ParaNorman (A Review)

An homage to the horror genre, and more!

I'm not sure why, but two things I enjoy seem to be currently in style when talking about animated features. First of all, stop-motion animation is making a huge comeback even in a CG heavy environment, with Pirates! Band of Misfits leading the way earlier this year (by the way, check out my review for that, it's pretty cool, if I do say so myself.) The second, and perhaps more surprising, is that these animated movies are touching on a genre admittedly not seen all that much in western animation: horror. I'm not surprised horror is so rare in animated movies in this part of the globe. In North America animation is still mostly sold as family flicks. In other words, some mindless entertainment to stick the young ones infront of so that they'll shut up for an hour and a half. Horror is just asking for children crying, screaming and generally the opposite of good times for parents looking for a moment's peace. One can definitely say parents are too sensitive in protecting their children from "scary" entertainment designed for a younger generation, and kids in fact enjoy being scared more then they let on. I would totally agree with that. That said, ParaNorman is not for children. Not the young, young ones anyway. And it's not because of the "scary-jump-out-and-spook-you moments," or for any disturbing visuals, but because of the morbid themes, the mature tone, and some admittedly very dark plot points. And it's in these very points that I think ParaNorman is not only successful as a film, but it is also breaking some new ground for animated movies.

They're like the Scooby-Gang! Except...not at all...

The movie surrounds Norman, a kid who has the power to see and talk to ghosts. Right out of the gate Norman has this power, and it also seems he's been dealing with it for a while judging by how casually he talks to the spirits, how apathetic he is with dealing with living people, and how inpatient his father is when talking about this issue. Norman just so happens to live in a Salem-like town, known for it's touristy portrayal of witch hunts. However, once a real witch's curses comes to pass and brings zombies to life, it's up to Norman and a small rag-tag group (mostly made out of people who made fun of him before) to stop the curse and restore peace to the town...and that's when the twists happen. I wouldn't dare ruin the second and third act of this film, but suffice to say they do a lot with the standard "zombies attack a small town" formula that hasn't been done before and that I genuinely didn't see coming.

The stop-motion is excellent. This is Laika's second stop-motion children's horror movie (after the wonderfully twisted Coraline) and I gotta say, they're really making a wonderful niche for themselves. And what's even more wonderful is the fact that even though this is another stop-motion film with spooky elements, this film has a distinctive art style all on it's own, really letting the two films stand out from each other. Everything is so detailed in each shot, and with some creative melding of some 2D elements as well as some 3D effects makes this lovingly crafted film a great feast for the eyes. The detail of facial animations alone is astounding and is made possible with the advancements in 3D printing technology, which is just plain cool.

Yup. Toilet paper hands. It's much more scarier then you might think.

Now here's the thing about this movie: it's not very funny. I mean, there are jokes, and gags, some slap-stick and a couple of tongue in cheek references to old horror shlock, but that's not the highlight of this movie. They were able to get some chuckles out of me, but if you're expecting to roll on the floor with laughter during this film, you best look elsewhere. Comedy is not the main focus of this movie. Instead, the film chooses to better focus its attention on two things: it's tone, and it's themes. Tone wise, it's all rather grim. And when you're dealing with death as one of your major plot points, that's no real surprise. The subject matter is probably why some of these jokes don't quite hit their mark. However, when things change from comedy to drama, that's where the script shines. And I don't just mean all the end of the world drama, but even more personal moments where Norman's parents are full on arguing over what to do about Norman, and how Norman's own father treats him like a freak of nature. That stuff hurts, and it's wonderfully brought to life in this film. And the themes this film bring to the table are all wonderfully brought to life in the drama this piece provides. Themes like hatred, bigotry, mob mentality and acceptance are heavy issues that I feel could have been butchered if not for the pacing of this film and it's allowance to give time to let these themes resonate with the audience.

I suppose if I was to complain about one thing, it would be the voice acting. Lots of the side characters were decent (McLovin' himself, Christopher Mintz-Plasse was an interesting choice for the school bully character,) but some other characters were a bit lacking in intensity when delivering on some of these dramatic moments. Sadly, Norman's voice actor, (teen actor Kodi Smit-McPhee) is the biggest offender. He delivers appropriately timid reads neer the beginning of the film when his character is a misunderstood loner, but as the film progresses and the drama ramps up, Smit-McPhee (and some of the other other actors) aren't quite able to deliver the intensity needed for those dramatic moments. Close, but not quite.

Mmmmuuugggghhh....MUUUGGGHHHHH!!!!

