that when coraline met whibey there was mushrooms around the well and maybe she took them and is just tripping

I think the empty part of the world is always there. Where you wind up when you leave it is irrelevant because nothing exists there. Nothing. Even direction is meaningless.

actually the book explains the cat disappearing is how he gets to the otherworld in the first place. Also i think thats how the cat got into coralines house at night. He entered the otherworld, moved to where the house would be, and then exited to the real world. So him disappearing doesnt mean that theyre still in the otherworld. Just that the dimension still exists (even though the house may not) I think the cat already saw the othermother before he snuck into coralines house at night and thats why he did so in order to keep an eye on her.

i love how at the end he's just like "idk maybe i'm just overthinking"

I got a simpler explanation, Beldam is a fairy and she needs to play by fairy rules. So she needs permission to take a soul, be it a "yes I accept" or a fair bet.

The other mother “loves a good game”, and the cat knows that. Maybe the “players” of the game aren’t the other mother and Coraline, but the other mother and the Cat. Coraline is merely the deck of cards that the players use in order to determine the winner, and the last scene basically just tells us who won 😂🤣

6:31 My theory is just that perhaps a soul filled with love is stronger than a soul that was forced to be surrendered through fear, thus making a soul that loved her like a mother be nourishing so it makes her live longer than consuming a soul that instead of willingly giving in for her was forced through fear. This explains why she presents herself as a more caring version of the child's original mom, because she needs the child to love her and give up their soul by free will.

Acording to one theory I have seen recently, the "barrier" between the real world and the Other World has been opened when Coraline steps into/damages that ring of mushrooms (Fairy Ring) around the old well. That is when the Fog started.

Interesting ideas. I had watched a theory several years ago that conspiracies on the idea that Coraline never left the Other World after "defeating" the Beldam, and that this again was part of the simulation, hence us seeing the cat go back through the other world at the end of the film; the idea that the other world is still existent after the final events. Said theorizer described it as the "Pink Palace Limbo" and it's at the very least food for thought. I'm inclined to believe it, because how realistic is it for a child to win this game that's set for her against a supernatural being? Furthermore,, demonstrated by a commentator, "On the cake, at the end, it says “welcome home” the “o” in the home is double crossed and when an o is double crossed, it means the person is lying. This means that that she is welcome but she is not home (this theory is from jessi vee,, i think)"

magic exists in the movie so why can't Coraline be a witch? she could be a witch with sparse control of her powers rather than a normal human. maybe her powers work best in her sleep. she could be transporting herself back home through her own magic. after all, it would not make much sense for the other mother to want her to leave. I think its through her very own magic. and the cat only speaks to her, and is drawn to her for an "unknown" reason. he is her familiar. forgive me if this is too "fanfic"-ish, but it explains a lot, including why she was the victim of the other mother. a young witches soul must be extremely valuable (and nutritious) to a creature like that.

The parents had snow on their clothes because as we were able to see earlier it was very cold and icy behind the mirror. That is explained perfectly...

I'm so glad people are still making theories about this masterpiece. ❤

My theory for why the Beldam need permission is that, like a demon, she can’t just take someone’s soul, because for whatever reason, that’s how it works with demons (at least in The Conjuring movies)

i think she gets back for real bc i don't think she got back when she was sleeping. i think throughout the movie she is in the fake world and only once we see her go through the actual door again, is she back for real. and i think the disappearing cat is either an easter egg type of thing. or whatever it's called. OR the cat can do whatever it wants in either world - and perhaps is the bell dame's helper.

I personally dislike the theory that coraline never left, not only because it makes no sense to me, but mostly because the book makes it very clear that she comes back to the real world. I think the cat vanishing is just a stylistic choice cause it looks dope. I think that if the beldam had the power to create a world that's exactly the same as the real one, without button eyes (because it creeps the kids out), she would have done it from the start. But I really enjoyed the video! I suggest everybody to check out the book, because it's very spooky and fun, and it's gives more source material for new theories! Like, the rats in the book are extra weird, I remember spending hours thinking what do they want. They can sing for some reason? But can't talk tho. They creep me out.

Honestly, I believe that the whole reason as to why Coraline kept waking up in the real world after falling asleep was due to the Beldam simply teleporting her to her bed; as to why or how, simple: she's in full control of the other world meaning that she could control who leaves and enters (except for the cat), essentially making Coraline leave so she experinces small doses of her perfect world, making her want more and making her return again and again until locking her in once she knew she wasn't very fond of having buttons in her eyes.

I've never watched this movie. But now I feel I must! It certainly was a favorite of my children. I think your description makes me even more curious to know "why" they liked it so much! 😊

one thing i don't see people mentioning is that when coraline runs out of the other house and ends up in the empty part of the world, she leaves from the *back door*. she ends up at the front of the house because she left out of the back. so yes, she did go in a circle.

