Hello and welcome to another Coraline animation! Today, We’ve got TUNNEL VISION (heh) We’re
looking into something that has captivated and eluded me for over a decade and a half:
The Passageway between the Real World and the Other World. And how it is even more dangerous than the
insidious Other Mother... Now, for this video, I’m using both the
book and the movie as reference, (but mostly the book!) and this is all just in good fun,
so let’s have a ball exploring the cobwebby inner corners of these overactive mental corridors! The Ancient Corridor: The Greatest Threat
Is Awakening There are times in the book (and then later
much later, when the movie came out) where I thought the tunnel could be a reflection
of the OM’s power, like SHE was the one controlling it to lure Coraline into the Other
World. (It has the power to accordion in and out,
become shorter when Coraline walks INTO the Other world, and LONGER when she is trying
to escape). It appears as thought the Other Mother’s
rats (*rats are always known in the book) are able to scamper through it, unharmed,
afterall, so it seems at first like it is HER passageway. And in the movie, it looks like it loses it’s
beautiful glowy power as the Other Mother loses her power of illusion too. Where it was first bright and glowy (and the
OM’s powers were in full control) it changes over the movie to feel like a cluttered and
cobweby attic space (as the OM loses control over her illusions and appearance). I also thought, “Hey, this tunnel could
be a portal! Or the deepest Well itself!” However, all those theories go right out the
window with one chilling line near the end of the book, as Coraline is trying to escape
through the tunnel a final time: 136.) “She knew that if she fell in that corridor
she might never get up again. Whatever that corridor was was older by far
than the other mother. It was deep, and slow, and it knew that she
was there... Not “whatever was in that corridor” but
“WHATEVER THAT CORRIDOR WAS.” So, this tunnel, is a MORE DANGEROUS ENTITY
than even the other mother. My gut feeling is that she is afraid of it,
too, or at least respects its more ancient magic and might. It is outside of her domain, which includes
the entire Other World, but ends on the other side of her own door. (I think she seeks the key to escape as well.) but Here’s my theory: The Other Mother is
merely a parasite in the throat/belly/intestinal tract (?) (trust me, its anatomy is confusing)
of this larger being, catching what prey she can as it falls into the more ancient monster’s
digestive system. Not UNLIKE a spider, spinning webs between
trees, plants, and even in the ground, catching what it can in the larger world… And THAT spider theme is pretty prevalent
in the movie, and even in the book too: the OM spins Illusions and false promises, eventually
once those illusions have faded, all the places and “things” in the Other World that she
created seem to have the sticky spider webbing clung on and around them. But just WHAT is this beast? Honestly, it could be many different things,
or all the things wrapped up in one new thing! But what we do know: This thing is ALIVE. And it is SENTIENT. And it is HUN GRY. I’ve covered the book’s description of
this shapeshifting corridor before, and from that we know that, whatever it is, this tunnel
is a most ancient entity. I’m going to take all of these attributes
now and see just what exactly the tunnel could be... First off, let’s talk about the glowy-lure-you-in
tunnel from the movie. There are some predators that lure prey with
this same technique. I’m thinking angler fish of the deep sea,
who in the dark waters, use their built-in-lights to lure smaller prey into their death jaws. Kinda like moths and mosquitoes drawn to those
bug zappers too, come to think of it… Anyway, so this Thing’s throat glows. I’m calling it a throat because, well look
at it. Mouth throat portal region. Ok. So anyway, keep this glowing part on the back
burner for later, because in the book there is no glowing, but I thought it worth mentioning. Our first encounter with the tunnel in the
book is on page 26, where the door “opened on to a dark hallway...There was a cold, musty
smell coming through the open doorway: it smelled like something very old and very slow.” Ok, so there is no light source, no heat source
(is this thing cold-blooded?), and besides potential decay, nothing has been here in
ages- hence the musty smell. I usually associate that with basements or
underground/cavern type places. This thing is ancient, and slow to move or
awaken. Creatures that come to mind: tortoises, snakes,
dinosaurs (why not?). This description holds, when Coraline leaves
the Other World for the first time, she senses something that is not the Other mother in
