MEL IS AN AWFUL MOM! Coraline Explained - Scene 17 | The Fangirl Scene-ic Saturdays

Coraline and Mel go close shopping and then they have a failed attempt at a heart-to-heart in today's scene hey guys welcome back to the fan girl I'm your Hostess Manan and we have a short simple scene in Coraline of course that is somehow very complex at the same time but let me offer some comment or appreciations before we get started Renee Vasquez Anderson 7435 sorry if I mispronounced that said that Coraline's also not an anxious child because this person was a ball of terrorized stress who was worried about strangers and darkness and monsters and everything at that age but their younger sibling had no self-preservation instincts until age 12 or maybe 13 and yes am I the only one who grew up in an environment where it's like if you reach your hand out to get the mail you'll get killed like I was also a very anxious child but I do like that the this comment points out that not every child does that and we definitely see that contrast with Coraline although I still want to argue that Coraline takes it way too far and has absolutely no sense in her head that she wants to survive to see tomorrow then David Fitz Patrick 6535 gave a really clarifying statement that helped get my mind around this catalog issue and they referen the Sears catalog way back in the day if you're old enough to remember those like I am that they didn't have chapters more like a book they had chapters to signify different sections of the store so the toy department the furniture Department the clothes department for kids etc etc etc and each one of those departments would have its own chapter and yeah that was the missing piece that was bugging the heck out of me about this catalog issue saying that it has chapters I could see where you would need an Editor to put the catalog together but what do you really need a writer for in a giveaway catalog oh Mr Jones would like to tell you how to mulch to the best of your ability that's not really something people tend to give away for free in a consumer catalog like that I it just it doesn't add up for me still but the chapter things make sense now so thank you David so the last scene had Charlie being dropped off at Garden life so he could turn in the catalog and melan Coraline drove away leaving dad defend for himself against these Shakespearean thugs once that scene Fades out the next thing we see is a banner that reads President's Day blowout all uniforms half price which of course makes sense because a uniform Shop's Big Time To Shine is going to be right before school starts up although this is Raising some questions as to how the economy of ashin Oregon stays afloat because the only other Merchant we've seen so far is a garden shop which at best is only selling items 6 months out of the the year and now here's a uniform only store that again isn't something in high demand year round and we know that's all this store really sells because the window lettering reads Lyon's uniforms established 1981 maybe they also do nursing uniforms and stuff like that too but there's nothing like that visible anywhere and all the mannequins in the window are in children's Blazers as the camera pans down from the band we see Mel shopping in Iraq with a very devoted employee dedicated to her and that employee has a notably long nose as she's holding on to Mel's selections she kind of looks like oh draw a caricature of a person and just way too exaggerated for a 3D image there's also a random chainsm smoking woman in front of the door who's not coming inside and that's so strange she's not even window shopping she's just blocking the entry door and it appears as if she's studying Mel like some fresh piece of meat I've already done theories about who all these randos might be if we are in fact still in the other world but there seems to be an unusual amount of attention being given to Mel as she's shopping here I can't tell you the last time I went into any store and had the clerk follow me around and holding my items like a human cart and I suspect that might play into Coraline being in the other world right now and having everyone closely watching her because these are actually all puppet people that the Bell dam is controlling and so that's how the Bell Dam keeps tabs on Coraline and what's going on remember this scene has no buttony doll whatsoever so the BAM should not know about the gloves at all but she does so how okay I know I know some people find the Pink Palace limbo Theory exhausting so instead of rehashing all of that I want to stick with this scene as if we're actually here in the real world for a moment so Coraline is sitting on the steps inside of Lyon's and she looks miserable until she glances over and sees that the gloves are on sale and of course Coraline is drawn to the most expensive gloves on the table that are $24.99 which is $9 more expensive than any other pair with a price tag and let me tell you I don't think I've ever paid more than $2 for a pair of gloves that that is not my journey I'm sorry I do not understand this pricing even with 2014 inflation rates that seems way too high and as soon as Coraline grabs the gloves we have a child riding a roller chair down the steps right next to her and he's brandishing a sword and calling out my kingdom for a horse you know more Shakespeare references and another child who looks like an older teen in a letterman jacket is chasing after him Mak making sound effects is he beatboxing I can't tell but that's what the motion looks like then the kids dash off screen and we hear a crash why does this matter because we're being shown kids who are being flat out brats and Wrecking the store yet the only person in the store to deal with these kids whose parents aren't seen anywhere is the clerk who is diligently glued to Mel and she doesn't seem to Flinch