Due to unforseen circumstances, this will be the last film from the MIFF this year that I will be talking about. I was hoping to see The Suicide Shop as well, but that sold out for some reason. And not this amazing film. They must've had a smaller cinema. Oh well, Melbourne is a weird place, with very tiny cinemas it seems. This film is rather weird too. For starters, this is incredibly dark for a kids film, which makes it a risk. But they managed to pull it off. Hey, they did more than pull it off! This is pretty incredible (and I will go into why soon), but the best way I can describe it is a coming of age story, with zombies. That's it in a nutshell. Out of a nutshell, and this film is so much more.
Norman is an 11 year-old social outcast who can talk to ghosts. When his town is threatened by an ancient curse that raises the dead, it causes panic amongst it's residents. It's up to Norman and his associates (his sister Courtney, his friend and fellow outcast Neil, Neil's brother Mitch and school bully Alvin) to try and stop the attack before the town is destroyed. But that's just the main plot. The voice cast includes Kodi Smit-McPhee as Norman, Tucker Albrizzi as Neil, Casey Affleck as Mitch, Anna Kendrick as Courtney and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Alvin, with John Goodman also making an appearance as the town crazy, Mr Penderghast.
I wanted to see this movie from the minute I saw the trailer on youtube. In all honesty, it's one of the best trailers I've ever seen. It gives a perfect depiction of the mood of the movie, using clips that don't give anything away and yet also shows how awesome the film as a whole would be to watch. And it's got the perfect song. (Don't believe me? Watch it here!) So, I watched the trailer about a month ago and have been hyping myself up for this ever since. Was it worth it? Well, in my opninion, this is one of the best (if not the best) kids movies since Monsters Inc.
I'm serious, this manages to be goofy and serious in the right parts, and the message it gives it very relevant and strong. The film is incredibly risky, dealing in all those things that safer studios like Disney and Dreamworks won't even touch. Themes like death and moving on, bullying and the brutal prejudice that comes with fear of the unknown. While many Disney films do deal with death and the outsider trying to fit in, but they never go into death and grief in any great detail, it's mainly used for pathos and shock. And they never examine where this prejudice comes from, or else they just fall into annoying cliches. Laika, the production company for ParaNorman, instead shows a tragicically honest portrayal of those parts of childhood we'd rather forget.
This doesn't seem like an anti-bullying film, which is good. Obvious message movies piss me off, I prefer my morals wrapped in pastry. But unlike other movies that simply say bullying is bad and leave it at that, ParaNorman goes deeper and looks into why people will discriminate against those who are different, and also what effects it has on those who are bullied. This makes our main villains, the zombies, more complex than your average douche-bag, and also makes our hero, Norman, so much more realistic. There's also a neat little thing about how prejudice and fear has been around for centuriesand that we are merely repeating the mistakes of out ancestors and that the mistakes of the past will have repercussions in the future. If you watch the movie, you will know exactly what I mean.
But the thing I like most about this film is that it doesn't shove it's message down your throat, it merely presents the story and leads you in the direction they want you to take, but there is no nod to the audience saying "Do this, it's the right thing to do. If you don't, then you're a bad person". Through the characters and their actions do they get the message across. And these characters are pretty amazing. I briefly mentioned Norman earlier, but he really is an excellent protagonist, plagued by a gift he doesn't want and living with a family who find it hard to accept him and connect with him. He gets bullied at school and his only friends (before Neil) are the ghosts that he talks to, including his deceased grandmother. And yet, he is the only one who can save the town because of his gift (ironic, right?), and even though he isn't treated with any sort of respect, he takes on this responsibilty because no one else can, no matter how scared he is. And in the end, his fear drives him to finish his task. The other character I want to highlight quickly is Neil, who is so optimistic despite everything and how he's treated and is the first person to actually try and get to know Norman, yet not out of pity. More out of curiousity, I think, and kindness and empathy. And he stands by him no matter what.
I didn't mean for this to turn into such an essay, but you should know by now that the longer I make a review the more I like the film. So, now let us get on to the animation. So, this is produced by Laika, the same studio that also made the incredible Coraline adaptation. So, you already know that the animation is going to be amazing at the very least. And this is astounding! The character designs are grotesque caricatures of actual people. They look fantastic! They look how real people should look, just not as pretty. And the animation itself is beautifully flawless. This took 4 years to make, and you can really see all the time and love that went into making it. All I have are words of praise and thanks for the animators, so in the unlikely event of any of them reading this, well done chaps!
I really only have one complaint with the film and it's more of a nitpick/personals preference type thing so I'm not even bothering to mention it. This film is amazing, I don't know how many times I've said it, but I will keep saying it. It knows exactly the right moments when to be dark, and when to have a joke, and it treats it's audience (kids) with the respect that they deserve. The dialogue is very naturaland witty, and while it has a few pop culture references, it's not a Dreamworks movie. I'm not going to lie, there are a few gross bits and really little kids may find this scary. But for a slightly older audience this will definitely entertain. The music is also good, but it was when there wasn't any score that the atmosphere really intensified. I've got nothing more to say really, except it's so refreshing to see a smart kids film for one. You should see it. I've used up my entire collection of praising adjectives to describe this movie, and it's one of the rare films that the majority of people will like. Laika took a risk with this, and I'm glad they did. Maybe now a better calibre of kids movies will finally grace our screens. Until next time, readers, tis the season of the witch!
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