ParaNorman / Focus Features / Rated PG / 93 min. / Dir. by Chris Butler and Sam Fell
Walt Disney understood something that many current makers of children's entertainment fail to realize, that it's OK, even healthy for kids to experience fear when watching a movie, especially if there's a purpose behind the scares. His earliest films have more blatantly dark elements than most things the studio would dare put into the market today (although 2009's "The Princess and the Frog" certainly didn't shy away from the dark side). "Snow White", "Pinocchio", "Fantasia", "Dumbo", they all have moments that are seriously upsetting. As a kid, these moments scared me, but I felt a little braver for having witnessed them. Plus, they taught me messages. "Pinocchio" taught me that if I lead a hedonistic lifestyle, I will turn into a jackass. "Dumbo" taught me that excessive drink will make me dream about freaky pink elephants. "Fantasia" taught me that I should never, ever, ever visit Bald Mountain at night. You know, important messages like that.
Of course, some modern films still use fear as a teaching tool for children, but there are a few animators that have taken the fear a step further, making horror movies for kids. Tim Burton started it with "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and continued with "The Corpse Bride" and his upcoming "Frankenweenie". While his animated films have had macabre elements, the theme is often that when dark things are shined in light, they're not really that scary. However, others have added more adult elements in this types of films, making them feel more like animated horror films for older kids and adults than kids movies. "Monster House" fit this mold as did Laika Animation Studio's "Coraline". Well, Laika is at it again with "ParaNorman", a visually engaging, entertaining and often thoughtfully poignant movie that is definitely not for small children.
The film focuses on Norman Babcock (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee), an kind, soft-spoken boy who is picked on by the bullies at school and who feels ostracized from the rest of his classmates. You know, like most kids are. However, there's a very special reason that Norman gets tormented at school. He made the mistake at a young age of telling people about his gift. He can see ghosts. All of the spirits that have unfinished business on Earth. He sees them all. His usual walk to school involves conversations with dead mobsters, soldiers and pilots. It also includes the occasional play time with the local roadkill animals. Of course, none of Norman's neighbors see any of them, so he just looks seriously crazy.
Speaking of seriously crazy, Norman has an uncle (John Goodman) who his parents don't want around him and the rest of the town knows as the dirty old hobo that lives near the cemetery. Uncle Penderghast confronts Norman with a story about a 300 year-old witches curse and the raising of the dead. Of course, only Norman can keep it from happening and, of course, he fails, leading to all kinds of zombie-themed shenanigans. Unwillingly accompanying him on his adventure are his materialistic sister (Anna Kendrick), his arch-nemesis/bully (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), his persistent friend (Tucker Albrizzi) and his friend's lunkhead jock brother (Casey Affleck).
The biggest themes of "ParaNorman" involve forgiveness, acceptance, empathy and individual responsibility, all of which are terrific alternatives to the average and stereotypical themes of animated features. The screenplay, written by director Chris Butler, takes these themes and expertly weaves them into a story filled with humor and charm. The animation is ugly at times, stunningly beautiful at others and always reflective of the needs of the script.
So, "ParaNorman" is equal parts fun and scary and it's a great way to beat the heat of the end of summer (although why it's being released in August and not in October is a bit of a puzzlement). However, there are enough questionable elements including violence and occasional adult humor to call the film's PG rating into question. I really think that if this movie had been released as a life-action film, it easily would've been PG-13, so if you're thinking about this movie for your younger children, think twice. Let's put it this way: If "Coraline" was appropriate for your kids, this one will be too. If not, steer clear.
Overall grade: B+
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