ParaNorman (2012)

about the family and solitude and strange friendship and a special gift. all using stop motion for an interesting manner to become hero of the community. ParaNorman has the virtue to be more than a film for children or for adults. it reminds small things in the right manner, with humor and precision, in inspired manner to give realism to a story who mix magic, ordinary life and zombies. ParaNorman is special. for a character who preserves its identity in delicate way. for the nuances who impose a lovely story about the small, insignificant boy, far by society rules/expectations, who becomes the savior of the town. all in creepy/ironic humour covered.so, more than nice.

I really enjoy animation and animated films (especially stop motion) because the artwork is out of this world, but in a lot of cases they fall short on the writing and original plot work. Unfortunately this is the case with ParaNorman.That being said, the environment, puppet work, and special effects are superb throughout this movie.Where the movie draws you in with quirks, family drama, and a misunderstood outcast protagonist, it strays too often into ludicrous comedy that breaks the tension. The main story, however, is fulfilling and makes this well worth the watch even though there are flaws, and clichés all the way through.

This film was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Feature, losing to Brave. There will be spoilers ahead: It's a challenge to write about this film because talking too much about the plot would ruin it, but it's difficult to discuss it very much without covering at least a little of the plot. I'll tread lightly.Norman is a misfit. He sees ghosts. He talks to ghosts. He's not the first one in his family who's a bit out in left field (there's Uncle Prendergast, for example). The best part of the first half hour or so, aside from the visual look of the film, is the set up of Norman as different and an outcast. The first half hour or so is exposition and it tends to bog things down at first. But it mostly pays off in the end.Norman finds out that it's up to him to prevent a disaster befalling his town, whose people mock and shun him. He gets help here and there at various points, some of it from unexpected sources. The ending is marvelous. Pay very close attention in the last half hour, as it all comes together then.There are some homages to film throughout this one and there's a beautiful scene where a character throws out a line from Shakespeare which must be seen to be appreciated. There are some really nice throwaway gags which you'll miss if you blink at the wrong time. This isn't the best film I've seen, but it's far from the worst. Norman's a good kid and it's an entertaining film.This is available on Blu Ray and DVD. Blu Ray is the way to go if that's an option for you. Well worth watching.

Most animated movies treat kids as though they are lazy, moronic vegetables who are too young to understand anything. That's why movies like Frozen, Madagascar and Despicable Me are filling cinemas (along with all the tacky merchandise from said movies filling stores). It's great to finally see an animated movie for kids that has some depth to it. The main character is Norman, a misfit boy who can see ghosts - but this movie isn't a horror film, it's written for kids and it's all played out in a lighthearted, comedic way. Poor Norman is the laughingstock of his school, but he does have a close friendship with Neil, an overweight boy who often has words like "fatty" spray-painted on his locker. Together they discover a curse on the town going back a few centuries, a curse that could bring zombies loose upon the town, and together they try to put a stop to it with the help of Norman's barbie-like older sister Courtney and Neil's jock older brother, Mitch.Everything about this movie is original and inspires kids to be themselves and not care what other people think of them. It carries a powerful anti-bullying message but still manages to be incredibly funny and is entertaining for all ages, adults included. It's nice to see a movie that isn't all just unicorns and dinosaurs and flowers and dragons either, kids can watch creepy things too without getting scared, and ParaNorman is creepy for kids but not enough to give them nightmares or terrify them to death. Hopefully ParaNorman will inspire other animation companies to follow in its footsteps and get out of the slump the film industry is in right now.