Film Review: Brilliant ‘ParaNorman’ Delivers For All Audiences

Submitted by BrianTT on August 16, 2012 - 9:02am

CHICAGO – “ParaNorman” is not only the best animated film of 2012 by a large margin but it’s better than anything that came out last year as well. The latest stop-motion gem from LAIKA (who made another one of the best animated films of the last several years in “Coraline”) is smart, funny, scary, imaginative, and, most surprisingly of all, moving. Don’t miss it.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee) loves watching TV with his grandmother (Elaine Stritch). The only problem is his irascible relative happens to be dead. Like the kid in “Sixth Sense,” Norman sees ghosts everywhere in the small New England town of Blithe Hollow. And they’re much less terrifying than just going to school. They’re kind of his only friends. Between classes, Norman is bullied by jerks like Alvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and teased by his sister Courtney (Anna Kendrick). Norman’s only real friend is the even-more-awkward Neil (Tucker Albrizzi) but he’s clearly loved by his concerned parents (Leslie Mann & Jeff Garlin) as well even if they worry about their troubled boy.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “ParaNorman” in our reviews section.

After the creepy town outsider (John Goodman) warns Norman that he’s the only one who can save the town from an impending supernatural destruction, our hero heads off on a Scooby-Doo-esque adventure with Neil, Courtney, Alvin, and Alvin’s jock brother Mitch (Casey Affleck). It turns out that the witch trial history of Blithe Hollow, one that they’ve turned into a tourist attraction, has some darker secrets than even the school pageant could reveal. Can the least popular kid in town save everyone from the vengeance being sought by the town’s dark past?

Conceived as “John Hughes meets John Carpenter,” “ParaNorman” has definite echoes of ‘80s action/horror films like “The Goonies” and “Gremlins.” It has a spirit of adventure that has simply been too-often supplanted by pop culture references and bodily humor in modern animation. Writer/directors Chris Butler and Sam Fell understand so many important elements of their art that other, more consumer-oriented filmmakers miss. Most importantly, they don’t play down to their audience, realizing that quality children’s entertainment doesn’t placate young ones but sparks their imaginations. Animation too often becomes a place holder, an electronic babysitter for a few hours. “ParaNorman” never gives one the feeling that it was created out of anything less than passion for the form of storytelling.

Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “ParaNorman” review.

“ParaNorman” features voice work by Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Elaine Stritch, Bernard Hill, Jodelle Ferland, and John Goodman. It was written by Chris Butler and directed by Butler & Sam Fell. It is rated PG and opens on August 17, 2012.