LAIKA Archives: Deb Cook Revisits the Costumes of Coraline's Other Mother

Unlock the hidden door to LAIKA’s archives and explore the secrets behind our classic stop-motion animated films! In the first episode, Costume Designer Deb Cook looks up-close at Other Mother’s unforgettable costumes in Coraline-from the subtle differences between Mel Jones and Other Mother’s (nearly) identical wardrobes to a deep dive into the design and creation of the Beldam’s scary-spiky dress.
--
Subscribe to be notified when LAIKA uploads new videos: www.youtube.co...
Follow LAIKA on social media: linktr.ee/LAIK...
At LAIKA, our films are born in imagination, shaped into stories, and crafted by passionate artists who give life to unforgettable characters. Founded in 2005 and located just outside Portland, Oregon, LAIKA’s five films were all nominated for Oscars® and PGA Awards for Outstanding Animated Film.

[@lisssafilipe]

If one day LAIKA opens a museum for it's stop-motion films production - I'll fly wherever it is to be the first in line for the grand opening.

[@aquariussis4984]

Don’t they have one already

[@peppito8408]

@@aquariussis4984 the portland museum i think ? The one where they expose all their puppets and costumes design plus movie set

[@Sinnamonie]

They have one in Portland!

[@dinonuggets9496]

@@peppito8408 yeah, they even had a OMSI event and they played the movie and the producers came =D (they also did other movies from laika)

[@dinonuggets9496]

And also in the outside of the theater thing they had a showcase of the sets

[@Loonlings]

I never noticed the major difference between the mom and other mothers first look. The detail is amazing ❤️

[@treethief4987]

Funny how I did manage to notice those things as a kid, but somehow never noticed the other mother had 4 legs.

[@Loonlings]

@@treethief4987 to be fair they look confusing

[@Tulip_bip]

I really like how tiny details like that will still affect you even if you dont notice them

[@StarryInkArt]

Same. I GASPED.

[@justwaiting5744]

Same!

[@captaincrowfish6042]

This is the kind of video I've wanted for ages. I practically live for all these descriptive, detailed discussions on the process of how these worlds and characters are made that you can't find anywhere else. Keep being awesome 💛

[@tramarthomas6105]

:)

[@AllieInWonderland]

Same I love these kinds of videos as well and Coraline is one of my favorite films, so it’s very interesting to see and hear all the work that happens behind the scenes!

[@teleportingpotatoe]

theres another video about the hair process

[@captaincrowfish6042]

@@teleportingpotatoe send link?

[@teleportingpotatoe]

@@captaincrowfish6042 just look up Coraline hair on youtube

[@rubiconrubich8233]

That little trivia about Other Mother wearing a kid sock sweater in her introduction scene is now gonna have a special place in my mind

[@mayawilliams35]

That's one famous sock, that's for sure 🧦✨

[@olivesholives5736]

I'm now imagining the Belldam in a sock.

[@ultimategameredits]

It’s ironic that a monster who eats children is wearing children’s clothes.

[@heatherlutz2102]

Kinda ironic isn't it?

[@O5ANANAJ1MI]

Keep that to everyone else Olive.

[@Ellie-vb9vm]

Honestly, even in the first stages compared to the other mother, real mom just looks softer. Her character design and the way that the clothes hang off her but cup her face when it comes to the neck brace leads me to think that the real mother is more inviting, more genuine.

[@enio9477]

She doesn't look perfect and that makes her feal more real and relatable

[@pedrosegundo8109]

Exaclty, instead of the forced perfect appearence of the other mother. It looks uncanny.

[@heyryanisonx3141]

The hair plays a big role too, how it comes to a jagging point rather than a soft even curl

[@ketaminepoptarts]

the other mothers nose is also straight instead of bending to the left, making her look more perfect while also removing something that makes coralines real mother similar to her

[@MacaldaReye]

I was 13 when this film came out, I’m 27 now. I was obsessed with Coraline for the better part of my teenage years, I wanted to be a stop motion animator and everything XD funnily enough now I’m a writer, voice actress, and work in sound design, so I think 13 year old me would be pretty happy with that ^_^ but seeing the figures and hearing the music again had my heart fluttering, I’d give anything to see those figures in person one day, I hope they’re kept safe and preserved for a long time!

