Paranormanas

Fans of Aardman’s handcrafted style of animation will find much to enjoy in this wonderfully stylized stop-motion comedy-horror-thriller about a little boy named Norman who sees dead people, or at least their ghosts.

The young boy in “ParaNorman” suffers from what you might call “Sixth Sense” syndrome, which is the ability to see and communicate with dead people. There are plenty of dead people for him to encounter, too: he lives in New England...

The poor kid has no choice but to continually think about death; he is quite literally surrounded by it. For you see, Norman Babcock (voice of Kodi Smit-McPhee), the haunted hero of ParaNorman, can see ghosts. Perhaps worse, he can have full...

ParaNorman is funnier than any of those works, mixing the macabre material with juvenile angst John Hughes might have dreamed up. Norman (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee) has typically befuddled parents and a belligerent teacher.

Do you like any of the following things: the films of George A. Romero, “The Walking Dead,” The Cabin in the Woods, The Ring, Coraline,, “Tales From the Crypt,” Shaun of the Dead, Scream or Grindhouse? If you do, you're going to love ParaNorman.

ParaNorman is Laika Entertainment's second big screen release (after 2009's Coraline) and feels nearly as accomplished as their debut. I never thought I'd be nostalgic for stop-motion animation (Sinbad represent!), but having sat through just about...

The latest offering from the studio that brought us Coraline is another stop-motion animated project that not only parodies the horror genre, it re-enforces its power to an inexperienced generation. This is a kids' movie that doesn't talk down to its...

Eleven-year-old Norman (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee) did not ask for the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. Why would he? This young horror film fan surely would have seen “The Sixth Sense” and known that Haley Joel Osment doesn’t exactly spend...

It is not hard to imagine certain audience members not appreciating a movie like PARANORMAN. The stop motion animated feature is drenched in horror references and it even offers a few jokes that might not sit well with some parents.

Recently, a recognizable trend has emerged in animated films wherein the gothic and the supernatural become a means for youth to realign with reality and the living. The story of Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee), a young suburban pre-teen who can see and...

There's a tricky line when it comes to making scary animated movies. If they're cartoonish enough for young moviegoers to enjoy, then they tend to lack enough edge to satisfy older viewers. But if they're too scary, then they can give young moviegoers...

“ParaNorman” is a powerful piece of filmmaking, elegantly and perfectly tying together every element, from the stunning stop-motion animation to the spooky and original story line and beyond. When a film like this starts out strong, so often it can...

Although not for the very young or easily frightened, PARANORMAN is the surprise of this summer’s animation schedule. This tale of ghosts, zombies, witches and one young boy who can talk to them all is funny, engaging, and creatively animated.

Stop-motion animation is a tedious, time-consuming process, and the effort required to meticulously set up and move tiny models one frame at a time often lends the final result a feeling of handmade care.

Modern animated films often come in suspiciously similar batches that indicate studios are keeping a wise eye on the competition: Antz and A Bug’s Life were released in close proximity, as were Finding Nemo and Shark Tale, and Madagascar and The Wild.

It will be no surprise to anyone who knows me, has read my reviews and is aware of my love of animation that I simply adored “ParaNorman.” I suppose I was pre-disposed to love this film, for no other reasons than the sum of its parts: animation...

Much of the fun of the stop-motion animated comedy "ParaNorman" lies in the whimsical physical detail of its characters. Norman, the skinny 11-year-old at the center of the story, has ears like saucers and hair that stands up on end, as if he's been...

If you were as underwhelmed by the last couple of Pixar features as I was, try the spectacular-looking “ParaNorman,’’ which marries Pixar’s formerly sophisticated storytelling style to the mordant wit of Tim Burton’s animated projects.

"Paranorman” has a unique look that’s equal parts old school and cutting edge.

You don't have to be a fan of the horror genre to enjoy ParaNorman, the newest, stop motion, animated film from Laika Entertainment, the studio that brought us Coraline. It helps, but the film combines such a unique blend of awe-inducing animation...

“ParaNorman” is the latest film from Laika, the studio behind one of my favorite films “Coraline”. It is a 3D stop-motion animated adventure but may be too scary for the kids and not entertaining enough for the adults.

A timid, bookish kid (voice by Kodi Smit-McPhee), bullied at school and punished at home because he talks to ghosts, tries to save his town from a witch’s curse dating back 300 years, his mission complicated by an invasion of zombies.