The film starts out on a gradual burn, but give it time and I think you'll be rewarded with some amazing animation, some dark plot twists and one of the most compelling third acts to grace a film in a long time. It's the kind of animated film I'm glad exists, as it's much more focused on delivering a strong message than anything else. And most importantly for an animated feature dealing with such grim issues, it takes itself seriously. Writer/director Chris Butler seemed to be very passionate on both his love for old horror films and the themes in this film, and it really shows. While we have more animated homages to horror filmes approaching this year, such as Tim Burton's  Frankenweenie and Genndy Tartakovsky's Hotel Transylvania, judging by the previews they both seem to be much more lighthearted affairs then ParaNorman. It's a risky move to make and animated "kids" movie with such heavy issues and story points, and in that regard this film should be applauded and encouraged! So do this film a favor and go check it out as soon as you can!

4/5

- Moo

Toons of Terror (Part 5: Dem Bones)

Yesterday’s blog was a little heavy, so let’s lighten things up with the happiest place on earth during the scariest time of year. It’s time for Disney’s take on Halloween! Today we look at two old school, black and white Disney shorts. Both featuring dancing skeletons! HORRAY!!

One being the Silly Symphony, Skeleton Dance (1929) and the other being a Mickey Mouse cartoon Haunted House (also 1929.) What are the chances of two Disney shorts involvine dancing skeletons coming out in the same year? Probably pretty good, actually. I’m not sure which came first, but there is some borrowed animation between the two, so there definitely was some collaborative brainstorming going on at Disney. Probably someone said, “dancing skeletons! Let’s do a short about that” And someone else said, “are you kidding?! There’s waaay to much material with a concept like that! We gotta do two!” As least that’s how I like to think it went down…

I’m grouping these two together, because they’re both very similar. One just happens to involve a very popular mouse. The imagery in both is actually pretty creepy for Disney. Being an older cartoon, they were able to actually get away with a little more artistically, I find. But even though the art is chilling, being Disney, these shorts never loose their sense of fun. It’s a kind of “playful scary” vibe that Disney later used in full force on their Haunted Manson ride. 

 

They’re both excellent cartoons. Skeleton Dance may be the more classic of the two, but I personally love the Mickey one a tad more. There’s something great about seeing this character so terrified that I always loved. And it’s also great that these ghouls just scared the hell out of him so that he would play the organ for them (probably cause skeletons don’t have any organs! Ba-dum tish!)

Ok enough of that. Just check out these shorts, they’re not very long, and even though they look old, the quality of the animation and storytelling hasn’t aged a day. 

- Moo

Toons of Terror (Part 4: Fear Bending)

I am a stone cold advocate of seeing animation as a medium, and not as a genre. Animation has the potential to do any genre in its own unique way that only animation can do. Yet, with that said, there are certain genres it does have trouble with or that I feel haven’t been explored well enough within the medium. One of those genres is horror. I love horror movies, and I love animation, but the amount of truly scary pieces of animation I’ve seen are far to few. So today for our Toons of Terror segment, let’s view a Halloween special that’s dripping with the tropes and tricks used in classic horror filmmaking. The show is Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the episode is simply called The Puppetmaster. 

I’ll try to keep this review as spoiler free as I can, as this episode is in the final season of the show, and at this point is rather deep into the overarching story. But let me say this: if you haven’t seen this show already GO WATCH THIS SHOW!! It’s one of the best cartoons I’ve seen in recent memory, and one of the best adventure shows of all time.

Now, with that said, this episode in question, while not technically a Halloween special, did premiere around Halloween of 2007 and is creepy as shit, so I’ll let it slide. The episode centers around the Avatar crew as they attempt to solve a mystery of people disappearing from a town every time there is a full moon. It’s a simple set up, but what separates this episode from being less Scooby-Doo like and more like a true horror film is the way they execute the events. It’s all in the delivery.

Now, since this still is an all ages show, they couldn’t get away with anything too gruesome, but that doesn’t mean they wern’t allowed to create the same atmosphere as done in a live action horror movie. In horror, what we can imagine is usually what’s the most frightening. Often times in film (especially early and indie horror filmes,) the budget would usually limit what you could show the audition, and that would actually be beneficial as the audition would fill in the blanks with their own fears. In animation, it’s a lot easier to just show big flashy things, cause it would essentially coast more or less the same than other scenes. But here in this episode, they wisely choose to show less, and tell more, letting our imaginations run wild. The very first scene is the kids telling each other ghost stories, and then Toph (the blind one of the group) tells others she could hear people screaming under the mountain followed by silence. They don’t show any of this, we’re just told. Our imaginations fill in the rest, and that’s just the first 5 minutes of this amazing episode. Creepy sounds and music (or sometimes lack there of) would make things feel very ominous. The storyboarding would show us just enough to wet our appetite for curiosity. Hell, there’s even some very sublet (almost subliminal) creepy imaginy, such as a random old woman’s face in a head of cabbage. 

And if that weren’t enough, the episode is also a big character moment for the character of Katara, and it actually answers some big questions I had about the show’s premis of “water bending.” But that’s getting into spoilerish territory, so again I’ll just say go and watch this one if you haven’t already. It’s a bold move for a “kid’s show” to do a episode meant to be frightening, and I feel it paid off for them in a very, very big way. 