[@SHIANS570]

I love love this life update❤️🥰. This just shows that even though we do not get to have the future that we envisioned when were young, living within the proximity of these aspirations still displays our love and respect to our younger "us". Congrats and keep thriving!

[@StarryInkArt]

I was 8 years old, now Im 21 and about to turn 22! Its amazing how fast time goes. It feels like yesterday we were seeing this in the movies 🥺 I wanted to be an artist but a 2D animator, but now Im doing videos on social media creatively and doing so much more! Its amazing how these things can help shape us!

[@zakthepenguin5106]

It’s very interesting to me that she mentions that the technology have come so far, and now they have different ways of doing fabric and animating, but at this time period, when they were a little bit limited and more creative of how they did things, I think that Coraline was probably the best movie

[@TheLugiaSong]

Yeah, I'm very curious as to how technology has changed. In any way, workflow will become easier, but I hope this kind of animation never loses its very human charm and creativity. That's one of the joys of stop-motion, I think.

[@Phantom-sl9qv]

it's hard to believe that 2009 was 13 years ago, I still remember seeing this movie when it came out in the theater

[@empathicalcryde8803]

small companies that rely on innovation to succeed are more creative than a cash cow businesses' eventually become with enough initial success, not disparaging the huge amounts of work involved in any new production

[@3clipse449]

I think in terms of technical amazingness, kubo is the best Laika film. But in terms of vibes and nostalgia, coralline wins

[@StarryInkArt]

@@Phantom-sl9qv same!

[@stacik2905]

Obsessed with Coraline ever since it came out when I was a kid, thank you so much for this wonderful resurgence.

[@lswritings3340]

LAIKA should open a museum and display all their models, sets, and concept art from old movie. Animation nerds like me would absolutely go!

[@kalystagutierrez1607]

They do in Portland IIRC

[@the1trueLisaCurtis]

I love Coraline so much! I've watched it hundreds of times since it's come out, and my daughter and I love to watch it together every Halloween season. Thank you for sharing this video.

[@yuriychemezov]

It's Coraline. Coraline Jones

[@the1trueLisaCurtis]

@@yuriychemezov darn talk to text autocorrected me

[@zepp3793]

It’s literally a comfort movie, I can watch that while cuddling in bed on a cold day lol

[@ana_fontes35]

I'm really a big fan of Coraline I'm obsessed and I've lost count of what I've seen, Laika's films are really good and it's amazing the way they were made every detail is perfect.From the first time I saw Coraline I already fell in love I never felt fear but appreciation, congratulations you guys are really great.

[@carolinekoppenmoscoso3112]

Tjybg

[@HELLVALEN]

I love how they keep EVERYTHING to small notes and fabrics they used or just for testing so cool

[@optimistprime2751]

This was really emotional for her going back through all her old designs. Coraline was a major passion and had so much love and effort put into it. I hope all her memories were good ones.

[@florence9978]

This is so fascinating! So inspiring seeing all the work and dedication that goes into every part of Laika films!

[@namshaw7515]

This is really the reason why I love stop motion movies, so much craftsmanship goes into making a single scene it's astonishing

[@HKogen]

Thank you! The first peplum ensemble is such an amazing piece of tailoring, very wearable and figure flattering. And at the same time, it works so well as a narrative device, the subtle menace of the tournure elements being the decisive point of departure between the Other Mother and her real counterpart.

[@kerplop]

I love how Norman's peeking out of the van in the background, like "hey, what's going on out there? Are we making another movie?"

[@kuro0.__.0]

It's crazy how much detail and work this movie was. They all did a amazing job 👏🏻

[@TheNothingEverything]

God Coraline was an absolute masterpiece. I slept on it for ages but was completely blown away, never seen a movie like it it felt like a fever dream. Such an underrated movie.

