It's never too early in the year to start feeling those
haunting vibes of Halloween. With competition like "Hotel
Transylvania" and Tim Burton's stop-motion "Frankenweenie"
already staking claim in the fall season, "ParaNorman" finds itself
in an uphill marketing position. The only good thing to coming out quite early
is that "ParaNorman" satisfies as an appetizer for those caught up in
witches, spirits and zombies. To save his town from a 300-year-old curse,
Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) has to combat all three one way or another.
But Norman isn't your ordinary kid in some ordinary town, he's a medium, who's
ridiculed and bullied by his friends, his family and the townspeople who don't
quite understand his gift.
At first, watching Norman go about daily medium business is
rather entertaining. His village, Blithe Hollow is chock full of the lingering
dead and it appears to the public if Norman is talking directly to thin air.
However, director Sam Fell ("The Tale of Despereaux") uses all of its
novelty rather quickly and after the first thirty minutes, Norman's gift takes
a backseat to a much larger picture. Kodi Smit-McPhee is a fitting voice actor
for the titular role, already experienced with solid, creepy performances
already under his belt in "The Road" and "Let Me In."
Norman himself is the heart of the story and that's due to the fact that
Smit-McPhee lends credibility and dimension to making his character out to be
the outcast hero that's intended.
Joining Smit-McPhee are Anna Kendrick as Norman's stereotypical
bratty older sister, Courtney and Casey Affleck as Mitch, her jock love
interest. Kendrick impresses in every role she's in and in
"ParaNorman," she hammers home the tropes of a typical teenager in
her delivery. Surprisingly enough, this is Kendrick's first voice acting gig
and it's a sure bet that other studios will snatch her up for future animated
roles. The remainder of the voice ensemble don't have much to work with. For
example, John Goodman voices Norman's crazy uncle and is prominent one minute
to the plot and completely dismissed the next. Other talents such as Leslie
Mann and Bernard Hill are limited on screentime as well, which doesn't bode
well for these more notable names.
"ParaNorman" really comes off as the distant
offspring of two other stop-motion movies, "Monster House" and
"Coraline" in both tone and design. Like 2006's "Monster
House," the character and set designs are much cruder that don't have that
signature softness that Aardman prides itself on. That doesn't necessarily mean
that the animation has taken a step or two back, but it's more the truth that
it feels more like traditional claymation than being fluidic. Characters like
Norman benefit from this aesthetic design, but others just can't shake the
sense of being frame-by-frame clay marionettes.
For the first twenty minutes, "ParaNorman" is
solid, rivaling many of the already released animated movies of 2012. The
opening sequence alone sets the stage for a throwback type of film with its pan
and scan aspect ratio, 80s horror music and calculated skips in the soundtrack.
So far so good. But once the plot gets moving, very slowly that is, everything
invested in that initial act is stripped away by lethargic pacing and an
overdrawn finale. This shouldn't be no surprise to anyone who's seen director
Sam Fell's previous two animated films, "Flushed Away" and "The
Tale of Despereaux." "Despereaux" is without a doubt one of the
slowest paced animated films and it unfortunately carries over in "ParaNorman."
The overall plot could've been tightened a good 15-20 minutes without
sacrificing any of the overdrawn plot development. Even the witch's curse,
which is supposed to be the focal point of the entire film, doesn't have any
sort of intrigue until the climax of the film. Throughout the film, we know
enough generic information about the curse to quench our interest, but it falls
short in its placement in the overall story arc. Simple storytelling like this
shouldn't be sacrificed for other useless elements. Though forgivable here, hopefully,
director Fell will continue to tweak his weakest points in his next
feature.
Also, "ParaNorman" tends to work on a more mature
level with many themes and innuendos considered too risque for the PG rating
slapped on the film. Understandably, "ParaNorman" is targeted for
families, but be warned that many times throughout, the characters allude to
themes that cross into the PG-13 territory. Some innuendos will be blatantly
obvious to kids, while others will fly completely over their heads. It's not
bad taste on the director's part, but for the targeted audiences, there might
be too much crammed in what should be a film of sole entertainment.
Director Fell puts reality on display in
"ParaNorman," rather than sugarcoating the plot with childish and campy
antics designed for a typical Halloween yarn. Many times throughout the movie,
Norman is victimized by his classmates and ridiculed by his immediate family.
And while the spray painted lockers and physical abuse might hit home for many
younger viewers, it also sends the message that they are not alone and it's
okay to be different or weird or an outcast. And what makes the message even
more powerful is that Norman turns the other cheek and rises above his bullies.
Besides the brooding and abundance of adult themes that
weigh down "ParaNorman," the story is a thrilling endeavor to kick
off the Halloween season that's held together by its character moments rather
than the action. Surprisingly, it's not the zombie attacks on Blithe Hollow
that are the most memorable action sequences, but when Norman transcends worlds
to confront the dead. The spirit world takes on a haunting, eerie palette which
sets up the dynamic psychological confronation between Norman and the witch.
"ParaNorman" isn't the best animated film 2012 has
to offer so far, but it channels many of its positive moments to minimalize the
flaws in its pacing and unnecessary adult tone. If you're already skipping over
the next two months and thinking forward to Halloween, "ParaNorman" is
a start in the right direction.
GRADE: B- (7/10)
This review is also available on Blu-Ray.com
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