the corridor with her. On page 47: “Coraline took a deep breath
and stepped into the darkness, where strange voices whispered and distant winds howled. She became certain that there was something
in the dark behind her: something very old and very slow.” We’ve now added distant WIND to this mysterious
equation. A far-off pair of lungs, if you will. This thing is slowly awakening - its breathing
is now faintly noticeable by Coraline. I think those strange voices are either the
OM’s rats scuttling to and fro or, more interestingly, this ancient beast’s victims
from past feedings… the ones the OM couldn’t intercept. Next time we’re in the tunnel, Coraline
is going back in for her rescue mission (58, 59): “A cold wind blew through the passageway.” 59: “She took her first step down the dark
corridor. She could smell dust and damp and mustiness.” “She heard something moving in the darkness
- beside her or to one side of her, she could not tell. It seemed as if it was keeping pace with her,
whatever it was.” Let’s dissect this. The WIND is no longer faint, but very much
present. Whatever was sleeping is now even more awake
and is breathing more heavily. In addition to musty dusty smells, we now
have dampness added to the mix, which means liquid must be involved somehow, either leaking
in like a wet basement , or else this monster could be an underwater creature… or an underworldly
creature. That presence that keeps pace with her could
be one of the Other Mother’s rats, or it could be the expanding and contracting of
muscles, like how a snake pushes food down the length of it’s body… step by step. Or it could be something else entirely... On that same trip in the passage, Coraline
notices that the tunnel is shorter than ever before (Pages 59-60): “Coraline was going
to say something, like ‘sorry’ or ‘wasn’t it a lot shorter walk last time?’ when the
candle went out as suddenly as if it had been snuffed by someone’s hand. There was a scrabbling and a pattering… She put out one had… and felt something
wispy, like a spider’s web, brush her hands and her face.” Ok. It could be that that scrabbling and pattering
is an OM rat, or something more shadow impish like the hands on the cover… something that
could snuff out a candle (it’s not blown out like a wind would have. Magics?!). Also, now we first encounter the spider web
stuff that is now all over the Other World in the book. Maybe it’s that Coraline is seeing through
the OM’s illusions, and that the OM is losing power, or we finally see the metaphorical
spider web on our way to something more perilous. Here too, we see that the tunnel can seemingly
shrink in distance, like a spring loading, or a neck compressing. My logical mind is still on snakes, turtles,
dinos, etc. Cool. But then….. A wrench. A COSMIC wrench. SO MUCH of the tunnel transformation happens
when Coraline and co. are making their final escape to the real world through the corridor. (Page 133) “It was colder in the corridor,
like stepping down into a cellar on a warm day.” Ok cool, it’s still well, cool, in here. And REALLY WINDY (I mean, “breathy”) now
too: Coraline struggles to shut the Other Door but “pulling it closed was like trying
to close a door against a high wind. And then she felt something from the other
side starting to pull against her.” That “something from the other side” is
the OM I believe, but where we at first had “far away wind,” then “right here and
present” wind, we now have “High Wind” fighting Coraline. It is worth mentioning for counter-points
that the OM has the power of sand-shard wind, which she uses once after Coraline finds a
soul, but I think this wind is different from her sand-glass-wind (there were no wailing
voices in that wind, just pure, localized malice). This Thing is WAKING UP. errr okaaaay…. Greeeaat. Wait. What’s this?! In just two pages, this thing has ALTERED
ITS FORM! (On 135) When escaping, “Coraline turned
her back on the door and began to run, as fast as was practical, though the dark corridor,
running her hand along the wall… It was an uphill run, and it seemed to her
that it went on for a longer distance than anything could possibly go.” Ok, so where the jaunt INTO was “shorter
than before,” it’s now longer than ever. Like a body or neck stretching out to ensure
she stays trapped. It also rotates up, like it is lifting its
head in waking, or to keep her in its belly system. OH! It’s not “cool” in here anymore, either
btw! (still p. 135) “The wall she was touching felt warm and yielding now, and, she realized,
it felt as if it were covered in a fine downy fur. It moved, as if it were taking a breath.” She snatches her hand away from it, more “Winds
howled in the dark.” and she again reaches out to the wall for stability: “This time
