ParaNorman
Young Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) has the ability to speak with the dead -- and he often prefers their company to that of the living. Norman receives word from his strange Uncle Prenderghast (John Goodman) that a centuries-old witch's curse on their town is real and about to come true -- and that only Norman can stop it. When zombies rise from their graves, Norman must summon all his courage and compassion and push his paranormal abilities to the limit to save his fellow townspeople.
Release Date: August 17, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 36 min
Genre: Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Horror , Animated
Director: Chris Butler, Sam Fell
Producer: Travis Knight, Arianne Sutner
Cast: Tempestt Bledsoe, Casey Affleck, Elaine Stritch, John Goodman, Leslie Mann, Bernard Hill, Alex Borstein, Jeff Garlin, Jodelle Ferland, Anna Kendrick, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Tucker Albrizzi, Hannah Noyes
(less)Ok for ages 10+ . What would you rate it?
Rated PG Scary Action|Language|Scary Images|Some Rude Humor|Thematic Elements
- Sex & Nudity
- Violence & Gore
- Profanity
Content details via Kids-In-Mind
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Reviews
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Overall, "ParaNorman" is an excellent film for older kids and parents alike. Fans of Laika's previous stop-motion film "Coraline" will have a good idea of what to expect in terms of tone and content. Even though a lot of the humor in "ParaNorman" really plays to audiences with an appreciation for classic horror movies, there's plenty for non-horror buffs to appreciate in the animators' painstaking attention to detail as well as the cleverly crafted story. Easily one of the year's best animated features.
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The animation in ParaNorman is very fun to watch, but the subject matter is a little too much for me. It seems that most stop-motion features these days have dark/scary themes unfortunately. Multiple children in the audience were obviously frightened during the movie, and some of the humor is too crude.
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Funny and enjoyable film for the family. A few rude comedy bits but not many. Some younger kids may get scared by some of the images on the screen
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Points for parents to consider:
1) The ghosts and zombies are too scary for little children.
2) Contains several scenes with pranks from bullies.
3) Overall message is uplifting and positive.
ParaNorman starts with a scene too mature for young kids. A zombie is attacking a girl on the TV and Norman, the main character, is watching it as he talks to his dead grandma (who only he can see) while she sits on the couch knitting.
It goes on to portray that Norman is indeed abnormal, after all, he walks to school talking to the dead, has hair that sticks straight up, and is bullied by someone almost every time he turns a corner. He feels alone, misunderstood, and judged in all that he does. He can’t seem to please his family, especially his dad, or make many friends, but he’s got a big heart inside of that petite body.
There are some mature comments in the film and much of the humor is tailored to a teenage and older audience. Some of the scenes include comments with mild sexual references, visuals with human anatomy that are suggestive, and at least one scene with profanity.
As the show concludes you find it balances humor and intensity in a remarkable way. Just when things start to get a bit intense, especially for children, something comical reduces the seriousness and even gives the audience some abdominal exercise. You’ll laugh several times throughout the movie and come to love the characters. Although, physically one of the smallest people in the town, you’ll see Norman has the biggest desire to do what’s right.
Other points to consider before taking young kids:
The movie has fat jokes in it.
It has a scary witch.
Contains violence.
Positive messages:
Everyone gets scared, but don’t let being scared change who you are.
Treat everyone equal and recognize them for their talents, even if they aren’t the same as yours. Have courage to make the right decision, even if it’s the more difficult one.
Stay after the credits. -
It was ok. Probably a cute Halloween movie for the kids. I thought the plot was pretty creepy/weird for my taste. It did have some funny moments in it though.
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This movie was a little odd, but somewhat enjoyable as I watched it with my family this fall. However, if I had brought a child, I would prefer to teach them about homosexuality myself instead of it being randomly shown on a screen in a theater. I also thought it was a little scary/thematic.
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Geared toward an older audience - I felt this movie should have been PG-13, both for the humor and scary/intense scenes. Overall this was a really fun, cute movie and I actually liked it. It does cover a very dark subject and has dark moments throughout. It is, after-all, about kid that talks to the dead.
May 16th, 2013 Details -
This is one I will recommend. It starts a little slow, but then get rolling. Very funny movie.
February 9th, 2013 Details -
Fun movie to watch around halloween, to scary for kids under ten unless you want to find them curled up at the foot of your bed the next morning.
February 17th, 2013 Details -
Very high PG or low PG-13 rating. Not something to take younger school-aged children to. It's quite frightening for younger kids.
September 5th, 2012 Details -
I started watching this with my little brothers and sisters and had to turn it off 15 minutes in. Language was not kid appropriate at all! This is a kid's movie, it's stupid that they add in the inappropriate language.
April 7th, 2013 Details -
My son and I went out to see ParaNorman while the Girls were away. We really enjoyed the show until the very end when we find out that the boy Normans sister likes is Gay. Too bad, This show will not become part of my families library. It is too bad that Hollywood seems to need to put that kind of trash in a children's movie...
December 4th, 2012 Details -
Absolutely amazing movie. Very funny...not too scary. May seem scary for little kids!
February 7th, 2013 Details -
It's funny
May 7th, 2013 Details -
This was among the worst movies I have seen. It seems like the produces were aiming to hit kids below the age of 10. The plot was about a kid being able to see dead people and he had to rescue the living from the dead attacking. The animation was about 10 years out of date. This movie doesn't even try to simulate real life!
April 22nd, 2013 Details