Sadly Over-hyped

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Three years after Coraline, Laika inc. released their second feature film, ParaNorman, an original idea as opposed to an adaptation. Alongside gaining critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for best animated feature, what makes this movie beloved by many is how it touches the theme to not judge others no matter what you think of them. Even after seeing it six years after its original release, I think it still holds up.The main story is about an 11 year old social outcast named Norman Babcock who can communicate with ghosts. One day, his great uncle Mr. Prenderghast gives Norman the task of ending a witch's curse. However, Norman fails to stop the dead from rising on the anniversary of the witch's death, causing a zombie outbreak in his town. So it's up to him and others to stop both the zombies and the witch from causing mayhem, while also realizing more layers they have.Norman himself just might be one of the best outcasts written for a movie I've seen, as his reasonings for feeling forlorn make sense as only he can see the dead. He manages to shift from angsty to caring and serious rather smoothly, and it's hard not to root for him when he needs to fix his main problems. That being said, the rest of the characters are more of a mix. While some like Mr. Prenderghast, Norman's friend Neil, sister Courtney, mother, bully Alvin and Neil's brother Mitch give enough contribution to the plot while also being funny every now and then, others like Norman's dad, the townsfolk, Norman's teachers and others are just there and don't offer too much substance. However, the best characters in the entire movie by far are the zombies. At first they seem like your typical risen brain eating corpses, but as the film goes on, we learn more about their backstories which perfectly explain why the witch went insane. These backstories actually paint them as legitimately foolish people who made the worst mistakes of their lives, and it's hard not to feel sorry for them. Real talk, there are people in the world who will do stupid things that they may regret later on. Do not try to be like them and learn to become a better human being, because otherwise, you might end up causing as much harm to yourself as those around you.Laika never holds back in pushing the envelope of what stop-motion can do, and here they really recreate a mysterious town like Witch Hollow. Adding on to the relatively bleak tone the town sets, the characters themselves look rather freaky by design while still looking appealing, showing how the macabre, Sleepy Hollow and maybe even Coraline inspired the crew. The effects animation is another major highlight for how vibrant and creative it gets with its colors and elements. Even if the film does scare some people, it's hard for one not to drop their jaws when viewing such well crafted props, effects, scenery and characters. Admittedly, the humor can be rather hit or miss, as sometimes it hits really well (one joke at the end will really catch you by surprise), while other times it fails to contrast properly (the obnoxious bully Alvin being the worst offender). Nonetheless, despite some weak minor characters and hit or miss comedy, ParaNorman is still a deep, heartwarming and beautiful movie that is one of the perfect examples of handling a deep moral in the deepest way possible. Just because someone is different does not mean they're horrid, and just because some people are prejudice towards others does not mean all people are like that. When a movie like this comes around showing off lots of respect and care for its viewers, then there's no other way to sum up this film except...simply beautiful.

Much darker and more story-driven than most contemporary 'children's' animated films, ParaNorman is a well-written and well-crafted film. Norman can see dead people, of which there seem to be many, and thus ends up having to save the town from zombies, or (spoiler alert), as it turns out,…vice-versa. While not new to this film, the 'monsters as victims' is a refreshing spin and provides the filmmakers with a lot of comic potential, as does the transformation the frightened townies into a demented mob. The voice talent is very good and gives the animated characters, despite being imaged in extreme ways, real humanity. One of the directors (Chris Butler) worked on Coraline, which I found extremely creepy and remains one of my favourite animated films. I'm surprised that at the relatively low IMDb score as the movie, which was well received by the critics, is clever, fun and well executed.

Paranorman(2012) Starring:John Goodman, Lesile Mann, Casey Affleck, Kodie Smit- Mcphee, Anna Kendrick, Jodelle Ferland, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse Written By:Chris Butler Directed By:Chris Butler and Sam Fell Review IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES UNTIL SOMEONE RAISES THE DEAD. Well Folks your pal the crypt-critic here does enjoy some stop motion movies I do like some I don't lets take a look at this one. So with that said let's continue hoop-tober. Paranorman was a good movie, very heartfelt, very heartfelt and strangely thought provoking. Norman is considered a freak cause he can hear, see and talks to the dead including his grandmother and his deranged uncle who has the same ability as him. Some think he's acting out while others just think hes crazy. With the exception of a very funny fat kid named Neil who is an outcast himself and wants to be Normans friend. When Norman's uncle dies he passes on his duty to keep the witch at bay. Norman is too late and the dead rise unleashing the witches curse, Norman has to team up with Neil, the school bully, his bossy sister, and Neil's brother the jock to put an end to the witches curse once and for all. What follows is a story that doesn't just have you sympathizing with Norman but with the zombies and the witch as well. The movie has an awesome twist and the ending is unforgettable. You'll love this movie, it is funny, it was sweet, it was scary, tons of fun to sit through but most of all surprising. This movie throws a lot of curve-balls that I almost saw nothing else coming. Story-wise the film is flawless. The directors clearly had a unique vision for this film not just for the story but the characters as well. These were very enjoyable characters but much like Cabin In The Woods(2012) they are breakfast club characters. The beauty queen, the jock, the nerd, the bully and the basket case, however they are deeper then their stereotypes. They are extremely fun to watch in fact more so the Cabin In The Woods(2012) and the voice actors are all spot on. Kodie Smit-Mcphee who played the little boy in Let Me In does a great job at playing Norman, he truly understood this character and I hope he has a good career in the future. Anna Kendrick who actually is one of my favorite actress who I wish to see more of was enjoyable as Norman's bossy beauty queen sister named Courtney. She doesn't understand Norman but as the film progresses she learns that she doesn't need to understand him although she learns that she doesn't need to understand him she is his sister and should always have his back. Tucker Albrizzi was very funny as Neil, Christopher Mintz- Plasse shows a new side playing Alvin the bully, and Casey Affleck was hilarious as Mitch, Neil's weightlifting brother. Another great attribute to the characters is that they all feel real, you probably now someone like one of these characters in this film. The dialogue and conversations feel genuine rather then scripted which is hard task to pull off in a film that is animation instead of live action. Jodelle Ferland did a fantastic job as Aggie the witch, one of the best performances in animation. Her character is really fleshed out, you gratly feel and sympthazie with her and understand the pain she's in just a fantastic character and performance all around. The effects in the movie are very well done for a stop motion picture, I actually thinks the effects are better in this film then they were a nightmare before Christmas. I just feel that this film had better atmosphere that the effects helped at hand. Overall Paranoman is a wonderful little movie that took me by surprise. The effects ,the story, the actors, the characters all brilliant. I give Paranorman a three and a half out of five.

After 163 reviews posted here there isn't much left to write about this movie --- other than it is great fun.I noticed in some other reviews here there is a question on it's "family appropriateness". I disagree with them considering whats on daily TV. And the joke at the end goes by so quickly I didn't even realize it until I read some reviews.Altogether 'Paranorman' is a funny and suspenseful flick with a great use of non-computer graphic technology for the characters and some really spooky and gross-out scenes the tween set will enjoy.And somewhere in the story is message for us all.