ultimately though those kids serve as a way to get Coraline to notice the rolling chair and so Coraline gets on it and starts gliding past her mother with the fancy gloves on trying to get Mel's attention and Coraline does look pretty happy and proud of herself here so this also illustrates that it would take so little for Coraline to be content with her new life she's just not having any of her social or emotional needs met right now especially not by her family even if I was poor as dirt if it just took getting one item to make one of my kids happy I would have done it but not Mel as Coraline stops with her hands stretched out towards her mom who's looking away Mel without ever looking up says put them back so does this woman have eyes in the back of her head because I watched this segment 10 times and Mel never directly looks at Coraline to see these gloves and Coraline is protesting that her uniform is going to be gray so she'd really like these interesting gloves and Mel's trying to hold up a uniform Blazer to see if it's the right size because I guarantee you that Coraline would not be willing to try anything on in that store even though the fitting rooms are literally right behind her we also see the two bad kids running out of the store with a broken sword so yeah they definitely came in there without any parents or intention to buy anything they were just messing around and breaking stuff and that's why I hated working retail but as Mel is being strict with Coraline the face of the clerk is priceless she's just over there like same different day before wandering off to ring up the items Mel gave her and as Coraline snaps out my other mother would get me these gloves Mel retorts with a sarcastic maybe she should buy all of your clothes and then makes a pretty ey face as she opens up her flip phone and Coraline looks Furious and Stomps away presumably to put the gloves back next we transition into the car where we're zoomed in on the bag for lynon's uniforms for young children again how does this place stay open if that's all they sell and the boring Bland clothes are sticking out of the top now this was also in the previous car scene but look at that back seat it is gross there's an empty Fountain cup up in the rear window a comic shoved under the headrest Coraline is repeatedly presented to us as a slob and I do assume that that mess is all her doing since children are usually the ones who inhabit the back seat but Coraline is in the front seat right now and she seems to be trying to steer the conversation back to her own interest and she's asking her mom what she thinks is in the other apartment now that is weird because that's the first time the little door is referenced as going to another apartment which that apartment is not listed on the front of the house so where is it and why is no one living there when the nasty looking basement and attic apartments are taken the math here doesn't add up for me however we don't get any more details on the fourth apartment and Mel says she doesn't know what's over there but definitely not a family of Jones Impostors oh my gosh this is the first moment ever where it's clicked in my head that it's like keeping up with the Joneses the Bell Dan is the Joneses that Coraline the Jones is trying to keep up with anyways here we see Coraline's face where she's turned away from her mother looking out the window with Angry Eyebrows it's almost like this conversation is more explain yourself mother so Coraline asks why her mom locked the tiny door and Mel says she saw rat droppings and thought locking it would make Coraline feel safer but okay assuming we're in the real world with the real mother right now now I think this is our biggest clue that Mel had been to the other world before if Mel truly only saw a brick wall why would she assume that rodents were coming through it and why would she be worried about safety they are solid bricks in that wall there's no one coming in or out of there from a realworld perspective and Coraline has never complained about being afraid of the other world so what happened to really scare Mel I think Mel went to the other world woke up in her own bed got freaked out by the whole thing and locked the door to make herself feel better then this part of the scene kind of breaks my heart qualine tells her mother that the dreams of the otherw world are the most fun she's had since they moved which it's strange that she denotes them as a dream when she's gone over and over again and looked at the cheese and seen these other things to be like yes it's real but whatever Coraline's calling them dreams for the sake of her mother at least and Mel sounds genuinely sad for Coraline when she suggests that her new school might be fun however when Coraline claps back that uniform suggest no fun is going to happen at that school Mel purses her lips like she's upset and said had to give it a try what try Madam commiserate with your child let her vent and feel better take her to another store and Window Shop for things she can go get once the catalog sells do something to lift this child's spirits and throughout this back and forth even though it's really short the camera never focuses in on Mel it's only sharp around Coraline so there's something about Mel that the director didn't want us to focus on things are blurry with her for a reason all these small details are stacking up to tell a huge Side Story at least in my opinion but now Mel and Coraline are home and there is a noticeable dent in the VW Beetles front bumper I think that's where Mel had her accident that injured her neck also did the Pink Palace exterior look this bad before the rails are falling apart and the lattice under the porch is busted out and everything has this moldy grimy look to it it feels like reality is looking a little bit worse every time Coraline goes home