Oct 8, 2012

ParaNorman [2012]


Bucharest has, from time to time, some very cool events, and one just started a couple of days ago: Animest, an international film animation festival. The event's premiere on the first day was ParaNorman, a Laika studio production. Written by Chris Butler and directed by him and Sam Fell, it tells the story of a kid who can see and talk to ghosts, for that being considered a freak in school. Things get complicated when a weird old man entrusts him with the vital task of stopping the witch's curse over the town.

ParaNorman turned out to be a fantastic film, one of the best animations I have seen in a long time- might even crack my top 2012 film choices, and that is surprising, considering I don't particularly like animated movies.

Let me tell you why you should see this. First and foremost, it's extremely funny most of the time, and that we can "blame" it on the script, a definite strong point of the film: its lines and hilarious situations make you laugh out loud. Moving on, we also have a lot of action, some scary moments, and great, lovable, down to earth characters, with slightly exaggerated traits to make it more funny. Mix that with fantastic visuals, dynamic direction and an appropriate soundtrack and score, and you've got yourself a hit.

I enjoyed this much more than Frankenweenie- maybe because of the use of colors (as opposed to F, which was Black&White), or because of the much funnier script, with the more realistic and hilarious characters, but overall, in my eyes, ParaNorman is a class above Frankenweenie, not to mention much more entertaining than the Tim Burton film.

Please go see ParaNorman, I think you will like it! 

8 comments:

  1. I'm mixed on this one. That said, love the message behind the film.

    Definitely something I wouldn't mind children investing time into.

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    1. Hey Sam, nice to see you around! Why were you mixed on it? what didn't work for you? I really liked, but it might be a little bit too scary for kids, I think...

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  2. Better than Frankenweenie? Hmm... I missed this in theaters, but I'll check it out on DVD. I'll probably see Frankenweenie in theaters though.

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    1. Both are good and Frankenweenie definitely has its strong points, but I liked ParaNorman better, maybe it's just a matter of taste!

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  3. I like the message against bullying, that's important for kids I think. That said, I'm not all that interested in seeing this one for some reason.

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    1. I really liked the message,too, and it was really nicely done, but it is more than that- again, give it a try, maybe on DVD

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  4. I don't like animated movies either - I mean sure, they are necessary because kids need to watch something and they are often times real clever movies - but it's just not my cup of tea.

    I'm definetly seeing Frankenweenie, because I really, really need new good Tim Burton movie, but I'm definetly going to see ParaNorman too,I only read positive reviews for this one.

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    1. Yey, go see both, I'm curious to see which one you liked most :)

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