🗝️ Coraline Me Doll by Neca 🗝️

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I have always loved stop-gap animation, ever since I can remember, there is something so magical about the 3-Dimensional characters moving in a realistic way. I always wanted to do it for a living, but given my family's circumstances, I never had the opportunity to buy all the kit to give it a go. I guess nowadays I have the opportunity to do so with my digital camera or even my Dad's camcorder, but now it's a matter of time. 

I'm the type of person who doesn't like starting a project that is going to take a while and getting into it only to find I have to stop halfway through and do something else, the way things always work for me on that score I never get around to finishing them, which is why I have so many unfinished projects waiting for me to find the time to complete them all so for now it will have to remain a dream.

anyway, this is supposed to be about my Coraline doll so I guess I ought to get on with it!

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If you're reading this, you most likely know that Coraline is a stop gap animation film that came out in 2009. What you probably don't know however, is that one of my favourite parts of the film takes place in the opening scenes as the credits are still rolling...

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A pair of metallic hands with long fingers, that appear to be made of sewing needles, undoing and remaking a doll, as the film begins we see that the doll is has been changed into an almost perfect replica of the title character Coraline right down to her clothing... except for one thing... she has buttons for eyes.

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This is hardly weird however, as many people make rag dolls with button eyes, but as the film progresses you find out that they are a symbol of much more than a quirk of a toy maker, in fact they are down right sinister...

In the film, Coraline is later given this doll by "Wybie" Lovat, the Grandson of the Landlady (he also doesn't appear in the book but plays an important role in the film).

The doll has some strange power and guides Coraline to a small door in the wall of the living room which it turns out is the entrance to a world which seems to be a better, more fun version of her own, where she has an "Other Mother" and "Other Father" who seem to exist just to make her happy, while her real parents are too busy compiling a seed catalogue to have much time for her..

It also acts as a "spy" for the "Other Mother" - The Beldam (malicious or loathsome old woman) through it's button eyes she gains information which she can use to entrap Coraline when she eventually enters her realm.

This is something The Beldam has been doing for centuries, we discover - leaving a gift of a doll that resembles the "target of her affection" and using it to ensnare the child she desires.

Neca's version of Coraline was released in 2011, as a Limited Edition "Authentic Movie Prop".

She stands approximately 9 inches high, and like the one in the film, she has woollen hair and a painted face and boots.

Her head is hard and weighted and very solid, but her body is soft with wires inside so that she can be posed. 

The doll comes wearing a raincoat, just like the doll the Beldam leaves for Coraline - which can be removed.  

The raincoat also contains wires so it also can be shaped as you pose her arms.

I love the attention to detail, on her face; she even has the stitches across her mouth and cheeks, just like the film version.

She's really cute and a definite must for anyone who is a fan of the film, or who likes quirky odd little dolls.

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