ParaNorman

For most kids, it would be bad enough to be teased at their school, bullied by siblings at home, and misunderstood by their parents. Eleven-year-old Norman would probably be happy if those were his only problems. Because Norman has a very special gift that could put the horror movie fan in grave danger: the misfit can talk to the dead. And while he's been able to take a lot of positives from this gift so far, like still being able to spend time with his deceased grandma, he's in real trouble when his small hometown is invaded by zombies one day. This resurrection of the dead is part of a centuries-old witch's curse that could destroy the entire town. Only Norman could stop this thanks to his gift. But how is an eleven-year-old supposed to take on zombies, witches and a panicked mob?

With ParaNorman, Sam Fell and Chris Butler present a very special stop-motion animated film. With a team that has experience working on darkly humorous animated films like Corpse Bride and Coraline, the two directors have conjured up one of the most original and endearing animated films of the year. As an homage to old horror films, peppered with numerous genre quotes, the film works just as well as an entertaining fantasy adventure and an endearing coming-of-age story. With a likeable anti-hero, who is rather shy and reserved towards living people due to his gift, but of course rises above himself at the crucial moment, and delightfully quirky supporting characters, the story quickly succeeds in winning the hearts of the audience.

However, ParaNorman escapes the usual pattern of contemporary animated films in many respects. For example, there are pleasantly few of the nowadays unfortunately obligatory with loud Ahhhh screaming of the protagonists underlined chase, fall or Schlitterszenen. Also the visuals with the less attractive figures and the partly very shapeless appearance of objects and characters seem very unusual and certainly take some getting used to. In addition, the film is aimed at a much more limited target audience than, say, the Ice Age films and other computer-animated, family-friendly fun. ParaNorman appeals to young and young-at-heart viewers over the age of 10 who have a soft spot for the creepy and the macabre. Because the animated film has plenty of that to offer. Although these moments are presented very funny, delicate children might get scared in some scenes.

But ParaNorman is not a pure children's film anyway. A few small hidden gags, which were clearly only built in for adults, and the many wonderful details, which many younger viewers do not get due to lack of previous cinematic knowledge, make the film also for older genre fans to quite a pleasure. And so adult companions may well enjoy the animated film a lot more, while children used to hectic animated adventures might even be bored by the story, which is told very calmly, especially at the beginning.

As for the 3D effect, there are some very effective moments here and there and some details also come out better due to the spatial depth of the three-dimensional image. However, ParaNorman also has to contend with the fact that the many scenes in many cinemas, which are already quite dark, look even darker when the 3D glasses are put on, which of course in turn means that a lot of detail is lost. So if you want to enjoy the film in all its glory, you should do without the admittedly quite good 3D gimmick and rather opt for the ordinary 2D version.

If you loved scary movies and horror stories as a kid, were an outsider yourself, or just like quirky fantasy stories in the style of Coraline - though the humour of ParaNorman is far more crowd-pleasing than the wonderful yet very quirky Coraline - then you definitely shouldn't miss this lovingly crafted, funny and original creepy animated film. Absolutely worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp