10 Dark Family Movies To Watch If You Loved Coraline

With its stunning animated and creepy quality, many fans look for similar movies like Coraline that capture that dark fantasy-horror vibe. Based on a novella of the same name by Neil Gaiman, Caroline follows the titular young girl who moves into a new home and finds a portal to an alternate universe. There, she finds a new version of her family only for it to reveal a more dark and sinister truth. Coraline became the third highest-grossing stop-motion movie and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars.

Coraline balances between the wondrous and the disturbing in a way that is suitable for family audiences. However, despite its uniqueness, it is not the only film to be successful for that balance of creepiness and whimsy. There are plenty of others, and many are also known for their stop-motion animation style. These movies don’t veer so far into horror that they can’t be enjoyed by all ages, but like Coraline, they are willing to push the boundaries of what family-friendly movies can be.

10 Corpse Bride (2005)

A Young Groom Accidentally Becomes Engaged To A Corpse

Tim Burton’s signature style combines whimsical stories with dark atmospheres. Caroline is often looked at as a movie similar to some of Burton’s own style. Burton’s twisted yet charming stop-motion movie Corpse Bride highlights how similar these styles can be. The movie follows the narrative of a young groom who mistakenly gets engaged to a deceased bride who is brought back to life in order to ensure the union goes through. While initially terrified, the young man soon finds a connection to the misunderstood bride.

Like Coraline, the characters are imaginative, and there is just enough comedy to give the audience enjoyment without taking away from the dark setting. It is also a musical, adding another layer to the movie’s surreal balance between levity and horror. Burton adds to the creepy atmosphere and macabre feel with great details, such as Corpse Brides‘ land of the dead being more colorful and vibrant than the dour land of the living.

9 Beetlejuice (1988)

A Newly Deceased Couple Seeks The Help Of A Mischievous Demon

Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice stars Michael Keaton as the titular “bio-exorcist”, an obnoxious spirit who specializes in driving living occupants out of homes. When Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die suddenly, they pass into the spirit realm, and must stay in their home. However, in the living world, the Deetz family purchases the house and moves in, prompting the Maitlands to enlist the help of Beetlejuice to drive them away.

Release Date

March 30, 1988

Tim Burton continues to prove himself a director whose aesthetic matches the feel of Coraline with his iconic horror-comedy Beetlejuice. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis star in the movie as a recently deceased couple who are horrified to find a new family moving into their house. Unwilling to let it go, they seek the help of a troublemaking con artist demon known as Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), but find that summoning him brings more trouble than they bargained for.

Once again, Burton creates a fun look at the afterlife, with it being depicted as a monotonous and tedious bureaucratic nightmare, filled with waiting rooms and dense manuals. The highlight of the movie is Keaton’s tour-de-force comedic performance as Beetlejuice. While the character makes the movie much wackier and more comedic than Coraline, they share the sense of the mischievous, sinister threat lurking behind the scenes. The success of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice highlights the love for this character.

8 James And The Giant Peach (1996)

An Orphaned Boy Escapes On A Magic Piece Of Fruit

An orphan who lives with his two cruel aunts befriends anthropomorphic bugs who live inside a giant peach, and they embark on a journey to New York City.

Director

Henry Selick

Release Date

April 12, 1996

Cast

Paul Terry , Joanna Lumley , Pete Postlethwaite , Simon Callow , Richard Dreyfuss , Jane Leeves , Miriam Margolyes , Susan Sarandon

Henry Selick is a filmmaker who has become known for his imaginative work in stop-motion movies. Along with directing Coraline, Selick also previously helmed this adaption of a Roald Dahl book, James and the Giant Peach. The movie follows a young kind-hearted boy named James who is left an orphan and forced to live with his meanspirtied aunts. However, when a peach on their property grows to an enormous size, James uses it to flee his unhappy home life and makes friends with a gang of insects living inside the peach.

Interestingly, James and the Giant Peach begins as a live-action movie and transforms into stop-motion when James’ journey begins. In fact, the scene of him crawling inside the peach is reminiscent of the scene in Coraline as she crawls through the tunnel. Both movies build their own worlds that have surreal qualities to them and tell the story of a young protagonist trying to escape to a new kind of life.

