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

Go behind-the-scenes at Laika Studios where Laika Head of Costume Design and Fabrication Deb Cook shares treasures from the studio’s archives department.

In this episode, Cook revisits the 2009 film Coraline, specifically “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.” There are lots of fabrics and illustrations included.

Some context and background via Racked in 2018:

“Deborah Cook’s job is uniquely challenging. As head of the 25-person costume department at Laika, the Oregon-based stop-motion studio behind movies like Coraline, ParaNorman, and Kubo and the Two Strings, Cook makes clothing for characters no taller than a pencil.

“Crafting miniature clothing is one thing, but engineering tiny costumes for character models that need to crouch, sit, and run frame by frame — costumes that will then be blown up on a movie theater screen, showcasing all of their details and flaws — is another skill set entirely.”

Watch these videos on TKSST next:
• Stop-motion animation goes high tech at Laika
• Laika’s Head of Puppetry explains how stop motion puppets are made