[@StopMotionbyNicholas]

Love this! I appreciate the artistry and dedication into everything you all do! Cannot wait to see more ❤

[@unknowncreature-0069]

The fact that they can make such tiny details on an already small scale just amazes me

[@moony-666]

I adored going to the LAIKA museum. Seeing things so close, how detailed it was. I still remember seeing Coraline’s other backyard in person. The way it glowed, the way it WAS Coraline. Just mind blowing.

[@FrostyLVA420]

LAIKA is my favourite studio of all time. The way you can take small models, and make them into an amazing movie, while ALSO paying attention to such small psychological details as CLOTHING is way more impressive and genuine than any CGI in my opinion.

[@kennedytaylor2301]

I really want to see a remade Coraline movie with today's technology. I know it would never be the same as the original, but it would be interesting to see what they originally had in mind for some scenes and designs but were limited by their technology back then.

[@d73w80]

2:13 damn, their limitations and the creativity those limits necessitated just make their work so much cooler in retrospect. Creative geniuses

[@thekrapbook]

Laika and Studio Ghibli are the animation studios that sits very close to my heart! Studio Ghibli Park is now Open and hoping for a Laika One!

[@aspen1889]

its funny cause usually when people who've worked on a film say it was done with passion, it's easy to tell that it isn't entirely true. A lot of people weren't that invested. With this, you can tell the love that went into it, the creativity of the designs and exploring all these different patterns and fabrics and way they can make their own visions come across in the story they're telling. What an experience working on the movie must have veen

[@kenzz9682]

This is so awesome! Thank y’all for giving us such a cool behind the scenes look to a masterpiece of a film

[@lilithyolanda9851]

Stop motion has become rare in films today. And even when it is produced they don’t reach the deserved hype in theaters. Laika has become a historic studio keeping stop motion alive!!! With a AMAZING story telling with it. I hope the Studio is going strong even when I’m old.

[@therealmanos]

The complete artistry at every step of this film still blows me away.

[@jamieliu2746]

Seeing coralline in 3D at theater in 2 days!!! I can’t wait!!!!!🎉🎉🎉

[@simpleplanfan011]

Thank you for sharing this with us!! I saw this movie when I was a kid and it was my doorway into the artistry of stop-motion films. I was completely obsessed. Being able to see how you created such a masterpiece is so wonderful. Thank you for everything you do 🙂

[@laurendaley2503]

You have to have extreme talent to make clothes for tiny dolls. Very impressive and it was so cool to see details you have never noticed before, like the differences between real mom and other mom's outfits when we first meet them both.

[@joyajohnson2216]

Seeing that Coraline’s mom sweater was a kid’s sock blows my mind.

[@Gorgeousbaebeauty]

Thank you LAIKA STUDIOS for being Apart of my childhood for many years!!!! When my niece gets a little older can't wait we gonna watch coraline forever as if it's a new film!! 🔥🔥🔥 I love everything about this video it's incredible how all the tiny details you didn't notice about the mother, and other mother until now ! Thank you for this amazing video 🙏🏽💅🏾💜

[@neveroddoreven6597]

I honestly love the design of final stage Other Mother. It is still somewhat reminiscent of human proportions, but as mentioned in the video, EVERYTHING is insect-like. There are some human bones, too, but they’re jagged and distorted to an almost visually painful degree. I also love the attention to detail. Her hands are made out of sewing needles, and other parts of her body are seemingly taken from other objects, too.

[@vinnycarothers4740]

her legs look like seem rippers

[@Kassabonn]

the behind the scenes videos on this channel are so so good. They're so interesting and really go into detail. I could watch these for hour

[@ph1lharm0nic]

I love how you can really see the passion and love through all of the designs, and just how much effort went into the movie to make it as good as possible Laika is and will probably always be my favourite film studio, they just have so much passion for what they do that its almost impossible to not love it as well

[@rosethehat2073]

This movie was so magical for me as a kid and it still is to this day. I’ve always been fascinated with stop motion. Thank you for sharing this process of how the character developed. This was a really fascinating watch!

[@jahmya58]

I hope u ppl know we CAN NOT get tired of this movie 😭 forever release things about it

[@payton6278]

the amount of work and dedication put into this movie makes it so magical.

