These Coraline quotes are perfect for Neil Gaiman fans or anyone who appreciates a complex but thrilling masterpiece!
If you love dark fantasy children’s novels and animated films, you’ll absolutely love Coraline. It’s a 2009 stop-motion horror movie based on the book of the same name by Neil Gaiman.
The movie follows the story of Coraline, a young girl who moves to a new home with her parents and discovers a hidden door that leads to an alternate world. As she ventures further into this strange world, she discovers that things are not as they seem and sinister forces are at play.
Coraline’s complex themes make it an excellent choice for both adults and kids to watch together. If you look at things more profoundly, you’ll also realize that Coraline deals with topics such as bravery, family, the importance of appreciating what you have, as well as having the courage to face one’s fears.
So, if you haven’t watched Coraline yet, you’re missing out on a fantastic cinematic experience. Check out our complete collection of Coraline quotes below to get a taste of what the movie offers!
And make sure to read these Megamind quotes and Corpse Bride quotes.
Best Coraline Quotes
1. “Because when you’re scared, but you still do it anyway, that’s brave.” – Coraline Jones
2. Coraline Jones: “How can you walk away from something and then come toward it?”
Cat: “Walk around the world.”
Coraline Jones: “Small world.”
3. “I don’t want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted just like that, and it didn’t mean anything? What then?” – Coraline Jones
4. “You probably think this world is a dream come true, but you’re wrong.” – Cat
5. “Nobody sensible believes in ghosts anyway—that’s because they’re all such liars.” – Other Mother
6. “Nothing’s changed. You’ll go home. You’ll be bored. You’ll be ignored. No one will listen to you, really listen to you. You’re too clever and too quiet for them to understand. They don’t even get your name right.” – Mr. Bobo
7. “We’ll all be together as one big, happy family. Forever and always.” – Other Mother
8. Coraline Jones: “I didn’t know I had another mother.”
Other Mother: “Of course, you do. Everyone does.”
9. “There’s a but, isn’t there? I can feel it. Like a rain cloud.” – Coraline Jones
10. “You don’t frighten me. I want my parents back.” – Coraline Jones
Inspirational Coraline Quotes
11. “Nobody is ever given more to shoulder than he or she can bear.” – The Ghost Children
12. “The names are the first things to go after the breath has gone and the beating of the heart. We keep our memories longer than our names.” – The Ghost Children
13. “I’m an explorer, and I need all the ways out of here that I can get. So I shall keep walking.” – Coraline Jones
14. “We are small, but we are many. We are many. We are small. We were here before you rose. We will be here when you fall.” – The Rats
15. “It’s not real scientific, but I heard an ordinary name like Caroline can lead people to have ordinary expectations about a person.” – Wybie Lovat
16. “Challenge her then. She may not play fair, but she won’t refuse. She’s got a thing for games.” – Cat
Coraline Quotes That Live in Our Heads Rent-Free
17. Coraline Jones: “What’s your name? Look, I’m Coraline. Okay?”
Cat: “Cats don’t have names.”
Coraline Jones: “No?”
Cat: “No. Now you people have names. That’s because you don’t know who you are. We know who we are, so we don’t need names.”
18. “You’re wrong! You don’t know where your parents are, do you? They aren’t there. Now you’re going to stay here forever and always.” – Other Mother
19. Other Mother: “You know I love you.”
Coraline Jones: “You have a very funny way of showing it.”
20. Coraline Jones: “How do I know you’ll keep your word?”
Other Mother: “I swear it. I swear it on my own mother’s grave.”
Coraline Jones: “Does she have a grave?”
Other Mother: “Oh yes. I put her in there myself. And when I found her trying to crawl out, I put her back.”
Creepy Coraline Quotes That Are Deeper Than You Think
21. “I have no plans to love you. No matter what. You can’t make me love you.” – Coraline Jones
22. “She’s got this whole world where everything’s better. The food, the garden, the neighbors. But it’s all a trap.” – Coraline Jones
23. Coraline Jones: “Why does she want me?”
Cat: “She wants something to love, I think. Something that isn’t her. Or, maybe she’d just love something to eat.”
Coraline Jones: “Eat? That’s ridiculous. Mothers don’t eat daughters.”
Cat: “I don’t know. How do you taste?”
