Coraline got everything she wanted in that Other world with her Other Mother and her Other Father. She was the center of their universe. A kid’s dream come true. “Everything’s right in this world, kiddo,” her Other Father said. Until of course, it wasn’t. Plus, in the Other World, everyone’s eyes were covered with buttons and the Other Mother’s sinister intentions were gradually revealed. In some intense scenes (too scary for my 7-year-old), Coraline realized that the Other Mother didn’t really love her and wanted to use her instead.

While we were walking out to the car after the movie, I asked my son and daughter what they thought the movie’s message was. “You should be thankful for what you’ve got,” my daughter said assuredly, slipping her arm around my waist.

My son agreed, saying that the Other so-called “perfect” world was a trap, but then offered this observation: “You’re like the first mother because you’re always working and can never play with us.” When his sister gave him a stern, chastising look, he acknowledged, “You do nice things occasionally.”

Well, “occasionally’s” not too bad. When they inevitably start crabbing about me not playing with them when I’m working or baking them cookies, I can always remind them of how things wouldn’t necessarily be better with an on-the-surface perfect Other Mother.