[@cobylamb6720]

Just say LAIKA I love your movies I am a big fan of your films. And I am going to watch Coraline tomorrow in the theatre again. I can’t wait for your next new movie. I am 22 years old I am still loving the movies

[@naman-jain-00]

Thank you so much Laika Studios for sharing with us such an incredible archive. Hats off to your creativity.

[@returndates7166]

OMG thank you for releasing these types of content! The work your studio produces is one of a kind and I'm so happy to be able to witness this. Coraline is a timeless animation, I love it very much 💖

[@emit5586]

I always thought a really cool detail is how the Other Mother's fake abdomen looks very small compared to her body. When spiders are starving their abdomen shrinks and shrivels. Makes me think that she was getting extremely desperate and hungry toward the end of the film. So cool

[@kerry2107]

I would absolutely love to own one of the original puppets. It would be something I'd treasure forever! They are all so beautiful!

[@Misa-Missaa]

i love love love this so much, the other mother is one of my favorite villain, she is smart and her design is totally stunning for real ❤

[@HampnieHambart]

Everytime I rewatch Coraline I always keep reminding myself that Tim Burton has NOTHING to do with this and it's shoking every time😂😂😂

[@amandas7808]

Coraline is truly such a work of art. I am blown away every time I see behind the scenes videos for this movie.

[@moirad3895]

I never noticed all the details in the other mothers legs in spider form, it looks like they have layers to grab onto prey! God I love this movie so much

[@davidromerocortes4865]

Este trabajo es increíble, lo.bien que fue hecho cada detalle, pude apreciar todo lo que la película ofreció y estoy seguro que hay más. La Vi tantas veces y no me cansaría de hacerlo de nuevo.

[@ariadnefrolich7243]

Other Mother Used Button Eyes a.k.a. another item to add to my list of Movie Props I wished I owned. It's so cool they've archived all these items rather than just discarding them (as sometimes happens with movie props).

[@KillerCaitie]

This was absolutely delightful to watch and learn from!

[@claudiagomes1104]

Something about this video matures me want to cry (in a good way). I love this movie so much and to see behind the scenes with binders and kids’ socks and a ziplock of used buttons and a loose leaf note from Henry Selick about the final skirt that’s dated and just signed H.S…. I dunno man. I love this movie and it feels special to know these little things

[@beepboopygjm1767]

> we'd have al lot more technology at our fingertips now to make this very differently... Part of the character of this is hownit was put together I felt this. Kubo was mindblowing (haven't watched the latest! The pain) and smooth and everything great, and Coraline paved the way for it. The less smooth movement of Coraline and how everything is seemingly raw holds a special place in my heart and my childhood. Thank you for sharing this!!

[@oliviahobbs2422]

i am obsessed with this movie

[@angelicvega7040]

I’ll never forget seeing a bunch of LAIKA figures and props and sets in person. It was so cool to see the Boxtrolls figures, etc in displays.

[@Kruukk]

Amazing, it shows why the movie looks so incredible, people like this lady really put it their heart into it.

[@Spicythaichickennuggets]

Coraline is the best animated film there is. 10/10.

[@alexdeleon1463]

Fascinating work! The in-depth analysis from fabrics, to the making of the puppets, so many experimentations, the sketches, the filming, and so much more! Love, love, LOVE Coraline.

[@Jakeybakey5]

So fascinating, more like this please!! Coraline truly was ahead of its time, Laika is just so incredible

[@saiartzz]

I love when they show more of behind the scenes and their thinking process for theses films 🤍🤍

[@giulia1204]

This format is perfect! I prefer it much more and it's very interesting to watch as an aspiring puppet maker. Please make more! 🖤🖤🖤

[@Snips.Snails.Fairytales]

I'd love to see more videos like this! The costuming for Coraline had been fascinating to me since its release.

[@Phantom-sl9qv]

I'm 24 now and Coraline is still one of my favorite movies of all time, I still remember seeing it when it came out in 2009 when I was 11 and just loved it

[@TheLugiaSong]

Fascinating! I'd love one day to make stop-motion like that in Coraline, it's a big inspiration for me. Really interesting seeing the ingenuity behind the scenes. As a kid, I assumed it was all done digitally.