24. “Nothing to find here. This is just the outside. The part of the place she hasn’t bothered to create.” – Cat
25. “That is why we could not leave here when we died. She kept us, and she fed on us. Until now, we’ve nothing left of ourselves, only snakeskins and spider husks. Find our secret hearts, young mistress.” – The Ghost Children
26. “You may come out when you’ve learned some manners and when you’re ready to become a loving daughter.” – Other Mother
27. “It wasn’t the best place to go for a walk, really. There were all these things that people had thrown away back there—old cookers and broken dishes and dolls with no arms and no legs and empty cans and broken bottles. Mum and Dad made me promise not to go exploring back there because there were too many sharp things, and tetanus and such.” – Coraline Jones
28. Mr. Bobinsky: “Caroline, wait! The mice asked me to give you a message.”
Coraline Jones: “The jumping mice?”
Mr. Bobinsky: “They are saying, ‘Do not go through the little door.’ Do you know such a thing?”
29. “Run, child. Leave this place. She wants me to hurt you, to keep you here forever so that you can never finish the game, and she will win. She is pushing me so hard to hurt you. I cannot fight her.” – Other Father
Short Coraline Quotes
30. “They say even the proudest spirit can be broken with love.” – Other Mother
31. “Mirrors are never to be trusted.” – Other Mother
32. “Be clever, Miss. Even if you win, she’ll never let you go!” – Sweet Ghost Girl
33. “Don’t leave me! Don’t leave me! I’ll die without you!” – Other Mother
34. “You realize you’re walking right into her trap.” – Cat
Coraline Quotes That You’ll Love
35. “I have to go back. They are my parents.” – Coraline Jones
36. “One boring blue boy in a painfully boring painting. Four incredibly boring windows, and no more doors.” – Coraline Jones
37. “If you won’t even talk to me, I am going exploring.” – Coraline Jones
38. “Here you go. I don’t need it anymore. I’m very grateful. I think it may have saved my life, and saved some other people’s death.” – Coraline Jones
39. “Oh, my twitchy witchy girl, I think you are so nice. I give you bowls of porridge, and I give you bowls of ice cream. I give you lots of kisses, and I give lots of hugs, but I never give you sandwiches with bugs.” – Coraline Jones
40. Coraline Jones: “Why don’t you play with me?”
Mr. Jones: “Busy. Working.”
Coraline Quotes and One-Liners to Remember
41. “Black is traditional.” – Other Mother
42. “We could be friends.” – Coraline Jones
43. “What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason!” – Miss Forcible
44. “Evil witch! I’m not scared!” – Coraline Jones
45. “I asked you not to call me Caroline. It’s Coraline.” – Coraline Jones
46. “You’re in terrible danger, girl!” – Tall Ghost Girl
More Coraline Quotes From Its Fantastic Author
47. “She hugged herself and told herself that she was brave, and she almost believed herself.” – Neil Gaiman, Author
48. “The sky had never seemed so sky. The world had never seemed so world.” – Neil Gaiman, Author
49. “In danger? Thought Coraline to herself. It sounded exciting. It didn’t sound like a bad thing. Not really.” – Neil Gaiman, Author
50. “It was true. The other mother loved her. But she loved Coraline as a miser loves money, or a dragon loves its gold.” – Neil Gaiman, Author
51. “Coraline wondered why so few of the adults she had met made any sense. She sometimes wondered who they thought they were talking to.” – Neil Gaiman, Author
52. “It is astonishing just how much of what we are can be tied to the beds we wake up in in the morning, and it is astonishing how fragile that can be.” – Neil Gaiman, Author
53. “Her long white fingers fluttered gently, like a tired butterfly, and Coraline shivered.” – Neil Gaiman, Author
54. “Coraline shivered. She preferred the other mother to have a location: if she were nowhere, then she could be anywhere. And, after all, it is always easier to be afraid of something you cannot see.” – Neil Gaiman, Author
55. “Then she hugged her mother so tightly that her arms began to ache. Her mother hugged Coraline back.” – Neil Gaiman, Author
What Have You Learned From This List of the Best Coraline Quotes?
It’s so easy to fail to appreciate the blessings of life that surround us and instead wish for things to be different. Unfortunately, some of us carry this mindset into adulthood, and we constantly search for more, leaving us to neglect what we have now.
Thankfully, the story of Coraline teaches us the importance of contentment and gratitude. Coraline was initially unhappy with her life and the place she lived in.
She thought she wanted the perfect home and believed she found it in the alternate world she was in, but it was a trap and a place devoid of love and care. Eventually, she realized she already had what she needed all along; she just needed to save and appreciate her parents.
Coraline’s journey reminds us to open our hearts and minds to life’s imperfections and ups and downs. They are, after all, learning experiences that improve us as humans!
