In the 2009 film Coraline, button eyes distinguish the alternate world’s inhabitants from their real-world counterparts.
Coraline Jones discovers a secret door in her new home that leads to an alternate version of reality. At first, the alternate world seems more exciting and attentive than her ordinary life. Its inhabitants resemble people Coraline knows, but they have buttons sewn over their eyes.
The button eyes are a visual sign that the alternate world is controlled by the Other Mother, a predatory being who wants Coraline to remain there. Coraline eventually recognizes the apparent perfection as a trap and resists having buttons sewn onto her own eyes.
The film was directed by Henry Selick and adapted from Neil Gaiman’s 2002 novella Coraline. It uses stop-motion animation and combines family fantasy with unsettling horror. The secret door is a narrative gateway, not a version of Pandora’s Box.