It has been a very productive and acclaimed year for the animation genre of stop-motion. Earlier, we had the Brits of Aardman Animations launching out an adaptation of THE PIRATES!, and just recently we finally received a wider release from the Czechs with TOYS IN THE ATTIC, a 2009 film that has been touring the festival circuit. Laika, the stop-motion animation studio best known for CORALINE, has now unleashed PARANORMAN, a whimsical horror fantasy that treats kids with thrills and spills while also maintaining a sense of dignity. It never talks down to its younger viewers, choosing to entertain them through identification, even touching on subjects that may be too risque for easily offended parents but are the absolute truth and reality for the newer generation. Other than featuring a nice moral high-ground, the film is also is simply just a great zombie flick with a PG rating.
Norman Babcock's avocation is his real life as a kid in the little town of Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts. His main occupation, other than being a student, is watching schlocky 80's horror flicks and talking to ghosts who are not only stuck in purgatory but in Blithe Hollow as well. These ethereal beings can only enter the afterlife once they ask someone to embark on a personal mission for them. Norman is the only one who can see these apparitions, thus giving him a stigma among the citizens. They place this harsh punishment on a little boy despite living in a town that has abused and exploited its past legacy as the site of a famous witch trial and her deadly curse. The anniversary of said event is coming up, leading to some odd mental visions that literally burn their way into Norman's psyche. He is then hassled by his unwashed and insane uncle, who can also see and sense what he can and warns him of the danger looming ahead. The uncle comically kicks the bucket but haunts Norman at his school before asking him to prevent the evil threat by reading a book on the graves of those cursed by the witch. Of course for conflict reasons, this request is hampered due to interference, a pile of 17th century zombies come out, and thus Norman must figure out how to quell the terror striking Blithe Hollow, even if he has to trust others to do so.
Unfortunately, Norman's ghosts become a rare afterthought once the first act is completed. Whether due to the script or the film's budget, they do not appear either as a helper or more comic relief for the boy. In their places are his older sister, a fellow wannabe school mate who suffers from others yet looks on the bright side of life, the mate's car-loving dumb older brother, and a miscreant who has a been thorn in Norman's eye. Each of them play a certain conventional horror character type (cheerleader, fat kid, jock and juvenile delinquent respectively) and follow the mandatory mindset associated with them, i.e. all dumber than a bag of hammers. Thankfully, the creators gave each of them surprising traits, some of which I can not mention for spoilers sake. One I can talk about is the school mate named Neil. Though designed and wonderfully crafted to be the perfect fat kid fall down foil, he does a have nice air of assertiveness and has some of the growing pains and feelings a kid would have at his age.
Though I like the little touches, the majority of the film is simply being cute, a pleasant breeze through mild-mannered plays on popular stereotypes. There's some nice substance to the material but something is just missing from the witch's pot. It really isn't until the major plot twist and the grand macabre finale that truly elevates this work while dropping your jaws. The fun then begins coming not from the laughs but from utter terror. The grimness rises and it becomes intoxicatingly ghastly. Let's just say that the goosebumps come a-poppin' when a strategic use of a fast zoom is employed and they stay there. Though they are creepy, the scares are ultimately suitable for children, never going beyond into nightmare fuel territory. They will give them jolts and frights but they will not scar.
Additional to the frightening spooks, the film aims its sights on several morals to imbue on to the lucky young viewers and even some adults. It tackles the on-going social debate of bullying, as Norman is completely ostracized within the confines of his school. The creators present it realistically; the majority of the children do not speak or stand near him, afraid and disgusted by his presence, leaving him open to the few who would inflict him with physical discomfort. The other major theme is how fear can cloud everyone's judgment, causing them to commit heinous acts of violence and mortal danger. A large, unruly mob pops up later, crazed and bloody-thirsty by the presence of the zombie pack, leading to a debate of who are the real monsters in this scenario.
I must commend directors Sam Fell and Chris Butler and all of the hard-working men and women at Laika. They engineered some of the best advancements in stop-motion technology here, through the use of full color 3D printers, making some exquisite facials on the characters. Also, as a horror buff, I was tickled by the musical stings and scene recreations to past films, such as a moment where Neil wears the Jason hockey mask while set up in a shot from the ending of HALLOWEEN. Of course, none of those can top the hilarious prologue, where a "Feature Presentation" logo pops up before screening a z-grade EVIL DEAD pastiche with a foot-planted screaming woman and a boom mike shot. As for the acting side, all are generally good with Kodi Smit-McPhee being the obvious standout as Norman. I also want to give a special mention to the person voicing the evil witch and her wide range of emotional hikes. The only big miss is Jeff Garlin, who comes off more hostile and unlovable as Norman's dad but that seems to be the fault of the writers and their own daddy issues.
PARANORMAN is what a kid's movie, whether animated or live-action, should be. There are no smug and smiling main characters, afro circuses, or visual hyperactivity for the sake of it. It may be stuck with the theater-happy 3D format but it features elements and questions that are more in your face than a zombie's gapping mouth. This is yet another stop-motion movie that will live on and on, whether on video and television, every October.
FINAL REVIEW: 4 / 5
No comments:
Post a Comment