ParaNorman (2012)
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A young boy who can communicate with ghosts must perform a ritual to end a centuries-old curse on his town.
The story
In the small town of Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts, Norman Babcock is an 11-year-old outcast who speaks with the dead, including the ghost of his paternal grandmother. While his peers and family often look down upon him, he finds a kindred spirit in a bullied boy named Neil. After a school play commemorating a 300-year-old witch's execution, Norman is confronted by his estranged great-uncle, Mr. Prenderghast. Before passing away, Prenderghast tells Norman he must perform a ritual to protect the town. Norman must now navigate the fear of his situation to find a specific book and complete the task before the sun sets on the town's safety.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts, 11-year-old Norman Babcock is an outcast who can communicate with ghosts. After his great-uncle Prenderghast dies, he tasks Norman with performing a ritual to break a 300-year-old witch's curse. During a school play, Norman has a vision of a witch hunt, leading to a confrontation with his father. Following Prenderghast's spirit's instructions, Norman retrieves a book from the uncle's corpse. However, a bully named Alvin interrupts him, causing a 'witch storm' to appear and raising the town's cursed dead as zombies. Norman, along with friends Neil, Courtney, and Mitch, flee into town. They eventually reach the Town Hall, where Norman realizes the witch, Agatha 'Aggie' Prenderghast, was a misunderstood girl and a relative. He discovers the zombies are actually the town council who wronged her. After a confrontation with a mob, Norman reaches Aggie's grave. He confronts her ghost, explaining his understanding of her life as an outcast. This empathy allows her to find peace and cross over, dissipating the storm and the zombies. The town views Norman as a hero, and his family finally accepts him for who he is.
- First release year
- 2012
- Runtime (minutes)
- 92
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Sam Fell; Chris Butler
- Writers
- Chris Butler · writer
- Cast and characters
- Kodi Smit-McPhee · Norman Babcock; Tucker Albrizzi · Neil; Anna Kendrick · Courtney; Casey Affleck · Mitch; Christopher Mintz-Plasse · Alvin; Leslie Mann · Sandra; Jeff Garlin · Perry; Elaine Stritch · Grandmother; Bernard Hill · Judge Hopkins; Jodelle Ferland · Salma; John Goodman · Mr. Prenderghast
- Genres
- comedy; horror
- Themes
- acceptance; misunderstanding; growing up
- Tone and mood
- quirky; tense
- Setting
- Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts in the modern day (with references to the 1700s).
- Premise and plot tags
- supernatural; zombie; coming-of-age
- Content notes
- horror
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised its animation and script, and was a modest box office success.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 89% · scale: percentage · review count: 189; Metacritic · score: 72 · scale: 100 · review count: 33; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Animated Film · Nomination; BAFTA · Best Animated Film · Nomination
- Production trivia
- First stop-motion film to use a 3D color printer to create character faces.; Used sixty Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR cameras to film the movie.; The final fight featured a blend of stop motion, CGI effects, and hand-drawn animation.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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