Coraline is about a young girl who just moved to a new state with her parents. Upon exploring her dreary new house due to boredom, she finds a door to a strange world that looks exactly like hers, except everything–including her parents–is better! Coraline spends as much time as she can in this fantastic new world soon finding out that everything is not what it seems. Challenged by an unexpected evil, her “other mother,” Coraline must be brave, smart and one step ahead to save her family and her life in the normal world.

The reason why this movie is my all-time favorite is because of the immense creativity it took to create the storyline. So, I figured the music I chose has to be for creative reasons for parallel.

Like the soundtracks for most movies are made, I put the songs in the order they’d be played in the movie. First I started off the soundtrack with “Hunger Of The Pine” by alt-J. I chose this to be my first song because of its calm and quiet start that slowly builds into a dramatic ballad. Lyrics in the song like, “sleeplessly embracing butterflies and needles,” “I’m a female rebel,” and “bending with me you see at night” present an untold foreshadowing to what lies ahead in the movie. Perfect for an opening song.

Next I chose “Lofticries” by Purity Ring to be played when Coraline opens the portal to the other world for the first time. In this song Purity Ring begins with simple vocals that turn into an amazing electronic serenade that would be perfect for this scene due to a climax in both the song and movie moment.

The Third song I chose is “Saving Grace” by Alexandra Savior. I wanted this to play when Coraline comes back from her visit with Mrs. Spink and Forcible when the weather is a dense fog. Before running into her new friend Wybie, Coraline skips and hops away; leaving some room for an ominous electric guitar moment. This song perfectly depicts the description of “ominous electric guitar.”

Next I chose “went to meet her (intro)” by The Japanese House to play when Coraline see’s the garden in the other world for the first time. In the other world her “other father” takes immense care of the garden because her parents in the real world don’t. So, when Coraline sees this put together wonder just for her, it’s a big moment. In this song, The Japanese House incase beautiful drums with animal sounds in the background; perfect for a pan out of a garden full of creatures and wonders.

“Terrible Thing” by AG is to be played when Coraline has her first conversation with the cat she befriends. The cat catches Coraline on her way to explore more wonders of the other world to warn her of the veil put up to hide the evil of it all. In this scene there are many pauses; perfect for the lyrics “you, you terrible thing” to poke through and create more foreshadowing.

I chose “Gilded Lily” by Cults to play while Coraline barricades the door to her bedroom after her other parents told her she must sew buttons in her eyes to stay there forever. When Coraline runs to her room and rearranges her room, its fast-paced and scary. In this song, it starts off with simple piano that crescendos into a thrilling synth melody that’s fast-paced and scary. Just like the idea of sewing buttons into your eyes!

For the scene where Coraline meets the ghost children, I’ve chosen the song “Stars and Moons (2017)” by Dizzy. In the movie, the meeting takes place in a dark room while the ghost children tell Coraline of their untimely demise. The song provides a beautiful parallel because of its haunting music with lyrics like “I am starting to see stars and moons. This is how it ends, a courageous boom.”

Next I chose “Goodnight Gotham” by Rihanna to play when Coraline realizes she has to go back to the other world to rescue her parents. Coraline gathers everything she’ll need for this journey with small flashes of her determined expression. “Goodnight Gotham” is perfect for this scene because of its intensity, and because of the parallel for Batman in Gotham with Coraline in the other world.

When Coraline saves the souls of the ghost children and frees them, the ghost children visit her in a dream to thank her, and to warn her once more. For the scene I chose “Angels” by The xx because of its haunting beauty which directly correlates to the scene itself.

Lastly, I’ve chosen “Welcome to the End of Your Life” by The Driver Era as an ending credit song. With lyrics like “welcome to the end of your life, never thought you’d see the white light.” It’s a perfect song to wrap up a brilliant movie.