ParaNorman

ParaNorman
File:ParaNorman poster.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sam Fell Chris Butler
Produced by	Travis Knight Arianne Sutner
Screenplay by	Chris Butler
Story by	Arianne Sutner Stephen Stone
Starring	Kodi Smit-McPhee Jodelle Ferland Tucker Albrizzi Anna Kendrick Casey Affleck Christopher Mintz-Plasse Leslie Mann Jeff Garlin Elaine Stritch Bernard Hill Tempestt Bledsoe Alex Borstein John Goodman
Music by	Jon Brion
Cinematography	Tristan Oliver
Edited by	Christopher Murrie
Production company	Laika
Distributed by	Focus Features
Release dates	August 3, 2012 (2012-08-03) (Mexico) August 17, 2012 (2012-08-17) (United States)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$60 million
Box office	$107,139,399

ParaNorman is a 2012 American 3D stop-motion animated horror comedy film produced by Laika, distributed by Focus Features and was released on August 17, 2012. It stars the voices of Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jodelle Ferland, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Elaine Stritch, Bernard Hill, Tempestt Bledsoe, Alex Borstein and John Goodman. It is the first stop-motion film to use a 3D color printer to create character faces and only the second to be shot in 3D. The film mainly received positive reviews and was a modest box office success, earning $107 million against its budget of $60 million. The film received nominations for the 2012 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film.

Plot

In the small town of Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts, Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is an 11-year-old boy who speaks with the dead, including his late grandmother (Elaine Stritch) and various ghosts in town. Almost no one believes him and he is isolated emotionally from his family while being ridiculed by his peers. His best friend, Neil Downe (Tucker Albrizzi), is an overweight boy who is bullied himself and finds in Norman a kindred spirit. During rehearsal of a school play commemorating the town's execution of a witch three centuries ago, Norman has a vision of the town's past in which he is pursued through the woods by townsfolk on a witch hunt. Afterward, the boys are confronted by Norman's estranged and seemingly deranged uncle Mr. Prenderghast (John Goodman) who tells his nephew that he soon must take up his regular ritual to protect the town. Soon after this encounter, Prenderghast dies from a sudden stroke. During the official performance of the school play Norman has another vision, creating a public spectacle of himself which leads to his father (Jeff Garlin) grounding him. His mother (Leslie Mann) tells him that his father's stern manner is because he is afraid for him. The next day, Norman sees Prenderghast's spirit who tells him that the ritual must be performed with a certain book before sundown that day; then making him swear to complete the task, Prenderghast's spirit is set free and crosses over. Norman is at first reluctant to go because he is scared but his grandmother tells him it is all right to be scared as long as he does not let it change who he is. Norman sets off to retrieve the book from Prenderghast's house (having to take it from his corpse).

He then goes to the graves of the five men and two women who were cursed by the witch, but finds that the book is merely a series of fairy tales. Alvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), a school bully, arrives and prevents Norman from reading the story before sundown. Norman attempts to continue reading from the book, to no effect. A ghostly storm resembling the witch appears in the air, summoning the cursed dead to arise as zombies, who chase the boys along with Norman's 17-year-old sister, Courtney (Anna Kendrick) and Neil's older brother, Mitch (Casey Affleck) down the hill and into town. Having realized that the witch was not buried in the graveyard, Norman contacts classmate Salma (who tells them to access the Town Hall's archives for the location of the witch's unmarked grave) for help. As the kids make their way to the Town Hall, the zombies are attacked by the citizenry. During the riot, Norman and his companions break into the archives but cannot find the information they need. As the mob moves to attack Town Hall, the witch storm appears over the crowd. Norman climbs the Hall's tower to read the book, in a last-ditch effort to finish the ritual, but the witch strikes the book with lightning, hurling Norman from the tower and deep into the archives.

Unconscious, Norman has a dream where he learns that the witch was Agatha Prenderghast (Jodelle Ferland), a little girl of his age who was also a medium. Norman realizes that Agatha was wrongfully convicted by the town council when they mistook her powers for witchcraft. After awakening, Norman encounters the zombies and recognizes them as the town council who convicted Agatha. The zombies admit that they only wanted to speak with him to ensure that he would take up the ritual, to minimize the damage of the mistake they made so long ago. Norman attempts to help the zombies slip away so they can guide him to Agatha's grave, but is cornered by the mob. Courtney and the kids confronts the crowd and convinces them to back off, arguing that their rage, fear, and misunderstanding make them no different than the cursed townsfolk from long ago. Judge Hopkins (Bernard Hill) guides Norman's family to the grave in a forest. Before the grave is reached, Agatha's magical powers separate Norman from the others. Norman finds the grave and interacts with Agatha who has become a vengeful spirit/poltergeist in the spirit dimension, determined to stop the cataclysmic tantrum she has been having over the years. She asks him to leave her be, but Norman holds his ground, telling her he understands how she feels as an outcast. Norman endures her assault and eventually convinces her that her vengeance is accomplishing nothing and persuades her to stop. Norman tells her that there must have been someone who was kind to her.

