ParaNorman (2012): ***

Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is estranged from his classmates, apart from fellow social outcast Neil (Tucker Albrizzi), and is constantly bullied by Alvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) because of his ability to see and speak to the dead. Norman’s dad (Jeff Garlin) is frustrated, Mum (Leslie Mann) is concerned and his older sister (Anna Kendrick) is irritated by Norman’s protests that he actually can communicate with the deceased. When a witch’s ancient curse brings zombies to the town of Blithe Hollow, Norman must use his ability to save his hometown.

ParaNorman’s plot is a surprisingly sophisticated one. The effects and consequences of how we treat towards those who are different from us are explored and act as the catalyst for the plot in ParaNorman. The film also shows how anger and retaliation can lead to a bitter cycle, from which no-one wins and can only cause more pain, in a thoughtful light. ParaNorman is not condescending towards its target demographic and will probably inspire some questions in their young viewers. However, it does contain some scary scenes which may cause concern in younger children, but the deathly elements in ParaNorman are mostly treated lightly and with humour. 

Speaking of humour, Chris Butler’s script is chock-a-block with it and plenty of horror references to boot. Some of the jokes may not be to your liking; there are a couple of sexist jokes towards women, noticeably including groping. On the other hand, there are enough sight gags to rival an Aardman film and loads of jokes for the adults, including, ‘You promised me a meal someone else microwaved!’ and ‘I’ve never used deltoids, I swear!’ One comedic highlight involved Norman trying to pry a book out of a dead man’s hand, a macabre yet funny piece of physical comedy, although it might be a bit too much for some viewers, particularly the younger ones.  

ParaNorman is produced by Laika, the same stop-motion studio behind the creation of Coraline, with plenty of inventive artistic choices. The swirling storm that looms over Blithe Hollow appears to be made out of tulle and backgrounds incinerate away around Norman when he has visions. Whilst ParaNorman is set in a modern day society, there is a nostalgic sensibility in Tristan Oliver’s cinematography. Whilst Blithe Hollow may be a slightly run-down town full of grimy blues, green and browns, it glows warmly during the day. During the night sequences, Blithe Hollow is weakly lit with neon signs but the sky is a rich blue and purple.  

The characters don’t advance much beyond stereotype - although the jock Mitch (Casey Affleck) does have a significant throwaway line towards the end – especially the female ones. If it had been stronger, it might have been more emotionally engaging and elicit a stronger response to certain scenes. That aside, the voice cast do a wonderful job, bringing warm and wit to their characters. Kodi Smit-McPhee is the stand-out vocal talent amongst the cast as Norman, a reticent boy but quietly resolved to stop the witch’s curse.  

ParaNorman does suffer from some weak characterisation, but the enchanting design and story makes it worth watching.