7 Edward Scissorhands (1990)

An Inventor’s Creation Is Taken In By A Suburban Family

From director Tim Burton, Edward Scissorhands follows the titular character, an artificial human created by an inventor, who has scissor blades instead of fingers. After his creator’s death, Edward is taken in by a normal suburban family and becomes attracted to the family’s teenage daughter, Kim Boggs. Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder star as Edward and Kim. 

Release Date

December 14, 1990

Yet another movie from Tim Burton works as an effective comparison to Coraline. Edward Scissorhands was Burton’s first collaboration with Johnny Depp and remains their best work together. Depp plays the titular role, a young man created by an eccentric inventor who died before he was complete, thus leaving him with scissors for his hands. He is then invited to live with a suburban family where he becomes the most popular figure in the neighborhood.

While Edward’s character design may be scary for a young child, Edward is a sweetheart and has an innocent outlook on the world. Like Coraline, the movie expertly mixes the real world with a magic quality. The best example of this is an early shot in which the prestige and pastel colors of the suburbs are contrasted with the gothic castle seen in the distance.

6 Monster House (2006)

Young Kids Battle A Monstrous House

Monster House is a 2006 animated film directed by Gil Kenan. The story follows three teenagers who discover that a seemingly haunted house in their neighborhood is actually a living, breathing entity. As they investigate, they uncover the sinister secrets lurking within the house’s walls.

Director

Gil Kenan

Release Date

June 30, 2006

Cast

Mitchel Musso , Sam Lerner , Spencer Locke , Steve Buscemi , Maggie Gyllenhaal , Kevin James , Nick Cannon , Jon Heder , Jason Lee , Catherine O’Hara , Fred Willard , Kathleen Turner , Ryan Whitney , Woody Schultz , Ian McConnel , Erik Walker , Matthew Fahey

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Coraline has become one of the favorite animated movies to enjoy on Halloween with audiences of all ages. Another movie that has quickly earned a similar reputation is Monster House. The movie follows a group of friends on Halloween who become curious about the creepy old house on their street and decide to investigate. However, they soon find it is not the grumpy owner who is the threat, but rather the house itself which is a living monster.

The Amblin Entertainment movie draws influence from a lot of films from that studio’s past, especially The Goonies. However, it is not hard to see the similarities with Caroline either. Both movies take the young characters out of their ordinary world and into a strange nightmare. Like Coraline, Monster House has also been seen as a movie that verges on being too intense for younger kids as it can be quite scary.

5 Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events (2004)

Three Orphans Face Off With Their Nefarious Guardian

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events follows the tale of three orphans sent to live with their distant relative, Count Olaf, portrayed by Jim Carrey. As the children uncover Olaf’s sinister plan to claim their inheritance, they navigate a series of unexpected challenges and eccentric characters.

Director

Brad Silberling

Release Date

December 16, 2004

A Series of Unfortunate Events is based on the children’s books of the same name and presents a surprisingly dark comedy that is also a family-friendly movie. The film follows a trio of orphaned children who are faced with the harsh reality of being in the care of their new cruel guardian, Count Olaf. However, it soon becomes clear that the villain is attempting to kill off his young adopted children in order to collect their inheritance.

While the original book series is even darker, A Series of Unfortunate Events takes big risks in some of its storytelling in this movie aimed at younger audiences. It gives it that bold and exciting quality that also works well for Coraline. Both movies are able to balance their tones without undermining either one. Like Beetlejuice, A Series of Unfortunate Events is able to soften the darker edges with a terrific comedic performance, as Jim Carrey’s take on Olaf steals the show.

4 9 (2009)

A Group Of Rag Dolls Face A Destructive Robot Army

9 is a computer-animated science fiction film directed by Shane Acker and was actually based on a short film of the same name by the same director. The story is in an alternate version of the 1930s where humanity has been wiped out by a soulless robot. The scientist who made the robot in the first place uses alchemy and pieces of his own soul to make nine rag-doll-like creatures. The unassuming heroes then have to venture out into the dystopian world and save the day.