Agatha recalls happy memories with her mother. At last, having finally encountered someone who understands her plight, she is able to find a measure of peace and cross over to the afterlife. The storm dissipates, and she and the zombies all fade away. The town cleans up and regards Norman as a hero. In the end, Norman watches a horror film with the ghost of his grandmother and his family, who have grown to accept Norman for who he is.

Voice cast

• Kodi Smit-McPhee as Norman Babcock, an 11-year-old outcast kid who speaks to the dead
• Jodelle Ferland as Agatha "Aggie" Prenderghast, a ghost of a Puritan girl who lived in the 1700s.
• Tucker Albrizzi as Neil Downe, Norman's eccentric and chubby friend
• Anna Kendrick as Courtney Babcock, Norman's 17-year-old sister and cheerleader
• Casey Affleck as Mitch Downe, Neil's 18-year-old brother and a jock; the target of Courtney's affections, but later revealed to be gay.
• Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Alvin, a 13-year-old school bully
• Leslie Mann as Sandra Babcock, Norman's mother
• Jeff Garlin as Perry Babcock, Norman's father
• Elaine Stritch as Grandma Babcock, Norman's ghost grandmother
• Bernard Hill as Judge Hopkins, the leader of the zombies
• John Goodman as Mr. Prenderghast, Norman's uncle and the town's local lunatic
• Tempestt Bledsoe as Sheriff Hooper, a police officer
• Hannah Noyes as Salma, a smart girl from Norman's class
• Ariel Winter as Blithe Hollow kid
• Bridget Hoffman as Crystal and Parachutist Ghost
• Scott Menville as Deputy Wayne
• David Cowgill as Greaser Ghost
• Wendy Hoffman as Gucci Lady
• Alex Borstein as Mrs. Henscher, Norman's teacher
• Jeremy Shada as Pug
• Emily Hahn as Sweet Girl
• Kirk Baily, Cam Clarke, Lara Cody, Eddie Frierson, Rif Hutton, Edie Mirman and David Zyler as Blithe Hollow townspeople

Production

File:ParaNorman, Norman's faces, 3D printer.jpg

ParaNorman was the first film that utilized full-color 3D printers for animation.

Production of the stop-motion animation feature took place at Laika's studio in Hillsboro, Oregon. The film was in production for three years with the animating stage of production lasting about two years, beginning in late 2009. Rather than using traditional 3D format cameras, the studio used sixty Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR cameras to film the movie. Ad agency Wieden+Kennedy created the advertising campaign for the film. ParaNorman is the first ever stop motion film to utilize full-color 3D printers for replacement animation, after Coraline pioneered and popularized the use of black and white 3D printers, which sped up puppet production considerably and allowed the team to make the large number of puppet faces required for the film. "Quite often it’s the stop-motion movies that are more out there", co-director Fell told The New York Times. "They're a little quirkier, they're a little harder to pin down."

Soundtrack

Jon Brion composed the film's score, and an accompanying soundtrack album was released on August 14, 2012. Bits of other music appear in the film, including theme music from Halloween, the Donovan song "Season of the Witch" (sung by the school play cast) and "Fix Up, Look Sharp" by British rapper Dizzee Rascal. "Little Ghost", a White Stripes song from their 2005 album Get Behind Me Satan, plays at the end, over character cards identifying the main cast. However, one track in the film (an updated version of "Aggie Fights") was not included in the soundtrack.

Release

Home media

ParaNorman was released on DVD and Blu-ray, on November 27, 2012.

Reception

Critical response

ParaNorman received largely positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 87% of critics have given the film positive reviews, with a rating average of 7.3/10 based on 160 reviews. The consensus statement reads, "Beautifully animated and solidly scripted, ParaNorman will entertain (and frighten) older children while providing surprisingly thoughtful fare for their parents." Another review aggregator, Metacritic, calculated a score of 72 based on 33 reviews, or "generally favorable reviews." Justin Chang of Variety reviewed the film: "Few movies so taken with death have felt so rudely alive as ParaNorman, the latest handcrafted marvel from the stop-motion artists at Laika." On the other hand, Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter said: "It has its entertaining moments, but this paranormal stop-motion animated comedy-chiller cries out for more activity."

