ParaNorman

It really seems like half the stop motion animated films that were made after "The Nightmare Before Christmas" feature ghosts, zombies or other horror elements. Just as traditional feature animation was stuck in the fairytale genre for many years following Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", stop motion animated movies is currently stuck in the horror genre. Having said that, "ParaNorman" by the end is entertaining but maybe too intense for little kids. The movie starts out cliché but is contains some good story twists. The 3D however was more impressive on the studio's first film "Coraline". They should have used traditional 3D format cameras to film this movie.

"ParaNorman" is a combination of "The Sixth Sense", "Hocus Pocus" and "Scooby-Doo". I love how we are tricked into thinking that Norman's grandmother is still alive in the first scene. Norman's introduction by way of walking and going to school is well done but we have seen this type of character before. We do have a great bonding moment between Norman and Neil in Neil's backyard. As mentioned, the best part of the movie comes in the climax by way of the story twist. If you are paying attention during the story twist scene, you might also realize that Norman is descendant of the witch. The movie becomes original when Norman decides to do something more than just continue the ritual. I love the gags in the car as the family drives to the witch's grave. I wish there had been a surprise location for the grave of the witch. The movie seemed to hint that there would be. The line that the witch whispers in Norman's ear is pretty dramatic. The use of sound and special effects during this climax is very well done. By helping the witch, Norman is able to deal with his own life problems. He comes to understand that being alone is not the better way of life because of what happened to the witch. In this moment we have a nice reprise of what Sandra told Norman after the play. Mitch is gay? That was a let down. I wanted him and Courtney to end up together. Is that appropriate in a kid's film by the way? I don't think so. I feel this movie is more for teens than young children.

This film features some well-known actors. Oscar nominated actor Casey Affleck did a great job as Mitch. As for Christopher Mintz-Plasse, he had a better character on "How To Train Your Dragon". It was also nice to hear Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Bernard Hill, Alex Borstein and John Goodman in "ParaNorman". This movie is the first stop motion feature film to a 3D color printer to create the character's faces. On "Coraline", the characters still had to be painted by hand. Also, the jerk of the characters is gone in some shots. Fat characters have more believable skin. It looks at acts realistically.

This movie is better than Aardman's "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" but not as good as "Coraline". I am glad that "ParaNorman" ended the way it did. The film has some characteristics that I dislike but for the most part, it is a fun film for teens and older children. The show deserved its Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.

3.5 Stars