I saw a trailer for ParaNorman, and also read about the “controversy” (in quotes because some people will invent a controversy where there is none), and decided I had to see it.
Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a rather exceptional child. The movie opens with him watching a movie about zombies while his grandmother (Elaine Stritch) is sitting on the couch knitting. Norman gets called to dinner, and his grandmother asks him to tell his father to turn up the thermostat — her feet are freezing. Well, it seems Grandma is dead, and his parents have about had it with his “special talent” — mostly because they don’t believe it. Needless to say, Norman gets picked on at school because of it, too. Another boy, Neil (Tucker Albrizzi), equally the victim of bullies, offers to be his friend.
They happen to live in a small Massachusetts town with its own history of witchcraft trials, and one instance of a “witch” being hanged — but not before she cursed the town. And now the anniversary of the witch’s death is approaching, and the man who safeguarded the village from the curse, Mr. Prenderghast (John Goodman), an old eccentric who lives alone on a hill, is on his deathbed. In fact, it’s his ghost who finally persuades Norman to take over the task by taking the book clutched in his hands and reading from it over the witch’s grave. Norman tries, but it seems he’s got the wrong grave — instead of the witch, he’s reading to the graves of the people who accused, tried, and sentenced her. Norman and Neil and their ad hoc rescue party — by now the group includes Norman’s older sister, Courtney (Anna Kendrick); Neil’s older brother Mitch (Casey Affleck), a total jock; and Alvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Norman and Neil’s chief nemesis — are trying desperately to figure out where the witch is buried and head for the old City Hall to see if they can find the old records — followed by the zombies from three hundred years before, who rose from their graves as Norman was reading to them.
The film is one of the most charming I’ve seen. Yes, it’s directed at kids, so adults may find the message — that there is good in everyone and we should not judge people on what we believe, but on what they are — somewhat blatant. It’s handled well, though — not only is the theme spelled out explicitly, but it’s inherent in the entire story line. The story itself is tight and coherent — it’s pretty much non-stop, and thoroughly engaging, with enough references to other “scary” movies to keep you engaged. (The crowd scene in front of the old Town Hall, complete with torches and pitchforks, is priceless. And who threw that pumpkin?)
Visually, it’s nothing less than a work of art. I’m generally not so enthusiastic about stop-motion animation, but this one is seamless — fluid, naturalistic (even given the exaggeration of the character designs), and the animators have caught subtle changes in facial expressions as well as grand gestures. And even the character designs, as extreme as they are, somehow manage a feeling of reality, especially Norman, who is, in spite of obviously being a cartoon, very much a small boy.
The actors who voice these roles add to the reality of the whole thing — they’re so close to perfect that I can’t see the sky between, and even though they’re working with stereotypes — and make no mistake, they are — they manage to build real people to fill in the outlines.
And I have to mention the effects, which are spectacular. CGI can often stick out when used in conjunction with traditional animation, but here it’s a perfect fit, and the scene where Norman finally meets the witch are riveting.
All in all, if you can tap into the seven year old that is hiding in you somewhere, it’s a very satisfying film. It occurs to me that the denouement could have been more than a little treacly, but it avoids the saccharine neatly, giving us a comforting finish — although not without a little barbed humor.
Oh, and about that “controversy”: one of the characters is gay, but you don’t find out for sure (although the clues are there) that he is until the end, after you have had a chance to develop some liking for him (and he’s a good guy). This apparently has some people terrifically upset. I think they must have missed the whole point.
(Laika Entertainment, 2012) Running time 92 minutes. For complete credits, see the listing at IMDb.
