Oregon¡¯s Laika studio, maker of fine ¡°handcrafted animation,¡± was responsible for ¡°Coraline,¡± simply the best stop-motion animated film of the past decade. It follows up with ¡°ParaNorman,¡± another scary, silly and sweet Goth-lite fable that attempts to wrest the territory back from Tim Burton.
Raised in the peeling-paint New England town of Blithe Hollow, which milks its witch-hunting history for the tourist trade, 11-year-old Norman (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee) is regarded by his peers and family as a freak because ¡ª insert ominous orchestral hit here ¡ª he can see the dead! So when Norman warns everyone that the town¡¯s 17th-century witch is coming back to enact some revenge, no one believes him. It¡¯s up to Norman, his airhead sister Courtney (Anna Kendrick), his chubby friend Neil (Tucker Albrizzi), doofus bully Alvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and Neil¡¯s jocky brother Mitch (Casey Affleck) to avert the undead apocalypse.
The stop-motion animation is flawless, the character design inspired (especially the zombies), and there are loads of in-jokes for horror-savvy parents watching with their kids. But the good jokes thin out towards the middle, and the ending is just way too preachy as it hammers home the ¡°be more accepting of people who are different¡± theme. A good message for kids, perhaps, but this ¡ª like ¡°Coraline¡± ¡ª may well be too scary for the youngest viewers.
| Rating | |
|---|---|
| Director | Chris Butler, Sam Fell |
| Language | English |
| Opens | Now showing |
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.