Paranorman (B or 3/4 stars)
Young Norman Babcock (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee, of Hugo) regularly sees & talks to the spirits of dead humans & animals who have emotional baggage left on Earth in 'ParaNorman' (a stop-motion animated film in the same vein as 2009's Coraline, directed by Chris Butler). Norman chats with his late grandmother (Elaine Stritch) to the dismay of his parents (Jeff Garlin, Leslie Mann), & he's ostracized at his elementary school in the leaf-blown town of Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts. However ... his misunderstood talent may now come in handy. See, 300 yrs. ago, an accused 'witch' was hanged and is about to return to town to wreak havoc, raising from the graveyard the zombie bodies of the people who judged/testified against her.
In addition to zombies, Norman has to take on ghosts, witches, & grown-ups to save his town from the curse. But this ghoul whisperer will find his paranormal activities pushed to their limits. Norman's oddball uncle (John Goodman), the only 'living' person who knew how to keep the witch's spirit at rest, meets an untimely end & entrusted Norman with the job of keeping said witch at bay. At the heart of this movie is, well, heart. Norman & Neil (Tucker Albrizzi), his portly fellow buddy & victim of abuse at school, realize that bullying is a sign of weakness; and the witch's vengeance represents their own pain/anger on a large scale. Norman needs to learn to forgive those people who mock his 'gift', & they need to learn to tolerate a little boy that they don't quite understand.
The sense of humor in this movie affectionately spoofs of old fright night/zombie flicks. Norman has to wrestle with a corpse locked up with rigor mortis & falls under its huge body. AND, with that said, I question just who this film is for -- obviously kids. But a lot of the humor will go over their heads. And some of the plot points are downright inappropriate for 'younger' children. The word "jackass" is uttered. There's the aforementioned human corpse scene. And there's a very uneasy spikes-shooting-out-of-the-ground at Norman scene that made ME grimace. The zombie Puritans are foul & frightening. And yet, they're also sympathetic; as perceptions are flipped and then it's the townspeople are viewed as a monstrous, bloodthirsty mob.
The kids who aim to save the town turn out to be the stereotypical grouping of 2 nerds (our protagonists), a prankster, a football jock (humorously spoken by the slight Casey Affleck), & a dippy cheerleading blonde (voiced so well by Anna Kendrick). Yet the villain they must battle has unexpected humanity & a surprising story to relate during the climax. 'ParaNorman' has some great cooky visuals and a real zaniness about it that I enjoyed. It's almost gleefully macabre (again, riding a fine line btwn. appropriate for small kids or not). But the film also has warmth & a strong moral: fear turns weak people into bullies.
In addition to zombies, Norman has to take on ghosts, witches, & grown-ups to save his town from the curse. But this ghoul whisperer will find his paranormal activities pushed to their limits. Norman's oddball uncle (John Goodman), the only 'living' person who knew how to keep the witch's spirit at rest, meets an untimely end & entrusted Norman with the job of keeping said witch at bay. At the heart of this movie is, well, heart. Norman & Neil (Tucker Albrizzi), his portly fellow buddy & victim of abuse at school, realize that bullying is a sign of weakness; and the witch's vengeance represents their own pain/anger on a large scale. Norman needs to learn to forgive those people who mock his 'gift', & they need to learn to tolerate a little boy that they don't quite understand.
The sense of humor in this movie affectionately spoofs of old fright night/zombie flicks. Norman has to wrestle with a corpse locked up with rigor mortis & falls under its huge body. AND, with that said, I question just who this film is for -- obviously kids. But a lot of the humor will go over their heads. And some of the plot points are downright inappropriate for 'younger' children. The word "jackass" is uttered. There's the aforementioned human corpse scene. And there's a very uneasy spikes-shooting-out-of-the-ground at Norman scene that made ME grimace. The zombie Puritans are foul & frightening. And yet, they're also sympathetic; as perceptions are flipped and then it's the townspeople are viewed as a monstrous, bloodthirsty mob.
The kids who aim to save the town turn out to be the stereotypical grouping of 2 nerds (our protagonists), a prankster, a football jock (humorously spoken by the slight Casey Affleck), & a dippy cheerleading blonde (voiced so well by Anna Kendrick). Yet the villain they must battle has unexpected humanity & a surprising story to relate during the climax. 'ParaNorman' has some great cooky visuals and a real zaniness about it that I enjoyed. It's almost gleefully macabre (again, riding a fine line btwn. appropriate for small kids or not). But the film also has warmth & a strong moral: fear turns weak people into bullies.