Stop motion is insane

i just assumed it's because cats have always been associated with the supernatural and being "familiars". So the story played on the black cat superstition by adding one to a fairytale-ish world where the magic system is rather loose. Beldam kind of reads as a witch from old timey folktales (luring kids with treasures only to want to eat them) and adding a mysterious talking cat just fits the whole vibe, instead here the cat is not a servant to the witch but to the child. It would however be interesting to consider whether the cat was a Beldam sidekick at first but then changed their alliances as they became more connected with the human world and the kids that were preyed upon. The cat being otherworldly and able to still travel across worlds at the end validates the existence of the supernatural and that while this particular monster was defeated, we are never really safe and should always use our intuition to differentiate between what is true and good and what is a shiny lie Coraline is such a special tale because even though it has been YEARS, fans old and new are still speculating about it. These theories are so much fun

I like to think that the door is the one thing she cannot manipulate, like if you make a game you NEED to place a spawn point, so the Beldam can only move the door but not completely remove it. But you could argue that she could move the real door somewhere else, so the other possibility is that she cannot alter the actual house, she could manipulate how it looks but not actually change everything around, she HAS to have the same house as the victim, the exact layout. It is like the spawn point thing, but instead of a small little thing like a door/spawn instead it’s a whole model, a whole house. It could be a power limitation, she can manipulate things but she needs to work with the victims house and everything. It’s the only benefit they have. Knowing their house layout.

No such thing as overthinking when it comes to stuff like this. I really enjoyed your take. I hope you keep sharing your thoughts.

I don’t really buy into this theory, and I’ll explain why. It makes a lot more sense that the rats are the ones who carried coraline back because as the cat explained their principle role is to keep watch on coraline and report back to Other Mother. The scene where we see that the parents are trapped in the mirror was always weird to me as a kid, and admittedly the Other Mother may have influenced what Coraline was seeing, but there’s too much evidence that the world in that scene and in other scenes like it is real. The Beldam is not creative enough to make up a store where the only thing Coraline likes are the gloves.

This is one of the best videos explaining this theory

Maybe the cat just said "Ah Hell Nah" and left the house, eh idk lol

Each time another youtuber comes through with another theory, my heart rate just increases. Like goodness this movie really is just pure gold.

coraline leaves through the back door to go to the well which is behind the house, so basically she did walk around the world and the thing about how she moved to her room by going to sleep, i think magic was being used 😭this video has so many reaches but i enjoyed it!

I don't know if the other mother CAN take Coraline's eyes if she doesn't agree to it.

one thing that ruins this theory for me is that; basically all of Beldam's creations always have buttons for eyes, so if she faked coraline's parents going missing wont the fake "real" parents have button eyes aswell?

I mean I guess, but in the end she is interacting with the quirky characters that live nearby which I think are represented as being quirky enough to be not replicate-able

Honestly coraline one hits home for me because she’s the only child just like me, and her boredom and defensive curious actions is what she actually needs to maneuver around her strange reality 🤌🏽

some one on tiktok also made a point suporting the theory that coraline never left .Using the squid, in the regular world it has one point while in the other world it has cat ears, at the end when shes supposed to be in the regular world the squid still has cat ears meaning shes most likely still in the other world

thank you for getting to the point immediately

I think Beldam is much like Pennywise from the It book/mini series/films. He could devour anyone at anytime. But that’s not good. That’d be like eating raw cabbage, lukewarm water, and stale bread. Sure, it would keep him alive, but the fear (especially from children) is what nourishes him, keeps him strong and it adds flavor. I think the same applies for Beldam but with love instead. And her game with Coraline was basically her settling for a basic salad. She tried “over cooking” her food and now she can’t get the flavor (love) she wanted. But she still has to eat.

Who said the cat can't teleport in the real world? It's never stated that he couldn't

Please do more theory’s on this movie and others like sponge Bob etc, I’ve subscribed in case you do!

I took it as vampire rules, they need permission before entering your house lol

They need to make a at least up to a part 5 for this movie to make sence!

love how at the end bro just openly admits “idk maybe I’m overthinking-“ nice theory tho! valid points and a clear topic

"You can't sleep while there are enemies nearby."

I saw you on tictok I enjoy hearing your theory

The Bel-dame's world is like something in my own writing called a hollow hill. IE, a pocket universe. The main one I have in my writing is a grid of corridors that were anchored imperfectly, so they don't look like just a space that's larger on the inside than the outside. The corridor grid is 26 corridors going one way and 24 intersecting those. If you walk down, say, corridor A all the way past 1 through 24, the next corridor you will find is corridor 1 again. This is because it's a pocket universe that hasn't been made to conform to the topography or rules of the main universe. So the rules are different. I'm sure someone with a math or physics background could better explain what's going on there and why, but my main point is that if the Bel-dame's realm was a similar sort of pocket universe or pocket dimension, it would loop back around on itself like... like a Möbius strip. But a kid isn't going to necessarily know what a Möbius strip is, in fact many adults won't know either. So the cat used an imperfect metaphor to get across the gist of the idea. It's not perfect, but not everyone is going to realize what the imperfection is, especially not a kid. And being perfect wasn't the point, because it was just a metaphor, the best one Coraline was likely to be able to understand.