- Moo

Toons of Terror (Part 3: Hey Aliens!)

Trick or treat is a simple concept. You either get tricked, or you get a treat. However, often times the alluring promise of free candy overwhelms the whole “trick” element of Halloween. So, I went looking for a Halloween special whose main focus was a really solid Halloween prank. And oh did I ever find one in Hey Arnold!’s halloween special, simply titled Arnold’s Halloween.

While there’s been many “spooky” episodes of Hey Arnold!, featuring ghost stories and other urban legends and tales, this is the only proper Halloween special that the show seemed to have. And lucky for us it pays homage to one of the greatest pranks ever, Orson Welles’ radio drama War of the Worlds. 

For those not in the know, War of the Worlds was a radio drama adaption of a piece written by H.G. Wells, directed and narrated by Orson Welles on October 30th 1938. The drama depicted an alien invasion as told from the perspective of a radio broadcaster. However, many people who missed the beginning of the piece (where it started it was fiction) kinda lost their shit thinking that this was a real alien invasion. People called the media and police, fled their homes, claimed they smelt poison gas and saw the flash of lights from the alien’s mothership. Mass hysteria! 

Arnold’s Halloween is a full homage to the classic radio drama and its fallout. After Arnold’s grandfather refuses to let Arnold and Gerald in on the planing for his anual Halloween pranks, the two decide to pull a prank of their own War of the Worlds style, faking a alien invasion broadcast. Even going so far as to have their classmates dress up as aliens. The prank however worked too well, and once the local media picked up on the broadcast, the whole town’s a panic. Again, mass hysteria! The fun is simply watching this good natured prank spiral out of control, having the kids flee for their lives in their alien costumes, and watching the adults totally lose their shit as the city goes into a complete panic. The cherry on the top of this cartoon sundae is voice actor Maurice LaMarche who not only voices one of the show regular antagonists, Big Bob Pataki, but is able to reuse his killer Orson Welles impersonation (that he perfected as The Brain in Pinky and The Brain) as Donald Wells, a report obsessed with alien conspiracies. 

The story of the fallout of The War of the Worlds has such natural comedy potential, it’s pretty surprising nobodies used it before. It’s a fun, panic filled story with tons of little moments, like Principle Warts planing to surrender willfully to the supposed invaders. I consider this one to be a hidden gem of animated Halloween specials. If you haven’t seen it before, give it a gander.

- Moo

Toons of Terror (Part 1: Pumpkin Messiahs)

I adore Halloween. I adore cartoons. So hey! Tis the season! I think it’s time to hunt down and talk about some of my personal favorite spooky toons. So with each day leading up to Hallow’s Eve this week, I’m gonna highlight some classic Halloween toons, as well as some not so classics that need some lovin’ too. This isn’t a ranking of favorite Halloween specials in any way, but just a random list of Halloween goodies. And what a better goodie to start with than good ol’ Charlie Brown’s Halloween special, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. 

Almost as cherished as the Christmas special that came before it, this Peanuts gang holiday special mainly follows the exploits of Linus as he awaits the arrival of a supernatural gift-giver known as “The Great Pumpkin.” So what’s so special about this special? What’s so great about this Great Pumpkin?

Well like I mentioned, this special mainly follows Linus, who I’ve always been able to relate to more then the self-pitied Charlie Brown. The only thing ol’ blockhead contributes to this piece is receiving rocks instead of candy on Halloween, which only confirms my beliefs that not only are the children jerks to Charlie Brown, but the adults aren’t much better.

No, here we have the blissfully sincere Linus: the only existential philosopher who carries around a blanket (that I know of.) I find it interesting that while his unrelenting believes and faith proved to be the resolution to Charlie Brown’s woes at Christmas time, here at Halloween Linus’ uncompromising beliefs and spirituality is the entire conflict! His belief in The Great Pumpkin is indeed a cleaver metaphor for religious fanaticism and the bigger questions and dilemmas that comes with spirituality. To a kid, Halloween is a night that you want to get the most out of in every way possible. To Linus, these blind promises of a pumpkin Messiah is what he believes is the best use of his time, and even talks Sally into joining his quasi-cult as they wait all night in the cold pumpkin patch while the others enjoy their well earned candy and their Halloween party. 

A crisis of faith isn’t exactly the first thing you’d think of when writing a Halloween special, but that’s what really makes this special stand out. And that’s why I love these Peanut specials in general. It combines some pretty deep questions about humanity with the charm and fun of kids at play. It’s a melancholy special, for sure. But hey! That’s Peanuts for you. 

If you haven’t seen this special since you were a kid, I highly recommend you rewatch it now. You may pick up on a lot of subtle humour that may have passed right by you as a kid, and the charm of these timeless characters are always a joy watch. At the very least you can laugh at Charlie Brown missing that football again… I know that always makes me feel better about myself! 

- Moo