Jesper Brun After watching Laika Entertainment's masterfully crafted debut Coraline, I was immediately hooked and would check out their next feature. Did it match the greatness of Coraline? Well, not all the way, but here's why. Norman's story of being an outcast in his neighborhood because he sees ghosts of dead people is really interesting, but is a little underdeveloped. It is never really explained why he sees ghost and the movie rather wants to crack jokes most of the times which can be entertaining, but is mostly unfunny in my opinion. I predicted at least one of the jokes from a mile away. It fills up most of the movie, and it can be a little to much. The characters are mostly generic suburban stereotypes aside from a couple or three here and there, but the really interesting characters are not revealed until the climax and on until the end. That is where the characters go from generic to intersting. But Laika Entertainment still manages to throw tons of eye candy at us with great designs of characters and landscapes filled with great detail. Around the climax is especially up there as some of the best uses of special effects in a stopmotion movie. The comedic part aside, I still highly recommend ParaNorman for its creative storytelling and stunning visual artistry.

TheBlueHairedLawyer 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.

Adam Foidart "ParaNorman" may be too frightening for smaller children but for everyone else, it's a hilarious and scary animated feature that's sure to delight. It's wonderfully animated, with a lot of creative designs and great special effects, and it is filled with consistent laughs that will appeal particularly to fans of horror films. It also has a surprisingly touching and well done message towards the end that parents will be happy to see without being like the obvious P.S.A.s that are thrown together at the end of so many children's cartoons. I'm a big fan of zombie and "classic" 80-90's horror and I had a terrific time. An added bonus is that with this one and you can bring your kid brother/sister to have some fun too. I wouldn't recommend it for children under the age of 8, but I know at least one parent who lets their 10-year-old watch "The Walking Dead", so I guess that's up to you as a parent to decide if you think this will be too frightening for them. The stop motion animation is very well done and looks gorgeous, not at all like some of that jittery stuff you're used to seeing in those Rankin/Bass Christmas specials. The animation is quite smooth here, almost a bit too smooth for my taste, but I digress. Even in the realm of stop-motion, which is always pretty striking this one stands out. There is a particular effect towards the end of the film that looks like stop motion cloth was used to make clouds shaped like a face that stuck with me long after the film was over. It's so well done and unique... and I have no idea how they did it. I also very much appreciated the visual style of this film, which is very distinct. I suppose all stop-motion films look quite distinct, but once again, there's something about this one that makes it really stand out. This film in particular will look really great on Blu-ray and I would recommend you see it in 3D if possible (from what I saw, it would be a lot on fun in 3D). (2-D Theatrical version on the big screen, August 28th, 2012)

morrison-dylan-fan With Halloween coming up,I started searching round for a Horror title which a friend could watch with her family.Searching round for a suitable title,I suddenly remembered seeing the trailer for a wonderful-looking animated Horror,which led to me getting ready to meet a paranormal Norman.The plot:Ever since his grandmother's death, Norman Babcock has found that he's been able to talk and see the death,with his grandmother returning as a ghost,and revealing to Norman that she has come back,thanks to making a promise that she would always be there for him.Attempting to tell his family about his new found skill,Babcock finds his claims being completely dismissed,with his family seeing his ghostly activities as part of the grieving process that Norman is going through over the death of his grandmother.Along with his family,Norman finds himself getting labelled a freak by almost everyone at school,with the only person prepared to be Norman's friend,being school outcast Neil Downe.To mark the 300th anniversary of a witch being executed in the town,the residence of Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts, decide to stage a school play re-enactment,with Norman being given a background role.As he finds himself getting bored to death standing in the background,Norman begins to see 'signs' which start to hint that the witch's cause may be about to return.View on the film:For the stylish appearance of the film,co-directors Sam Fell and Chris Butler (who also wrote the screenplay) expertly combined CGI with Claymation,as Fell and Butler show Norman's awkward personality with the wonderfully off-beat clay animation,which is matched by the director's sharp CGI facial animation.Giving the movie a real creepy atmosphere,the director's use burning purples and wild splashes of yellow to show a Gothic world slowly creeping into the town.With the Horror element of the movie,writer Chris Butler shows that he is unafraid to treat the children seeing the film as adults,thanks to Butler mixing hilarious slap-stick Comedy and sight gags with a superb Horror bite,which goes from an unexpectedly chilling hanging,to some rather wonderful wacky zombies.Keeping away from taking the easy option of making the movies heart sickly sweet,Butler instead gradually takes his time in showing Norman gain a real sense of self confidence,as he finds himself having to take on the unknown for the first time in his life.Giving the character a perfect loser-turns-hero voice, Kodi Smit- McPhee gives an excellent performance as Norman,with Smit-McPhee really capturing the uncertainty in Norman's voice,whilst Jodelle Ferland strikes a chill with the forceful voice of Aggie,as Norman sets out to find the cause behind the paranormal activities.