Replacing Coraline

Most of us, when we think of stop-motion puppet animation, think of the manipulation of an individual puppet character being moved incrementally one frame at a time. But what helps to make Coraline (Henry Selick, 2009) such a masterpiece of fluid stop-motion animation is its use of replacement animation, whereby puppet parts (such as the head) are replaced (one frame at a time) with slightly dissimilar ones. Although replacement animation has been utilized within stop-motion animation productions since at least the 1930s (most notably in the George Pal Puppetoons studio productions), it nevertheless represents a relatively distinctive approach that is worthy of close analysis. Due to recent advances in 3D printing, which have enabled the speedy production of precisely constructed puppet forms, replacement animation is becoming both more prevalent and more complex. The movie is based on the book Coraline by Neil Gaiman and, as with most filmic adaptations, a number of narrative changes were made in order to bring it successfully to the screen; these included adding sequences and introducing new characters. Also, a number of more subtle alterations were made which thematically reflect the handcrafted and labour-intensive process of stop-motion animation and, specifically, the use of the replacement animation technique. Not only is the materiality of stop motion highly visible in Coraline, but the use of replacement animation also becomes a kind of metanarrative that permeates the film. That is, the very concept and process of replacement animation is represented thematically throughout the film. This idea is also echoed throughout the primary storyline, for example when the various characters are systematically replaced with ‘Other characters’ (such as the ‘Other Mother’ and the ‘Other Father’).98 This chapter discusses the use of replacement animation in Coraline and considers some of the theoretical, narrative and aesthetic implications that this technique can facilitate.