A forgotten animated movie from the 2000s, 9 is an ambitious and stylish animated movie. The creative storytelling and beautiful design of the movie mirror Coraline in how it separates itself from the typical animated fare. It also features some good scary elements, especially from the monstrous robotic villains.

3 The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Jack Skellington Finds New Purpose After Discovering Christmas

Henry Selick directs The Nightmare Before Christmas, a stop-motion fairytale from the mind of Tim Burton. Jack Skellington is the king of Halloween and one of Halloweentown’s most beloved citizens, but he longs for something more. When he stumbles across a magical door that leads him to discover Christmas, he makes it his mission to replace Santa Claus and bring festive cheer to his perpetually spooky hamlet.

Director

Henry Selick

Release Date

October 29, 1993

Cast

Catherine O’Hara , Glenn Shadix , Ken Page , William Hickey , Chris Sarandon , Paul Reubens , Danny Elfman

As acclaimed as Coraline is, there are many who would argue that director Henry Selick’s best movie is The Nightmare Before Christmas. Based on the story by Tim Burton, The Nightmare Before Christmas follows Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town who is growing tired of the same scars and spooks year after year. However, when he accidentally falls into Christmas Town, he decides he wants to give the holiday a shot in his own twisted way.

The movie’s terrific combination of Christmas and Halloween is a perfect example of the kind of collaboration of creepy and whimsy that Coraline pulls off so well. However, it is also possible to see a lot of similarities in the stories of these two movies. Both feature a protagonist who discovers a new eye-opening world after traveling through a magic portal only to come to the realization that they are grateful for the life they have.

2 Frankenweenie (2012)

A Boy Seeks To Resurrect His Pet Dog

Frankenweenie is a 2012 stop-motion animated remake of Tim Burton’s eponymous 1984 short film. It tells the story of young scientist Victor Frankenstein, who brings his dog Sparky back to life and tries to stop his experiment from wreaking havoc across his town.

Release Date

October 5, 2012

Cast

Charlie Tahan , Winona Ryder , Martin Short , James Hiroyuki Liao , Catherine O’Hara , Martin Landau , Atticus Shaffer

Once again, Tim Burton’s aesthetics perfectly mirror those used to perfection in Coraline. Frankenweenie is actually based on a short film Burton made early in his career. This stop-motion animated production follows a young boy who is heartbroken when his beloved pet dog dies. This sadness leads him to attempt to resurrect the dog only for the experiment to go wildly out of control.

Having a lighthearted comedy take on Mary Shelley’s story of Frankenstein is a perfect blend of horror and family-friendly fun. Like Coraline, it balances the creepiness with some genuinely moving moments and a sweet message at its center. While there are a lot of movies with dead dogs that leave viewers in tears, Frankenweenie delivers big laughs and manages to keep it a light story from beginning to end, despite the premise.

1 ParaNorman (2012)

A Young Boy Can Speak To The Dead

ParaNorman is a stop-motion animated movie about a young boy who uses his ability to see and communicate with the dead to save his town from an ancient witch’s curse. The voice cast includes Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jodelle Ferland, Bernard Hill, Tucker Albrizzi, and John Goodman.

Director

Sam Fell

Release Date

September 13, 2012

Cast

Anna Kendrick , Kodi Smit-McPhee

Laika Animated Studios has been very effective at creating the types of animated movies that offer something for younger audiences to be thrilled by while also being interesting enough for adults. ParaNorman is one such movie from the studio that really leans into the horror elements of its storytelling more than any of its other films. The story follows a young boy named Norman who can speak to the dead. However, this unusual ability soon puts him in danger as he uncovers a dark secret.

Like Laika’s other movies, the animation in ParaNorman is amazing, with the world that is built for the story being engrossing and vivid. While it is a more comedic story than Coraline ends up being, they are both great adventures of young protagonists in the creepy supernatural world. The creepiness is balanced with silliness as well as some genuinely strong characters.