ParaNorman Review

In preparation for the upcoming Oscars this February, I hit up the Redbox and picked up some Academy Award nominated films that I'd been meaning to watch. One film that I'd been particularly excited for was ParaNorman.

ParaNorman looked promising. It was a 3D stop motion film released this last summer, created by the same folks who brought us Coraline. It was directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler and written by Chris Butler.

Now I had really high expectations for this film, and I'm happy to say that it delivered in a huge way.

Animation: A-

I'm really not sure how much of this was straight up claymation and how much was CGI but whatever it was, it was spectacular. The claymation was a bit choppy at times, but that's to be expected. It was slick and vivid when it really counted. The character design was awesome and a pleasure to watch. Also the cinematography and "camera angles" were really impressive, especially for an animated movie.

Sound: A

First let me start with the music. This film had my favorite original score from an animated movie since Up. The music was beautiful and really just the icing on the cake. Jon Brion, the film's composer, really came through in a big way, and I'm strongly considering buying it and putting it on my iPod.

The voice acting was just about as superb. You could tell the entire cast was having fun, and with the material they were given, how could they not have fun?

Writing: A

At first I thought the story was a bit contrived. Like The Sixth Sense and Coraline had a baby. But I was very much wrong. At first we were just shown Norman's every day life. He goes around talking to dead people. Everyone in his town naturally thinks that he's mental so he faces quite a lot of bullying at school.

The greatest thing about the story is the way that, while it's kinda bizarre, it takes itself very seriously when it needs to, creating some very touching emotional parts.

(Also, parents should know this is the most sketch animated kids movie I've seen. Seriously, there's cussing and sex jokes and lots and lots of death. Just a heads up in case you were thinking of watching a fun family film with your six year old)

Overall: A

I still haven't seen Pirates, Frankenweenie, or Rise of the Guardians, so you have to take this with a grain of salt, but that has to be my favorite animated movie of 2012. And Wreck-it Ralph really set the bar high. The music, animation, and writing were all superb... so if you like music, animation, or writing, then you'll like this movie. Really guys, you should check it out.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to tell me what you think in the comments. Peace out.