what she touched felt hot and wet, as if she had put her hand in somebody’s mouth.” There is a WHOLE LOT going on here. Temperature change from cold to warm. Windy breathing. A texture change from downy fur to all of
a sudden a mouth texture?! Hold up. Are we in a small intestine? Are those fine downy furs really Villi and
Microvilli?! Dang, we really are in “the belly of the
beast” and, thankfully, travelling upwards towards a mouth entrance. Gross still, sure, but closer to the exit
of this digestive underworld! Ugh anatomically this does not make sense…
we’d have to pass through the stomach. Ugh, scratch that, ok so let’s just say
it’s actually fur. Like, the cavern walls woke up and grew fur…
and then shed that fur quickly to become a mouth?! Or are there MANY furry some-things pigeon-holed
in the walls, some with mouths facing Coraline? My earthly experiences very much exclude this
sort of quick change, and let’s not forget all those distant voices whispering from earlier
descriptions. It could be old victims, or else many many
new mouths? This whole thing reeks of ancient shapeshifting
magics…. Dare I say,.. ELDRITCH magics? What? That’s quite a leap. Is it though? I cannot adequately rationalize the physicality
of this tunnel beast at this point in the book, I mean, here’s where I’m at trying
to do that: what is ancient huge, slow to move, quick to change form, and potentially
glowy? AN underground/UNDERWATER SERPENTINE ANGLER
DINOSAUR! Haha naw just kidding. Even that can’t change form like we need
it to with the fur and all, and it’s kinda cute taboot! But just doesn't have that ominous creepy
factor that is so prevalent in the book. I think it’s honestly some combination of
these things, and my heart is telling me its more spooky and under/otherworldly than physical. My gut is on “cosmic maw” or something
as sinister and huge. It’s clearly alive, and very much a different
(and I’ll daresay, more powerful) being than the Other Mother. So, we turn to Lovecraft. Errr... if you are unfamiliar, that’s some
horror brought into popularity by HP Lovecraft back in the day. It is rife with gargantuan impossible beings,
tentacled cosmic entities, mammoth glowing worms, terrifying tornadoes with maws and
eyes and teeth, many of which live in waiting on this planet we call home.Cthulhu, for example. Anyway, back to our tunnel, it seems more
behemoth. More Monstrous. More Lovecraftian than any creature in our
(known) physical world. It’s a liminal space between doors, and,
once fully awake, I think will be exceptionally difficult to contain. Now I REALLY WISH Coraline hadn’t let that
key fall into the well/tunnel throat… because I think the key belongs to the Tunnel. Or was made to contain the tunnel. And now… the tunnel beast has the literal
key to its own release. There are two doors (that we know of), but
only one key (again, that we know of), and the OM covets it for herself. This makes me think it is not hers to begin
with, but something she needs to master something greater. To gain more power or to escape herself from
the beast. Or to level-up her own cosmic status from
parasite to host... YIKES. Ok so let’s snap back from really cool cosmic
terror to a more mundane explanation: The tunnel could likely just be a literary device
to let us know exactly how scared Coraline is on her journeys to and fro. When she needs to be brave and is steeling
herself for a rescue mission, she arrives sooner than she would have liked (the tunnel
seemed “shorter than before”) or when trying to escape, it was an uphill struggle,
seemingly going on for much longer, because of how emotionally exhausted and terrified
she was at this point. Etc. But, sometimes it is way more fun to think
of it as a behemoth ancient being! Letting the imagination run wild and free. Life is more fun with excessive mental imaginings,
...right? So, just what is the most ancient tunnel? Is it literary insight into our main character’s
emotions? Is it merely a passageway between worlds? A portal? Is it the deepest well itself, perhaps? Or is it something much more sinister, more
beastly and more ravenous - a creature that time forgot? Whatever it is, it is a far greater-scale
threat than the Other Mother and her twisted beldam magics… although I’m not sure I’d
want to take either one of them on! And so, our splunk into the cosmic horror
that is the shapeshifting corridor in Coraline is at a close. Thanks for jumping in with me! But what are some of your thoughts? Do you have a favorite Eldritch entity yourself? Let me know in the comments below! Heya cool bookworms and movie nerds! Nice to see you! I hope you enjoyed this little adventure. I am cooking up something new already, so
do stay tuned so you can get it while it’s hot! Seriously though, thank you for watching,
and I’ll see you soon in the next video. Goodbye!
