ParaNorman

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ParaNorman
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 Casey Affleck
Tempestt Bledsoe
Jeff Garlin
John Goodman
Bernard Hill
Anna Kendrick
Leslie Mann
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Jodelle Ferland
Elaine Stritch
Tucker Albrizzi
Music by Jon Brion[1]
Cinematography Tristan Oliver
Editing by Christopher Murrie
Studio Laika
Distributed by Focus Features
Universal Pictures (International)
Release date(s)
  • 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[2]
Box office $107,139,399 [2]

ParaNorman is a 2012 American 3D stop-motion animated comedy horror film[3] produced by Laika, distributed by Focus Features and was released on August 17, 2012.[4] The voice cast includes Casey Affleck, Tempestt Bledsoe, Jeff Garlin, John Goodman, Bernard Hill, Anna Kendrick, Leslie Mann, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jodelle Ferland, Elaine Stritch, and Tucker Albrizzi. It is the first stop-motion film to use a 3D color printer to create character faces, and only the second stop motion film to be shot in 3D.[5]

The film received a largely positive critical response,[6] while it was a modest box office success, earning $107 million against its budget of $60 million.[2][7][8] The film received nominations for the 2012 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film.

Contents

Plot [edit]

In the small town of Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts, a boy named Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is able to speak 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.

Norman becomes friends with Neil Downe (Tucker Albrizzi), an overweight boy who is bullied himself and finds Norman a kindred spirit. During rehearsal of a school play commemorating the town's witch execution of three centuries ago, Norman has a vision of the town's past and being pursued as a witch by the town's citizenry. 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.

Norman soon 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 is confronted by the Prenderghast's ghost who tells him that the ritual must be performed with a certain book before sundown that day. Norman sets off to retrieve the book. He then goes to the graves of the five men and two women who were cursed by the witch they condemned, but finds the book is merely a series of fairy tales.

Alvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), a school bully, interferes with the reading until after sundown. A ghostly storm resembling the witch appears in the air while the cursed dead arise and pursue the boys until they meet Norman's sister, Courtney (Anna Kendrick), Neil and his older brother, Mitch (Casey Affleck), who have come to retrieve Norman. The kids are pursued by the zombies into town, but Norman contacts classmate Salma (Hannah Noyes) for help, who tells them to access the Town Hall's archives for the location of the witch's unmarked grave.

As the kids make their way to the Town Hall, the zombies are attacked by the citizenry. During the riot, the kids break into the archives but cannot find the information they need. As the mob moves to attack Town Hall, the witch storm appears and Norman climbs the Hall's tower to read the book, but the witch strikes it with lightning and causes him to fall back down into the archives.

Unconscious, Norman has a dream where he learns that the witch was Agatha Prenderghast (Jodelle Micah Ferland), a little girl of his age who was also a medium. After awakening, Norman encounters the zombies and realizes that all they wanted was to speak with him to ensure he would take up the ritual to minimize the harm of the mistake they made with Agatha.

Norman attempts to help the zombies slip away to have them guide him to Agatha's grave, but are cornered by the mob. Courtney confronts the crowd and convinces them to back off. Judge Hopkins (Bernard Hill) guides Norman's family to the grave in a forest. Before the grave is reached, Agatha's magic separates Norman from the others.

Norman finds the grave and interacts with Agatha in the spirit dimension, determined to stop the cataclysmic tantrum she had 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. She is able to find a measure of peace and move on to the afterlife. The storm dissipates, and she and the zombies all fade away. The town cleans up and regards Norman as a hero. At the end, Norman watches a horror film with the ghost of his grandmother, and his family joins him.

Cast [edit]

Kodi Smit-McPhee at the ParaNorman premiere in Universal City, California

Production [edit]

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.[13][14] 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.[15] Ad agency Wieden+Kennedy created the advertising campaign for the film.[13] 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.[16]

"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.”[17]

Soundtrack [edit]

Jon Brion composed the film's score, and an accompanying soundtrack album was released on August 14, 2012.[18]

Bits of other music appear in the film, including theme music from Halloween and the Donovan song "Season of the Witch" (sung by the school play cast). "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.

Home media [edit]

ParaNorman was released on DVD and Blu-ray, on November 27, 2012.[19]

Reception [edit]

Critical response [edit]

ParaNorman has received a largely positive critical response. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 87% of critics have given the film positive reviews, with a rating average of 7.4/10 based on 112 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."[6] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, calculated a score of 73 based on 30 reviews, or "Generally favorable reviews."[20] 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."[21] 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."[10]

The film has drawn some attention for the revelation in its final scenes that Mitch is gay, believed to be the first openly gay character in a mainstream children's animated film. Nancy French of the National Review Online suggests that the film could lead parents "to answer unwanted questions about sex and homosexuality on the way home from the movie theater".[22] Conversely, Mike Ryan of The Huffington Post cites Mitch's inclusion as one of the reasons why ParaNorman is "remarkable".[23] Co-director Chris Butler said that the character was explicitly connected with the film's message, saying that "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."[24]

Box office [edit]