but the next thing we see is Mel opening the refrigerator and there's rotted lettuce a bad apple chunky salsa verde tortillas which why are they in the fridge and not even in a bag ew mustard and some ketchup with the door having what looks like bananas and milk how is it that they moved in just a few days ago and the food in the fridge has already spoiled was this food already there when they moved in this is nonsensical I know they're busy but cro at this point in time was open 24/7 so was Walmart get some food even more nonsensical was Mel asking Coraline how about a mustard ketchup salsa wrap for lunch seriously mom and Coraline is hauling two bags into the house with no help and not that they're even super heavy bags but come on can you pay attention to this girl at all it's not like Mel was carrying anything inside why is she not helping if this is seriously the real world like Mel is making me mad right here it's so over the toop in fact that I can't stop thinking that this has to be a trick of the other world to make the real world seem more terrible also on the outside of the fridge we see a ladybug and Butterfly magnet a flyer for 30% off at Lyon's Which is less than the 50% off sale we were just shown but this flyer was not on the fridge yesterday so I I'm curious at the time lag here because again it's kind of suggesting that Coraline goes to the other world and time gets wonky there's also a pizza menu a grocery list a number for emergencies with a 503 area code and that area code is for Portland Oregon which is about 4 and 1/2 hours away from Ashland so not very effective in case of an emergency then we have what looks like something that Coraline probably Drew and it's on stationary that reads Garden Mart which is not Garden life where the parents work now so everything on this fridge is just a little bit off and contradicting other things we've seen but Mel proclaims that she needs to go food shopping anyways and she asked Coraline to go with her and pick out something she would like to eat which even though Mel feels very heartfelt here Coraline has felt so burnt over and over at this point that she does get that kiss like attitude and says oh I can pick out something I'd like like the gloves and Mel seems to genuinely feel bad here and she promises to make it up to Coraline if things go well with the catalog today but understandably Coraline isn't really in the loop for her family's finances so she just rolls her eyes and goes that's what you always say and Mel takes that as her cue to give up because she's not being a great mom here and Mel says she won't be long along as she walks out of the house and closes the door without even locking her minor child inside so she locks the tiny door out of fear for safety but not the actual house door where Marauders or something could wander inside what and not to split hairs but they were already out why didn't Mel just take Coraline straight to the grocery store instead of wasting time driving back to a house where she knows there was no food it's like Mel is setting up Coraline to be upset I don't understand her however the absence of Mel gives Coraline A sly look as she goes to search for the button key and she finds it hanging way above the door out of her reach so like someone with no concept of safety Coraline Stacks up phone books and anything else she can find to make a wobbly stool until she can knock the key off the nail it's on and doesn't She Looks So Satisfied when she catches it as Coraline walks into the living room and unlocks the small door take note that we never get a shot here or in the previous scene where we get to see under the window where that radiator is by the way if you have forgotten the radiator in the real world is much larger so ever since Coraline came back from the other world again we are being denied seeing that radiator which is one of the few ways that we can engage where we're at and I don't think that's by accident but Coraline unlocks the small door and even though it's in the middle of the day because Mel just said she was about to make lunch the tunnel and door to the other world is there and I swear it looks like the door at the end is getting pushed a little further away each time is it just me and Coraline crawls through the tunnel as we see the black cat outside in the rain looking disappointed and growling to himself almost like he's lost a bet it's strange to me that the cat would be invested in Coraline's fate either way unless he has some kind of stake in the matter Coraline being abducted into the other world should not make a dent in this cat's day he does not get rewarded if Coraline's in the real world so he has no need to come and save her but we'll talk about him much more in a future video next week we'll be back in the other world for more trouble I might be overthinking it but that's literally my job and to any of my members here on YouTube a huge bottom of my heart thank you for all of your help and support if you would like to become a paid Channel member there is a link in the description below thanks again guys love you well family members we're almost done but I want to invite you to hang out with me in some other 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Channel: The Fangirl

Views: 5,256

Keywords: coraline, coraline theory, coraline explained, coraline jones, mel jones, charlies jones, presidents day sale, coraline movie, coraline door, button eyed doll, button key, other mother, beldam, the theorizer, looper, film theory, mel jones beldam, coraline refridgerator, coraline details, coraline missed details, things you missed coraline, scene-ic saturdays, the fangirl, movie theory, film studies, horror video essay, coraline video essay, coraline analysis, wybie

Id: ZR4NgNWezwM

Length: 20min 20sec (1220 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 03 2024