Box office

ParaNorman earned $56,003,051 in North America, and $51,136,348 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $107,139,399. The film was first premiered in Mexico on August 3, 2012 opening in second place with box office receipts of $2.2 million, behind The Dark Knight Rises. For its opening weekend in North America, the film placed third with receipts of $14 million behind The Expendables 2 and The Bourne Legacy. Travis Knight, head of the studio that produced the film, believed the box office total was fine, but that it did not live up to his expectations.

Gay character

The film has drawn some attention for the revelation in its final scenes that Mitch is gay, making him the first openly gay character in a mainstream animated film. Nancy French of the National Review Online suggested that the film could lead parents "to answer unwanted questions about sex and homosexuality on the way home from the movie theater". Conversely, Mike Ryan of The Huffington Post cited Mitch's inclusion as one of the reasons why ParaNorman is "remarkable". Co-director Chris Butler said that the character was explicitly connected with the film's message: "If we're saying to anyone that watches this movie don't judge other people, then we've got to have the strength of our convictions." In 2013 GLAAD nominated ParaNorman as its first-ever PG-rated movie for its annual GLAAD Media Awards.

Accolades

List of awards and nominations

Award	Category	Winner/Nominee	Result
Academy Awards	Best Animated Feature	Sam Fell, Chris Butler	Nominated
Alliance of Women Film Journalists	Best Animated Film		Won
Annie Awards	Best Animated Feature		Nominated
	Directing in an Animated Feature Production	Sam Fell, Chris Butler	Nominated
	Animated Effects in an Animated Production	Andrew Nawrot, Joe Gorski, Grant Lake	Nominated
	Character Animation in a Feature Production	Travis Knight	Won
	Character Design in an Animated Feature Production	Heidi Smith	Won
	Production Design in an Animated Feature Production	Nelson Lowry, Ross Stewart, Pete Oswald, Ean McNamara, Trevor Dalmer	Nominated
	Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production	Emmanuela Cozzi	Nominated
	Writing in an Animated Feature Production	Chris Butler	Nominated
BAFTA Awards	Best Animated Film		Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association	Best Animated Feature		Won
Critics Choice Awards	Best Animated Feature		Nominated
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association	Best Animated Film		Won
Denver Film Critics Society	Best Animated Feature		Won
Houston Film Critics Society	Best Animated Film		Nominated
Indiana Film Critics Association	Best Animated Feature		Nominated
Las Vegas Film Critics Society	Best Animated Film		Won
New York Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Animated Feature		Nominated
Online Film Critics Society	Best Animated Feature		Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society	Best Animated Film		Nominated
Producers Guild of America	Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures	Travis Knight, Arianne Sutner	Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society	Best Animated Film		Won
San Francisco Film Critics Circle	Best Animated Feature		Won
Satellite Awards	Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media		Nominated
Saturn Awards	Best Animated Film	Sam Fell and Chris Butler	Nominated
Southeastern Film Critics Association	Best Animated Film		Won
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association	Best Animated Film		Nominated
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards	Best Animated Feature		Won
Utah Film Critics Association	Best Animated Feature		Won
Visual Effects Society	Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture	Chris Butler, Sam Fell, Travis Knight, Brad Schiff	Nominated
	Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture	Graveyard: Phil Brotherton, Robert Desue, Oliver Jones, Nick Mariana	Nominated
		Main Street: Alice Bird, Matt Delue, Caitlin Pashalek	Nominated
	Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture	Practical Volumetrics: Aidan Fraser, Joe Gorski, Eric Kuehne, Andrew Nawrot	Nominated
		Angry Aggie Ink-Blot Electricity: Michael Cordova, Grant Laker, Susanna Luck, Peter Vickery	Nominated
Washington D. C. Area Film Critics Association	Best Animated Feature		Won

See also

• List of ghost films

External links

• Official website
• ParaNorman at IMDb
• ParaNorman at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• ParaNorman at AllMovie
• ParaNorman at Rotten Tomatoes
• ParaNorman at Metacritic
• ParaNorman at Box Office Mojo
• ParaNorman DVD & Blu-ray at Universal Studios Home Entertainment
• Official novel website