TLC waterfalls is a really good explanation as the main line in the song '' dont go chasing waterfalls please stick to the rivers and the lakes that your used to'' is saying dont hope for things you you cant get/achieve as it will haunt you for a long time

Beldam is most likely a sort of Fae. There are some Fae who can act without permission, but there's a lot of Fae who can't act without permission.

This theory has been debunk cause in the book the cat can disappear in the real world

3:43 it’s also a clay sculpture so it’s easier to just do the front then the whole building and not everything in movies/shows makes sense or is a deep thought process

2:28 I figured she was just teleported. 5:58 The snow is from the "inside" of the mirror.

Saw you video on TikTok as a slime video but went to find it on KZfaq cuz this theory is cool

Is it possible the doll was also a sort key? A means of teleporting beings that weren't the Beldam in and out of the other world? Which would be why Coraline would wake up in her room in the mornings as well as why the Beldam could take Coraline's parents after she remade the doll into both of them?

2:05 Unless if the other mother deliberately can MAGICALLY teleport her back into the real world on her bed

This was such a good theory. I wish it was longer lol

All of these theories are all good🔥

Good all for except the garden looking like the beldam's face. It looks like her face because she was the original owner of the pink palace. Also, the beldam isn't a "supernatural spider creature". She is just a normal person. Or she used to be. What IS supernatural, is the other world that "was there before and will be there when you fall". The reason the beldam looks like this is because she's augmenting herself in order to survive, using the powers and rules of the other world. The beldam is a victim. She's just trying to survive.

The author actually kind of confirmed that the story is one about fairies. This kind of explains a lot, not only the powers but also the necessity of why she needs coraline and the premission, i think if you focus more on this lore piece you could make even more interesting theories.

beldam is not the btw , the entity is in charge . beldam is terrified of the entity

There’s a theory that coralline can only go back if the other mother tucks her in the first and second time the bedlam tucks her in but the 3rd and 4th time coralline doesn’t get permission from the bedlam 2 leave the other world

I have a theory building off of the theory in the comments that the other mother chooses to let go of coralline into the Rea world and because of this she gets a slight grip on the real world so because of this she can put the real parents into the mirror . Like a spider letting go of it’s prey in a web

Its definitely a reach, plus, why was her hand the only thing that was able to move? If she was still in the fake world, you would use your entire body, not just her hand.

That makes perfect sense

I love this theory

I may be nitpicking, but "Beldam" isn't her name or title. It's another word for 'witch' or 'demon fairy' or 'old hag' or 'beautiful woman'... I got carried away. In this story's context, it's probably witch/evil fairy.

This is plausible to me, but I'd have to watch it again

the reason her parents had snow on them was cuz they were trapped inside the snowglobe - though they thought they were in a freezer or smth - which is a critical part of the movie, as its how she learns her parents were specifically kidnapped to begin with (speaks to them through the mirror and then the camera pans to the snowglobe), and an object she aims to get back (so she can break it) in order to free them before they freeze to death. which is why she fights the other-mother at the end like she did, and why she even tried so hard to obtain the snowglobe at all despite the key seeming more important lore-wise.

The book says that when Coraline is exploring int the real world the mist is so dense that she unintentionally walks back to where she started, that is happening in the fake world as well

This isn’t like other theories. This isn’t one that doesn’t “line up” or not make sense. It perfectly adds up, and makes so much sense . And if this theory is true, Beldam was at-least nice enough to let her have victory. But it leaves on more question. What happened to the real parents and real realm…?

this showcases the strength of the Beldam as a reality warper

I think it’s like a dungeon trap you go in four times the first time you leave by an external method you stay inside thinking you left but you are still inside the dungeon but you go in 3 more times making you 2 floor

i watched this movie because my mother watched it as a teen and she liked how scary it was, i definetly was scared first time ever seeing it as a little kid but honestly a grew up watching a lot scarier movies and other stuff little kids shouldnt watch but in recent years i saw many shorter and longer theories on this film and i love it, its just a straight up masterpiece, not just the story but how amazing this movie was made, stop motion and all, with this theory though, im not sure about it but thats why its a theory :D

I honestly just thought since she loved sewing buttons on dolls, she entered the door and her dolls came to life and it was like her lesson that dolls also want eyes or something

here is a thought: what if we all are part of the beldams world. The world we live in is made by her, everyone we know is made by her. we walk through a normal door and we are transported into that world. We don't know if the enterance has to be some fancy blue and purple tunnel it could just be normal. What if the beldam is just somewhere in the world and we have yet to see her. What if we see her just as we are about to die like she is the grim reaper

just started watching why is there a jumpscare :(

Well that ruined my childhood

I like how coralline has become Blade Runner

one thing i've always wondered is what coraline is actually eating in the dinner scene. we saw with the jumping mice how in reality they're really just rats with an illusion hiding what they really are, so i'm really curious as to what the beldam chose to actually feed coraline

Is this theory based on both the book and the movie or just the movie?

