ParaNorman

PARANORMAN

Missing that unmistakable Neil Gaiman flare

Zombie's got my leg

2012, Stop-motion kid's adventure, Rated PG

Distributed by Focus Features

          There is essentially nothing wrong with the film ParaNorman. It's a great little movie for kids and parents and even teenagers. The only issues one might see in ParaNorman involve the animation company Laika's previous efforts. The first stop-motion film made by the team at Laika was Coraline, based on a novel by Neil Gaiman. Their eerie, gothic take on the classic Gaiman tale was marvelous and fit the Coraline atmosphere perfectly. This time around Laika has made an original film that is based on nothing. It's simply a tale of a little boy who can talk to ghosts and his journey to save a really angry one from destroying his town. It is a good movie, but it undeniably suffers from the absence of Neil Gaiman's mind and ideas.

          If you're not a Neil Gaiman fan or have never seen Coraline then you will love ParaNorman.The animation is even better this time around and colors and characters pop right off the screen. The 3D aids in the "popping" and works wonderfully for all those ghostly apparitions. Norman is a likable character and he is surrounded by other even more likable characters. For some reason, little Norman didn't leave an impression on me as strongly as some of the other more eccentric characters. Norman has a fat, little friend who was hilarious. His big sister is funny and tastefully valley-girl. Her love interest and the older brother of the round friend was probably my favorite character in the whole movie. He is incredibly (and unrealistically) muscly but his meat-head jokes were all fresh. It's a character that shows up in many movies, especially young adult movies, but in ParaNorman he is still funny and fresh. One fact about that character is revealed at the very end (I won't spoil it for you) and represents a GIANT step forward for kids movies. Bravo, Laika, bravo!

          The actors who play these lively clay people were all perfectly cast. The only actor I did not find fitting was Jeff Garlin as Norman's father. It could have been because I expected him to be funnier, but he just didn't sound right. He made a lot of jokes that weren't funny and he also treats Norman unkindly. Maybe I just didn't like the character. All in all the voice acting and characters are incredibly interesting and eccentric.

          The only thing wrong with the film is the pacing. The beginning is not very intriguing. The middle builds a bit more steam. But the finale is downright awesome. The film builds to an insane climax that shows off mature writing and superb animation. The lackluster beginning made the ending that much more enjoyable, but they still could have evened the tone out a bit more. I also didn't really like how they portayed the character of Norman in some parts. The beginning of the film treats the audience as if we don't already know that he can see and talk to ghosts. He sort of walks around and says "hello" to no one as if I'm supposed to be confused by it. Then it shows other kids thinking that he is weird for talking to imaginary people. The camera revolves around Norman in one shot and reveals a hidden world of ghouls surrounding and speaking to Norman. It all just felt totally unnecessary and overly-long. The trailers told us right up front that Norman can talk to ghosts so why drag it out?

          Yes, ParaNorman has its flaws but they are few and far between. It is nothing compared to the brilliant Coraline but does show off some new wit and insight into gothic animated films (I hope one day there's a whole genre devoted to goth animated films). The aspects that are awesome about ParaNorman easily outweigh those that may have needed some work. And this is a definite theater movie. The 3D and epic animation need to be viewed on a big screen.

          Side note: Back to the Neil Gaiman thing. Gaiman wrote a book called The Graveyard Book about...you guessed it: a little boy who can talk to ghosts! Why didn't they simply adapt that? It would have been way cooler than the story that unfolds in ParaNorman.