The Happiest Boy In The Zombie Apocalypse

[Originally Posted on http://obsessive-geek.blogspot.com/]

You know, I didn't have much faith in ParaNorman when it was first announced. That was probably because the first promo I saw or it didn't give us a hint of the dialogue and just played Season of the Witch over clips of the film. Hell, I didn't give the film much attention up until this week when I took my younger cousins to see it for a late birthday gift. ( It was either that, the third Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie or Sparkle)

I'm sorry for ignoring you so much, ParaNorman. I never knew your story could be so compelling.

The story itself centers around Norman Babcock, a young boy who sees and is able to talk to ghosts. While most people would take this opportunity to parlay it into John Edward level success, Norman finds himself at odds with basically everyone in the town of  Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts. Basically, he's the town's freak. And he's basically come to terms with it.

While he is fairly lonely, Norman's gift makes him basically the only  person to save the town. You see, the legend of a witch's curse (which the town milks for all its worth) is actually real and the seven who accused the witch shall come back as zombies.  And....

You know what, I've said enough. I don't want to spoil anything for you , so just go see the film yourself if you want to know anything else. The twist in the third act is probably the darkest thing I've seen in a movie aimed at children.

I can say that the movie's subtext is the various flaws of being a loner and being one of the crowd.  Norman's sympathetic, but he drives his would-be friend Neil away when he realizes what he has to do. He's accepted his loneliness and doesn't feel like dragging the lovable little butterball into his world of crazy. And as for the normal people of the town, let's just say that Agent K's line about humanity being panicky and violent  is reinforced  here.

The voice cast fits the characters well. Kodi Smit-McPhee and Tucker Albrizzi nail Norman and Neil respectively. Christopher Mintz-Plasse gives a very funny performance as  Alvin the slow wittied bully. Anna Kendrick  proves again that shes probably too good a playing shallow teenage girls (seriously Anna, I know you did Up In The Air, but  try some different roles before you get type-casted.) And the standout is Casey Affleck, unrecognizable as Neil's thick-headed jock brother Mitch.  Also, Elaine Stritch has basically a cameo appearance as Norman's dead grandmother and gets to share a very touching scene with her grandson.

And, like every other critic will tell you, the animation and set pieces are spectacular.

ParaNorman is a fun little surprise in these dog days of August. A well acted an amazingly animated and a twist that will probably make it one of the most touching and films of the year. Go see it.