Whenever I catch a movie in theaters last year, the trailer of ParaNorman would always be on alongside Despicable Me 2. And while I made a mental note to watch it on the big screen, my loyalty to my budget always prevails. So it's only now that I got to watch it.
The movie opens with a gloomy atmosphere. Heck all throughout the movie, that gloom persists, only cut short occasionally by sudden bursts of hilarious comedic scenes. I can't stop wondering if parents complained about how this movie is too scary for children. It just feels so dark, that same feeling I get when I watch the Harry Potter movies. BUT, the movie is a must-see especially nowadays when bullying is rampant and kids need to be educated early on about what bullying can do and how it affects the victim.
A kid named Norman is seen as a freak by his classmates and is always bullied for being weird. When zombies rose from their graves because of a witch's curse, Norman must face his fears and confront the witch for the sake of the town he lives in. The witch used to be a young girl killed by the townspeople for being different. People were scared of her so instead of trying to understand, they disposed of her. Pretty much what Norman is experiencing, only he's not killed.
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| Norman persuades Agatha not to forget who she is and to remember the people who have been kind to her. |
A touching scene in the movie is the confrontation wherein Norman tells Agatha the witch that they're the same, that hurting those who hurt you won't do anyone good, that despite the general hatred there's at least one person who loves her. And because this is a movie for children, naturally everything ends well.
This movie reminds me a lot of Frankenweenie and Coraline though the latter has this eerie feel all throughout. (I would learn later on that ParaNorman was created by the same company that gave us Coraline.) What I consider astounding is the visual effects of the film especially in the scene where Agatha assumes the form of a golden lightning-like being. No wonder this movie raked in nominations and awards.
Some web articles that I found interesting:
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