I'm generalising of course, but I actually think Coraline is more frightening for adults than for children, and it jabs a few raw nerves. When I came out of the cinema after watching it the first time, there were parents muttering how it was too scary for children, and children raving to one another about how brilliant it was (including some who I wouldn't say were much older than about five or six).

Suffice it to say, both my children found it bracing but entertaining at this age. It all depends on the individual child, in the end.