The Hero's Journey In Coraline, By Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell was an American mythologist who first found out that there are common patterns on every storyline and also published The Hero with a Thousand Faces. He explains heroes are following certain routine and cycle in the story. That is, hero leaves for adventure and goes through struggles, and after the hero accomplishes something, he comes back with better knowledge and something that he didn’t have before his adventure. The movie Coraline by director Henry Selick is about the little girl is disgruntled with her parents since they’re too busy to pay attention to Coraline, and suddenly she finds out the secret little door, which leads to the other world.

According to Campbell, the first step of hero’s journey is the “Call to Adventure”,

which hero faces with something that trigger the adventure. In the movie, Coraline’s father tells her to explore the house and she finds the secret little door. Later on, her mother opens the door for her, but behind the door was blocked with bricks. At that night, she has a dream of that door. In Campbell’s perspective, he says the adventure may begin with as a mere accident, so Coraline finds the door accidently and almost forces her to go to an adventure.
Apparently, crossing that secret door is the next step of the hero’s journey, “The Crossing of the First Threshold”, in which the hero actually enters an adventure.

In the movie, she wakes up from her dream and follows a mouse, which guide to inside of that door. There were no bricks anymore and she sees the other world behind the door. Everything looks same in the other world, but people have buttons for their eyes. As Campbell states, beyond the threshold is dark, unknown, dangerous and there is no protection for hero, which means Coraline might get what she want, but she will needs to give something in exchange for her

desire.
Campbell explains that there is always someone who advises or helps hero in the next step that is “Supernatural Aid”. For instance, right after she faces with trouble, suddenly her friend’s cat appeared and he warns her that everything looks better in the other world, but it’s not what it seems like. Additionally, she also meets two women who give her a stone that will help her in quest later on. These helpers perfectly match with Campbell’s statement, because a protective figure often an old women who gives some good-luck charm against enemy. And also, Coraline couldn’t complete the adventure without help from the cat.
Campbell also explains “Woman as the Temptress” is someone who gives hero a distraction, which is internal battle.

When Coroline meets the other parents, she thinks that they are the parents who she was dreaming of. Also other parents say other world is better than the real world and convince her to stay with them and saw buttons in her eyes so that she can eat her. In Campbell’s view, the hero needs to see through who is trying to trick or prevent her from hero’s success.

“The Road of Traits”, which Campbell describe as the hero has to suffer from some tasks or tests that hero can never run away from. In the other world, other mother kidnaps Caroline’s parents inside of a snow dome to keep Coraline stay in the other world with other parents forever. As Coroline rejects her wishes, she gets frustrated with Coraline and she locks Coraline in a mirror. She also meets ghost children who are lost their eyes by other mother before, and she promised them to take their eyes back. She successes from her trails as Campbell say the hero must survive and complete her

tasks.
In the next step, Campbell states that someone who assist hero to complete the quest is called “Rescue from Without”. While Coraline was having a hard time to get her real parents back, her friend, other Wybie was the one who rescues Coraline from a mirror. After she gets out, she helps her real parents and gets all these eyes back for ghost children with good-luck charm that old women provides her.
The “Crossing of the Return Threshold” is when hero completes the adventure and return from there. According to Campbell. Coraline returns with fulfillment since she finds out that her parents are safe and she is no longer bored with the reality. After she gets through all the struggle, she starts to thinks that the real family is the most important thing, so she even starts to show her appreciation towards the one she loves.