It being a simulation does make sense, most people would say, that's not possible because everyone in the Other World has button eyes, but we see that the Beldam is capable of imitating people WITHOUT them as she does with Mel to make Coraline believe it's really her. And especially the ending? Throughout the movie, no one in the real world had any sort of character growth. And as shown by Mel and Charlie not knowing they were in the snow globe previously and somehow not realizing they're covered in snow, they had no idea about what happened with the Other World or the Beldam. So for them in the real world who were directly affected, as well as everyone else that wasn't related to the situation in the slightest to suddenly change their ways without character growth? There's nothing to change them as they weren't affected, so they wouldn't SUDDENLY start calling her Coraline instead of Caroline, they wouldn't suddenly all be happy. It's just not logical, even for a fictional story.

underrated video ❤

Just for clarification, it is "THE Beldam". It's her title, not her first name.Great video though!

I have a theory: I think sense it’s her world and she controls is that she was transported back to her normal reality so the parents wouldn’t think she went missing and then the girl would see how much her real family cares about her and that when the girl decided to go to sleep to end up in her real world because she didn’t want buttons as her eyes the other mother controlled that so she wouldn’t be able to go back (I haven’t seen the entire movie so I think I got a lot wrong)

The mom also mentioned that they was in a car accident. So what if her parents are dead and this is her way of dealing with the trauma of the accident and the loss of her parents. Read a theory on a article on google about it and it goes into full detail.

She entwred the fairy realm in the beginning when she met yb. The ciecle of shrooms around the well is norse mythology, once entered into a fairy reel you cannot get back out (according to norse mythology).

the end was perfect :DDDD just like me fr fr

I forgot what the theory abt Caroline was but I strictly remember the words “if the beldamn were to go into the real world she would simply turn into nothing/dust” which could be why the beldamn also couldn’t go to the real world to bring back Caroline and in the movie when the beldame’s hand is smashed….cut?- off and ends up in the real world if it was Caroline’s supposed real world we would’ve seen the beldame’s hand fade into nothing in the film thus if it’s true that yk if the beldamn would go into the real world it would tennically be her death which I think is more proof that it wasn’t actually Caroline’s real world. (I’m sorry for the bad grammar)

aslo some people talk about the picture of the boy with ice cream in the real world the ice cream fell but in the Beldam's world the ice cream was in his hand while he was eating it and in 4:29 it was the same at the Beldam's so she could still be in the other world. Thoughts anyone?

I just figured that maybe coralline needed to be in the world long enough in order to stay there witch would explain why she falls asleep 😴 there then wakes up at her real home 🏡

Haven't heard about this theory from any sources, but ... When Coraline talks to other children they tell her "She ate up our lives". And their souls are still fine (yes they are scared and weak, but not eaten, not damaged as a persona, and very very salvageable). This made me think that the other mother is not hunting souls - they are just the leftovers from the meal - she is hunting lives. That is why, I think that the beldame allows Coraline to "escape" back to what Coraline believes to be her true reality to continue living her normal live - while actually this is another simulation created by beldame to consume Coraline's live (because she will be living it not in reality but in this simulation, which is some kind of a spider like slow digesting process). And the whole purpose of the game in the other world is to make Coraline believe that she did escape and ask less questions about her "real" life which will be slowly eaten up by the beldame.

i get it but the beldam could hafe used teleportation becuace we see her doing alot of stuff irl-im (in real life in mofie)

He tried helping, and he did

She's playing with her food

Just escaped into a bigger simulation. Gonna eat our soul slow, like god does to us.

Can you please make a video what if you cut a Hole in the tunnel to the other dimension

In theory against her not actually leaving. Her grandmother shows up at the end. The other mother can only recreate people and places she is already aware of. We never saw her grandma around the Other Family‘s house. She had never seen Coraline‘s grandma, and therefore can‘t replicate her.

Holy-

honestly I just think they simply didn't feel like animating all the instances of passing through the door - the way I see it, maybe there were even full visits Coraline went on that we don't know about? It comes off to me more like "they simply didn't show everything" but I do love the dark theory of "actually she's trapped forever and it's not a happy ending" because I'm tired of perfect happy endings. reality ain't like that. Even if you get the result you want, in real life, there is almost always a caveat or something worth regretting, like buyer's remorse for something you seriously needed, for example.