Based closely on the short novella by Neil Gaiman, Coraline is an incredibly bizarre and darkly fantastic stop-motion film, directed by stop-motion legend Henry Selick (who also directed Tim Burton’s classic films The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride).
The film is astonishingly novel, with an aesthetic style which borders on the never-before-seen. It is fitting, then, that the musical score by European maestro Bruno Coulais borders on the never-before-heard.
Highly rhythmic and sonically alien, the score to Coraline is eerie, lovely, terrifying and whimsical by turns, curiously maintaining a continuous air of dark fantasy. The melodies and instrumentation are both alike distant and strange, giving the entire score the feeling of dream-music. But while the music is not familiar or conventional, it is undeniably intriguing and captivating.
Coraline's Unique Score
The score album begins, oddly enough, with the sprightly but vaguely sinister “End Titles,” with fast-paced plucked strings, harp and whining boys’ choir, singing meaningless words in almost intimate whispers. An occasional swell of the strings and brass section give the cue an off-balance, teetering feel. The album is not presented in film order, and this contributes to the arbitrary, dream-like atmosphere of the music.
A gentle theme for Coraline is introduced on album in the wistful “Installation,” which features soothing vocals by the Children’s Choir of Nice (who feature prominently during the entire course of the score), backed by plucked harp and glass armonica. The theme is given a more playful development by solo boy soprano in “Exploration,” and on soothingly light electronic elements and flute in “In the Bed.”
Abstract and Arbitrary Atmospheres in Bruno Coulais' Music
When the music takes darker turns, as in “Wybie,” “Ghost Children,” “Dangerous,” and a host of other cues, the music becomes strongly rhythmic and otherworldly, recalling the exotic orchestrations of Thomas Newman and the edgy fantasy of Danny Elfman's The Frighteners and Mars Attacks: but the music is wholly novel, and completely fresh.
Cooing boys’ choir, clanging bells, and the omnipresent glass armonica are joined by the occasional piano, ghostly sound effects, and meaningless lyrics sung by various solos to produce an utterly unique texture, perhaps best heard in “The Supper.” At times the music also assumes practically disturbing, nightmarish qualities, horrific yet infectious in their innocent, understated abstractness.
Conventional Moments in the Coraline Soundtrack
There are several moments where the score resembles something approaching convention: where it sounds almost recognizable enough to be called nearly normal. “Other Father Song” (performed winningly by They Might Be Giants) and “Sirens of the Sea” are short songs sung by characters in the film, and they stand out notably from the rest of the album, if only because of their straightforward instrumentation and standard-English lyrics.
“Bobinsky” and “Mice Circus” feature some vaguely eastern-European melodic ideas and grunting comedic brass (not very much unlike comedy music from Elfman’s early career) along with some carnival march-style rhythms.
Summary
All in all, the score is really too unique to be closely compared with anything else, although some of the rhythmic patterns and exotic orchestration could be likened to those of Thomas Newman, especially as heard in his score for A Series of Unfortunate Events. But in comparison, Coraline is more consistent, more coherent, darker, more alien and less grounded in outright emotion.
Upon first listen, one may be confused and bewildered by the score’s unconventional nature: but it is a score with profound depth, paradoxical charm and imagination, and it begs repeated listens to be properly appreciated. Wholeheartedly recommended.
David Abraham Dueck - I live in MN and do not surf or collect Hello Kitty paraphernalia. I instead play ice hockey, write articles for my blog, read tons of ...