[@scarfguy5337]

Itgreat seeing a peak into the way some of my favorite stop motion films were made. Thank you all for sharing

[@mauricioszwerdszarf1455]

Laika is the BEST of the very best! Love you all.

[@DaichiXEdward]

this is amazing. please a museum or a docu series or something because watching these people talk about their craft and the thought process is just AMAZING

[@iwillgowiththatcat8667]

This lady made my entire childhood.

[@jeremifrancisco1]

This shows the passion for the craft. The meticulous perspective on details. I admire the dedication. It’s inspiring!

[@funtasia228]

Coraline is absolut a masterpiece. I love it so much. I‘ve watched it so many times and it is always fascinating and wonderful. Awesome work from all of you!

[@JaquesBobe]

She looks and sounds exactly how I would imagine a person behind the creation of Coraline to be, lol

[@Girllover248]

Coraline was and is my fav film as a kid! My parents were so weirded out when 7 yr old me wanted coraline for a movie

[@drakkonscythe]

Y'all should open a museum

[@PoisonEngene]

This is still my favorite movie. I'm so glad this video came out!🤩

[@efugee]

I want Laika to keep succeeding since it isn't only story telling, it is a precious artform.

[@moano3271]

I never really realized all the subtle differences from one personality to the next when i watched the movie (several times i might add..hehe)So well executed! Brilliant work

[@TheBeardedAtheist]

This is so cool. My hands shake from a stroke I had a few years back but growing up I wanted to work with Claymation so bad. I watched The NBC on repeat from the day it came out on VHS.

[@dianikaya]

thank you, this was as much as entertaining as it was informative. love to know other behind the design thought process that involved to build the coraline world.

[@fluorescentalien5204]

when I was 6 I was taken to see coraline in theaters, and it TERRIFIED me. 15 years later, I still can't stop thinking about it ❤

[@JWarIsArt]

The first 2 sentences out of her mouth completely took on the aesthetic of Coraline for me and I love this woman. Her energy oozed right on into her work🖤

[@emwood96]

To this day, Coraline is my favourite film of all time. I can’t see it being overtaken by anything else, it’s a masterpiece!

[@zellanutellaa]

They need to keep this stuff out and make coraline 2!

[@ShaneFalko]

Would love to see a full series exploring different departments’ work

[@HussainAli-hn2ef]

Coraline is my fav movie of all time! just watched it the other day. thanks for sharing this!

[@Stellamoth]

I absolutely love Coraline! it's such a wonderful film!

[@gummybuggy9001]

I really wish their were more movies with as much love and passion these days as there was put into coraline its so loved by everyone who worked on it and it shows so deeply

[@AlexandraStubbs]

I watched Coraline for the first time. Absolutely loved the movie so much!

[@Daxaeis]

The amount of creativity, detail, and love that goes into this line of work never ceases to amaze me

[@JellaRadegonde]

Love this cartoon ❤

[@kandy1643]

It’s cool that they keep everything

[@stefandijkstra1665]

This is Amazing!! Love these video's so interesting, love love love Laika. Can't wait for Wildwood 🤩🤩

[@Boneappleteahee]

I wouldn’t have wanted Coraline made any other way! It’s perfect how it is!

[@matthewwisdom9933]

Like I cannot believe how hard it must be to make the characters move step by step by step all the time making the movie

[@Jbunnyhop]

I am so glad to have found this in my recommended, Coraline has always been my favorite movie since i was a kid and i am so glad to learn more about the movie and work that went into it!

[@moisesperez5497]

Bro i didn't know the real mother was wearing a beck brace, but it does makes sense because they said that they were in an accident which is why Coraline's parents were so busy

[@Sahnequeen]

Todays possibility of computer animation always stuns me (e.g. Avatar, which is my favorite movie), but stop motion fascinates me the same. Everything you see in the movie actually exists, because it's handmade + it was moved step by step, to bring it to life. Amazing!

[@RashidasPage]

I always wished someone saved these and kept maintenance on these every since I saw this when I was kid and years ago when I saw the James in the giant peach figures deteriorating

[@matttheking1655]

Coraline is a definite classic 👌