Review of ParaNorman (2012) by Benny B — 03 Feb 2013

"ParaNorman" was a let-down. More than anything, this movie helped me appreciate how awesome "Frankenweenie" was. Not only are the story and characters considerably less interesting, but the animation can't even compare.

It had so much jerkiness that it felt like a stop-motion picture from 15 years ago. Probably the best visual aspect of the film was the CGI effects added to the zombies and that's not a compliment since we're talking about a stop-motion film.

The voice acting is fine but the story is very bland. Well, the zombies chase the kids. Then they chase the kids. And then, oh! They chase the kids some more. This story doesn't have nearly as much depth as "Frankenweenie" and throws in unnecessary language (even though this is obviously intended for kids).

It wasn't even very funny. Animation company Laika (who also created "Coraline") is like the equivalent of Don Bluth's films when compared to the Disney renaissance during the 90's.

It's good but it just can't compare to what others are doing in the same field. I applaud any stop-motion film for the tedious effort that it takes to bring one of these films to life, but "ParaNorman" is just a disappointment when compared to Tim Burton's impressive output.