ParaNorman

Stop motion movies always have a certain endearing quality and ParaNorman is no different. Norman is a unique, instantly likeable protagonist who earns a lot of sympathy for his struggles. This is the basic layout for the story, which isn't super deep, but is cute enough to compensate. I loved the horror aspect of the film and the comedy is pretty on point. There are some good twists on classic tropes that subvert expectations too. Laika has a strong track record and ParaNorman is another hit for the little studio that could.

moviestoenjoy.wordpress.com

The makers of Coraline and the beautifully crafted but story-lacking 9 brought us another animated movie that did not disappoint. Paranorman was in fact a surprising movie. Unlike any other animated movie, this one picks a new sort of approach, that would probably entertain both adults and children.

The film was shot using a Canon 5D Mark II DSLR Camera. To generate the 3D effect, the camera was mounted on a special rig that would take one shot, then slide to a slightly viewpoint to take another shot. However, to generate all the different faces needed for the characters, the film company Laika used 3D printers.

The movie takes place in the creepy town of Blithe Hollow, whose name is a mash up of two other ghost stories, Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit(1945) and Washington Irving's The Legend of The Sleepy Hollow(1949). Paranorman tells the story of 11 years-old Norman (voiced by Kodi Smit- McPhee), who can speak to ghosts. Unfortunately, Norman has no friends because people think he's weird. Even his father (voiced by Jeff Garlin) regrets how his son turned out to be. The movie is a little too horror oriented, but funny and suitable for children nonetheless.

The characters are well drawn, so you can understand each of their personalities: you have the nice fat kid called Neil (voiced by Tucker Albrizzi), the usual blonde teen (voiced by Anna Kendrick), the bully (voiced by Christopher Mintz-Plasse), and the dumb jock (voiced by Casey Affleck). To be honest, my favorite was Neil.

To end with, Paranorman weaves a fantastically dazzling, consistently engaging and touching story. I really appreciated the level of maturity that has gone into this impressive stop-motion animation. A good movie in about every regard, that is fun and entertaining to watch, for both children and adults.

In Blithe Hollow, the outcast boy Norman Babcock lives with his father Perry, his mother Sandra and his teenage sister Courtney. Norman is considered a freak by his schoolmates since he speaks to the dead, including his grandmother that watches horror movies on television with him. However nobody believes that Norman has this ability besides his fat friend Neil.

Norman's deranged uncle Mr. Prenderghast meets Norman and tells that he must protect Blithe Hollow from the witch curse. Soon Mr. Prenderghast dies and his ghost explains to Norman that he should get his book and perform a ritual in the witch's grave. Norman finds the book that is a fairytale and then he goes to the seven graves where the men that condemned the witch are buried. However, Norman is interrupted by the school bully Alvin and the dead arise and invade the town. Soon Norman has a dream and finds that the witch is the girl Agatha that was sentenced to death in 1712 due to her medium ability. Now Norman wants to convince Agatha that her revenge is turning her equal to those who killed her.

"Paranorman" is a stop-motion animation with a very funny supernatural story. Norman speaking with his grandma in the beginning and Mitch telling to Courtney that he has a boyfriend in the end are hilarious. The story has also a great message against the prejudice and ignorance. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Paranorman"

Laika Entertainment, the stop-motion studio behind the modern classics Corpse Bride and Coraline, are back with their latest spooky tale, ParaNorman. Like its predecessors, ParaNorman is a beautiful claymation wonder. Every single frame is filled with such a vast amount of detail it would take several repeat views to catch all the hidden gems.

ParaNorman is also filled with humor. The talented voice actors that bring the clay characters to life provide most of the laughs. From Anna Kendrick's (Up In The Air, 50/50) ditzy cheerleader, to Casey Affleck's (Gone Baby Gone, Ocean's Eleven) dumb jock, to Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad, Kick-Ass) getting to play against his 'McLovin' typecast as the angry school bully. But the biggest laughs by far are dished out by child actor Tucker Albrizzi who is perfectly cast as the voice of Norman's chubby best friend, Neil.

ParaNorman is a visual and comedic force. Despite the tedious and demanding workload and easier computer rendering technology, Laika Entertainment continues the tradition of making stop-motion movies the hard way. With films as stunning as ParaNorman hopefully the technique will live on forever.

ParaNorman looks like a throwback to the good old campy stop-motion animated films. The concept may not sound so original, but the designs and the themes of the story are the main appeal here. The movie is fun and wonderful to look at. While it goes through a crazy adventure comedy, there is a surprising twist that made this so endearing. It is something that we don't usually see in an animated film, but because of that we intend to love it. ParaNorman is funny, creepy, smart, and affecting.

ParaNorman is oddly different as an animated family film. Unlike the others, this one has a dark and mature context, but by sentimental means. Although the story is about spirits and zombies, the true core of this film is the emotion and the message that it is trying to show us. There's a couple of moments that are quite affecting. Usually is when Norman is being alone in his gloomy life. In other parts, the film is ought to be funny. The comedy sometimes feel way apart from the drama, but they still work anyway.

The stop-motion animation indeed looks marvelous. These little figures really brought themselves to life as their voice actors provide their personalities. The campiest part, the zombies, are quite impressive to look at. It's undeniably solid. The music score sure knows which part is suppose to be gloomy, campy, or just ordinary. It's a great effect to the scenes and you'll love it. The rest of the movie is all ridiculous and fun little set pieces that are entertaining enough to enjoy.

ParaNorman is surprisingly strong. The depth of the story made this movie so special. It's still filled with comedy and lightheartedness. In the end, it turns out to be endearing. It's a rare kind of family film that is brave to show what it wanted to show. It might be hard for some to understand its sentiment, but if there's anything else why anyone would like this film then it's because of its majestic animation. ParaNorman is simply great and it's easy enough to recommend.