ParaNorman – A Review

Oh Hell. I’ve just realized I haven’t written a blog post for tomorrow.

So how about a review of ParaNorman? I just watched it tonight. It’s either animation or maybe claymation. Does anyone really do claymation anymore, or is it all CG now?

Let me first say that my boys thought they were going to be bored. “That movie’s for our younger sister, Mom.” Exasperated sigh. But they totally got into it. So not totally out of the question for a mixed age group. We were 12, 15, 15, 48, 52. In case you wanted to know.

The story is about a boy who can talk to ghosts. His dead granny is hanging around the house keeping an eye on him. He has conversations with her, which of course makes the rest of the family crazy. None of them see ghosts. Norman get’s picked on at school too.

This is where the logic in the plot gets a little foggy for me, not that it matters. Supposedly, Norman’s Weird Uncle has been keeping a curse at bay. I’m not sure why. He dies, passes the duty on to Norman who will eventually have to save the day. The bully sees the error of his ways and Norman makes a friend. It’s all good.

For me one of the best lines was at the very end. I don’t want to ruin it for you all, but one of the characters turns out to be gay, and it comes out as an aside. It’s pretty funny and we all enjoyed it (except for one member of my family who claims not to be homophobic but is disgusted whenever the subject comes up in a movie. That line ruined the entire movie for that person. Too Bad.)

It’s a decent flick. Fun to watch, not a serious moment – although there is some peril.

Watch it, it’s fun.