“I see dead people.” Thirteen years have passed (almost to the day) since young Haley Joel Osment whispered his confession to a stunned Bruce Willis in “The Sixth Sense,” sending chills down our collective spines.

For about an hour, ParaNorman is just about what one might expect and hope for from animation studio Laika: a gorgeous-looking stop-motion cartoon that operates somewhere at the intersection of Monster House and The Monster Squad, slyly harkening back...

The stop-motion animated “ParaNorman” unfolds tragically: So much drawing for such an unworthy script.

Hey, it's not just Pixar that kicks ass in animation. Case in point: ParaNorman, a small miracle in stop-motion 3D from the wizards at Laika (Coraline). Part ghost story and part teen-misfit manifesto, the movie puts the focus on Norman...

The mediocrity of most of the animated movies that cascade into theatres in an apparently unstoppable flood is made abundantly clear by “ParaNorman,” a witty, heartfelt fable that cleverly employs horror movie conventions to convey a message about...

With 2009's Coraline the team at Laika Studios established themselves not just as skilled new talents in the specialized realm of stop-motion animation, but expert detailers of the loneliness and bizarre imaginative twists of childhood.

Imagine Tim Burton at his creative height (and without the terminal self-regard that corrupted his once welcome vision), and you have a pretty good idea of what ParaNorman is all about. It celebrates the gothic outsider in familiar fashion...

Most people are frightened of what they don't understand. If they weren't then there'd be no bullying, discrimination or wars and we'd all be scientists, employing our natural curiosity to explore the unknown. Of course, stripping that rotten strand of...

Meet Norman, a skinny middle school kid that everyone thinks is a freak because he claims he can talk to the dead. In a New England town that celebrates but doesn’t believe in witches and zombies, the 300th anniversary of a Puritan witch trial sets the...

ParaNorman is one of those interesting films that’s so admirable you might just forget to criticize it. Make no mistake, Chris Butler and Sam Fell’s stop-motion fantasy is exactly the kind of movie we want for our children. Smart, funny, dramatic full of

This delightful kids’ movie will entertain the whole family. With a plot simple enough for the younglings to understand and plenty of jokes for the parents, everyone in the family should leave the theater entertained.

Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee), a kid whose ability to see dead folks gives this zombie-lite animated feature its name, has fantastic built-for-3-D hair that sticks straight up as if in a permanent expression of fright.

Norman Babcock (voiced by Kodi Smith-McPhee) is an outsider who can see dead people and prefers the company of his grandmother's ghost to any of the living inhabitants of the small town he lives in.

ParaNorman Like Monster House, this animated feature taps into horror movie history to tell a story that's both genuinely creepy and a lot of fun. Terrific characters and some underlying emotion also bring out some strongly resonant themes.

Ingenious and wonderfully detailed, though better in its imaginative horror than its slightly too-broad comic knockabout. It’s not quite on the level of Coraline, but it’s proper summer fun with some dark delights.

FROM the makers of Coraline, ParaNorman is a child-friendly horror comedy made in stop-motion animation about an ostracized kid, Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who can see ghosts.

ParaNorman is beautifully animated with terrific voice work, likeable characters and some delightfully creepy moments, but the poorly conceived script means that it's neither as funny, as exciting or as emotionally engaging as it should have been.

This spring apparently really is the season of the witch, as we've had our cinemas invaded by no less than three ghoulish animated films for kids, one right after the other. First we had the rather weak Hotel Transylvania that was noteworthy only for...

Zombies are everywhere these days: shambling around in movies, TV shows, comics... hell, even your local shopping centre, thanks to the joys of zombie flashmobs. But while this is great for anyone over 18, there hasn’t really been much laid on...

ParaNorman, a 3D stop-motion horror-comedy love letter to misunderstood outcasts, begins in hilariously meta-fashion, with a bad horror movie-within-the-movie that features an endlessly screaming young woman, a slowly lumbering zombie, and a pulsating...

A word of caution for parents with younger tots – ‘Paranorman’ might not go down too well for the faint of heart. But its deliberately mature-skewing approach is also the reason why this is one of the most unique animated movies we’ve seen this year...

Norman’s got a lot riding on his underdeveloped, 11-year-old shoulders in ParaNorman, the second 3D stop-motion animated feature from Laika. Following 2009′s Coraline – a strong success with both the critics and the box office...