ParaNorman

           

         Movies are always first and foremost meant to entertain us. Most movies do just that while some have you looking at your watch thinking about why you wasted your time. Great movies not only entertain us, they can actually teach us things sometimes, even delivering messages. Animated movies always seem to do this the best; I think it is because they look so innocent so the things that they are saying are subtle. ParaNorman is just the type of film I am talking about and after you see it you will be talking about it as well.

     Norman (Kodi Smit-Mcphee) is not a normal kid. He loves zombies and horror movies, but that is not what makes him different. What makes him not like anyone else is that he can see and talk to the dead. This may sound fun and interesting to be able to do, but no one actually believes him, including his parents and sister. Meanwhile at school Norman is made fun of and called a freak because of what he claims he can do. There is one person in town who actually believes Norman and that is his uncle, who he has been told to stay away from because he is crazy. Norman’s uncle has been following Norman and finally talks to him and tells him that he has to do something that only he can do. It seems that the town Norman lives in did something bad three hundred years ago. A group of seven people accused a girl of being a witch and ordered her death. Before the witch was killed she put a curse on the seven who condemned her, so they would suffer like her. Now every year on her birthday someone like Norman must read her a story so that she will not bring the dead back alive. Things happen and the dead do come back to life, as Norman and his friends and family try to avoid the zombies, Norman realizes what must be done to end the curse  once and for all.

     ParaNorman is one of those movies that will be with you for a long time. It is such an enjoyable film to watch that you will want to tell all of your friends about it. Sometimes when movies are trying to tell you a message they try and force it on you, so that you will hear what they are saying. ParaNorman does not do that, its message is delivered in such a way that you can’t help but listen. This movie is funny, tender, and at times generally scary. I wish more films had the heart and magic like this one has. This movie has something for everyone and movies like that just don’t come around often enough. So make some time to catch this gem, I promise you will thank me after.

 Brian Taylor