Paying tribute to the B-grade horror films of the past, including nods to Friday the Thirteen <\/strong>(Norman’s friend turns up in a hockey mask) and Halloween <\/strong>(a cellphone ring-tone plays the theme music), the film even starts off with a homage to old school zombie movies, complete with a victim who stands and screams instead of simply running away as one of the undead shuffles towards her.<\/p>\n Littered with in-jokes and dark comedy, ParaNorman<\/strong> also has something to say about the nature of fear and the devastating effect it can have on things like reason and compassion. Even as it pokes fun at horror movie clich\u00e9s, there is a very harrowing horror story at its core… and it doesn’t involve monsters.<\/p>\n Much like Haley Joel Osmond in The Sixth Sense<\/strong>, Norman Babcock can see dead people. Unlike Haley Joel Osmond, Norman isn’t remotely afraid of them. In fact, it’s the living that he has trouble with. Whether its fending off the taunts of bullies at school or desperately trying to convince his family that his (deceased) grandmother’s presence in the house isn’t just a figment of his imagination, Norman has long-since become withdrawn and reclusive.<\/p>\n \u00a0And yet there’s something special about him. Despite all the ostracization he faces, he remains a gentle and considerate soul. As his grandmother’s ghost tells him, it’s okay to be scared – as long as he doesn’t let it change him.<\/p>\n As it turns out, there’s plenty to be afraid of.\u00a0 Living in Blithe Hollow, a township whose tourist trade revolves around its dark history of witch trials, Norman has grown up with the legend of the witch, whose curse on the Puritan judges that sentenced her to death promises that on Halloween night they will rise from the dead as the instruments of her revenge.<\/p>\n Norman tries to take each day as it comes, but recently he’s not only been having terrifying visions of the town’s colonial past, but is being stalked by the only other person in town who is deemed more crazy than him: his Uncle Prenderghast. Armed with a pair of crazy eyes and a book of fairytales, Prederghast insists that Norman is the only one who can keep the witch’s curse at bay. And if he doesn’t, the undead will rise from their graves.<\/p>\n Well, as you can probably assume from the various posters that made up the fim’s promotional material, Norman doesn’t <\/em>manage to keep the witch’s malevolence at bay. Together with a motley crew composed of his best (and only) friend, his ditzy\u00a0 sister, her would-be boyfriend and the local bully, Norman desperately searches for a way to repel the invasion and keep the town safe – even if it means going up against angry mobs and grisly zombies.<\/p>\n The characters featured in ParaNorman<\/strong> at first seem rather lightly sketched. With the exception of Norman himself they’re the stock comedic characters that we’ve seen dozens of times before: the flaky teen sister, the nerdy friend, the dumb jock, the even dumber school bully – yet by the end of the film insight has been shed on each of them, giving each of them a chance to shine, whether it’s standing up to a mob or revealing a secret of their own.<\/p>\n But it’s Norman himself who really carries the film, and who doesn’t<\/em> relate to a child that’s being picked on at school? With his spiky hair and thick eyebrows, each one giving the impression that he’s in a constant state of shock, he proves himself to be resourceful, brave, compassionate and wise beyond his years. He’s probably my favourite protagonist to have emerged from all these stop-motion films, and in him is the embodiment of the story’s central theme: that fear and intolerance is a greater evil than any witch or zombie.<\/p>\n I’ve been trying really hard to describe ParaNorman<\/strong> without giving away the surprise twist of its climax, something that’s been difficult considering how integral it is to the message of the film. Suffice to say that it’s the reason why ParaNorman <\/strong>is so memorable, making it far more complex and clever than I’ve been able to credit it without spoiling you.<\/p>\n The less you know the more it will manage to surprise you.<\/p>\n For our final film in Stop-Motion Animation October (which is now November) comes Frankenweenie<\/strong>…which I can’t tell you anything about because I haven’t actually seen it yet. I believe it involves a dog. See you then!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rebecca Fisher<\/p><\/div>\n Rebecca Fisher is a graduate of the University of Canterbury with a Masters degree in English Literature, mainly, she claims, because she was able to get away with writing her thesis on C.S. Lewis and Philip Pullman. She is a reviewer for FantasyLiterature.com<\/a>, a large website that specializes in fantasy and science-fiction novels, as well as posting reviews to Amazon.com<\/a> and her own LiveJournal<\/a> blog.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/paranorman11.jpeg\" "\\"paranorman1\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nPremise:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/paranorman2.jpeg\" "\\"paranorman2\\"")
<\/a>Norman’s life in a nutshell<\/em><\/p>\nStory:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/paranorman3.jpeg\" "\\"paranorman3\\"")
<\/a>Norman and his completely sane Uncle Prenderghast<\/em><\/p>\nCharacters: <\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/paranorman4.jpeg\" "\\"paranorman4\\"")
<\/a>From left: Alvin the bully, Courtney the ditz, Mitch the jock, Neil the best friend, and Norman<\/em><\/p>\nConclusion:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Next Time:<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Rebecca-Fisher-95x150.jpg\" "\\"Rebecca")
<\/a>About The Reviewer:<\/h3>\n