ParaNorman earned $56,003,051 in North America, and $51,136,348 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $107,139,399.[2] 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.[25] For its opening weekend in North America, the film placed third with receipts of $14 million behind The Expendables 2 and The Bourne Legacy.[26] Travis Knight (President & CEO of LAIKA) thought that the film's box office total was fine, but it still did not live up to his expectations.[8]

Accolades [edit]

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[27][28] 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[29] Best Animated Film Nominated
Boston Online Film Critics Association Best Animated Film Won
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Best Animated Film Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Best Animated Feature Won
Critics Choice Awards[30] 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[31] 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[32] Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media Nominated
Saturn Awards[33] Best Animated Film Sam Fell and Chris Butler Pending
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[34][35] 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

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Goldberg, Matt (2011-06-14). "Jon Brion to Score Laika’s 3D Stop-Motion Animated Feature PARANORMAN". Collider.com. Retrieved 2011-06-15. 
  2. ^ a b c d "ParaNorman". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 15, 2013. 
  3. ^ Buchanan, Jason. "ParaNorman (2012)". Allmovie. Retrieved August 30, 2012. 
  4. ^ "ParaNorman To Open August 17, 2012" (Press release). LAIKA. May 4, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2011. 
  5. ^ Roper, Caitlin (August 2012). "The Boy with 8,000 Faces". Wired. 
  6. ^ a b "ParaNorman (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 20, 2012. 
  7. ^ "2012 Recap (cont.): Losers". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-01-04. 
  8. ^ a b "Travis Knight (President & CEO of LAIKA) Talks PARANORMAN, Audience Reactions to the Film, Laika’s Future Plans, and More at the VES Awards". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-02-18. 
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h "ParaNorman". Yahoo!. Retrieved October 25, 2011. 
  10. ^ a b Rechtshaffen, Michael (August 2, 2012). "ParaNorman: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 25, 2012. 
  11. ^ "Jodelle Ferland". Focus Features. Retrieved July 24, 2012. 
  12. ^ a b c d e Truitt, Brian (2011-07-24). "'ParaNorman' brings together an outcast kid, zombies and John Hughes". USA Today. Retrieved 2011-07-27. 
  13. ^ a b Rogoway, Mike (August 11, 2012). "Laika thinks big with 'ParaNorman,' the second feature from Phil Knight's film studio". The Oregonian. Retrieved 16 August 2012. 
  14. ^ Giegerich, Andy (July 13, 2012). "Laika chases big dreams". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 16 August 2012. 
  15. ^ "Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR Cameras Help Capture the Summer Animated Feature "ParaNorman" in 3D". August 17, 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012. 
  16. ^ http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/17/how-3d-printing-changed-the-face-of-paranorman/
  17. ^ Ryzik, Melena (January 30, 2013). "Animation Basks in Oscar Spotlight". The New York Times. Retrieved January 30, 2013. 
  18. ^ Taylor, Drew (July 24, 2012). "Soundtrack Details For Jon Brion's Score For Ghoulish Animated Film ParaNorman". The Playlist. Retrieved October 31, 2012. 
  19. ^ "Paranorman Blu-ray and DVD". September 3, 2012. 
  20. ^ "ParaNorman". Metacritic. Retrieved August 20, 2012. 
  21. ^ Chang, Justin (August 2, 2012). "ParaNorman". Variety. Retrieved August 20, 2012. 
  22. ^ ParaNorman Has Gay Sub-Plot
  23. ^ 'ParaNorman': The Movie You May Not Be Planning To See, Though You Should
  24. ^ "The Film Strip: ‘ParaNorman’ Says You Can be Weird but Bullying is Not Ok.". Eurweb. Retrieved January 7, 2013. 
  25. ^ "Mexico Box Office, August 3–5, 2012". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 26, 2012. 
  26. ^ Subers, Ray (August 19, 2012). "Weekend Report: 'Expendables 2' Commandeers Top Spot, Misses Predecessor's Mark". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 20, 2012. 
  27. ^ "Annie Award Nominations Unveiled". Deadline. December 3, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2012. 
  28. ^ Beck, Jerry (February 2, 2013). "Annie Award Winners". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved February 3, 2013. 
  29. ^ Labrecque, Jeff (January 9, 2013). "'Lincoln' leads BAFTA race with 10 nominations". Deadline. Retrieved January 9, 2013. 
  30. ^ Hammond, Pete (December 11, 2012). "‘Lincoln’, ‘Les Miserables’, ‘Silver Linings’ Top List Of Nominees For 18th Annual Critics Choice Movie Awards". Deadline. Retrieved December 11, 2012. 
  31. ^ "2012 Awards (16th Annual)". December, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2012. 
  32. ^ Kilday, Gregg (December 3, 2012). "Satellite Awards Nominates 10 Films for Best Motion Picture". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 4, 2012. 
  33. ^ "'The Hobbit' leads Saturn Awards with nine nomination". 
  34. ^ "Nominations for the 11th Annual VES Awards". ComingSoon.net. 7 January 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2013. 
  35. ^ "VES Awards: ‘Life Of Pi’ Wins 4 Including Feature, ‘Brave’, ‘Game Of Thrones’ Other Big Winners". Deadline. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013. 

External links [edit]
Feature films
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