Been getting back into the Coraline fandom and looking at all the theories. One theory states that one of that this ghost children is the daughter of Mr. Bobinsky, due to their matching long faces.
Presumably, the Other Father took the form of Mr. Bobinsky to lure her in. But what if it wasn't actually the Other Father we know at the time, and it was actually the Other Bobinsky?
Mr. Bobinsky was still living in the house when Coraline came along, so the Other Mother couldn't just get rid of him. He ether had to make a new Other Bobinsky, or in this case, make a new Other Father and give the Other Bobinsky a new role as an entertainer.
It's likely that his fatherly personality somewhat bleeds through his new entertainer personality. Unlike the Other Spink and Forcible, he actually talks to Coraline after the show and treats her rather lovingly, even kissing her hand.
When all of the Other Mother's creations start reverting to their original forms, Other Bobinsky still treats Coraline with kindness, while Other Spink and Forcible lash out at her violently.
It's likely that if he still had the mindset of the Other Father, he would have just given her the eye. But the Other Mother rewired his mind to that of a performer, though it seems she didn't completely remove that father part of his mind, leading to his personality being a mix of both. The father half still cares for Caroline, while the entertainer half wants to keep entertaining her. Doesn't help that his mind is unraveling along with his body and he's giving in to rat instincts.
Anyway, that's my theory to add to the pile of Coraline theories. Probably won't get noticed among them all, but whatevs.
