Family movie nights can be wonderful. They can be a shared experience in which everyone is lost in the same film — both parents and children glued to the screen. But they can be awkward as well.

In “Coraline,” Coraline sees similar drab beginnings and temptations of another world of sweets and indulgence. We see this through the role the “other-mother” occupies. She does not equate to ideals ...