ParaNorman (2012)

...This is what I love about Laika entertainment: even when they produce a film that falls short of their usual standards, it's still miles better than pretty much all its contemporaries. Even in a year of animation that included Wreck-It Ralph  and The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists!, ParaNorman probably still squeaks a win in terms of sheer quality. It's not as good as Boxtrolls and pretty much nothing's as good as Coraline, but watching it today for maybe the third time, I was struck by quite what a wonderful afternoon's entertainment it was.

I think part of the apparent drop in quality is the film's relatively subdued tone; where Boxtrolls was raucous and Coraline was menacing, ParaNorman's atmosphere is largely one of melancholy. The characters tend towards the slumping and red-eyed, as though they've either just been crying or are trying hard not to. 

This is especially true of Norman, our protagonist (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee), an object of ridicule in his small Massachusetts town due to his habit of talking to the dead. As far as Norman's concerned, however, this is simply good manners, so he accepts the taunts and spite with quiet resignation and the determination to stay out of the way of the wider world as far as he can. In the face of a zombie uprising, however, he might just be the only one who can stand between the townspeople and a fate too gruesome to imagine. Of course, things are more complicated than that, and the resultant mystery leads him and his family to a greater understanding of human frailty and the need to forgive.

The above may make ParaNorman sound worthier than it is fun, but honestly, nothing could be further from the truth. Writer Chris Butler has constructed a script festooned with affectionate lampoons of horror movie tropes, and laced it with lashings of jokes to appeal to all ages. Of course, there's plenty of the grossout stuff, but some of the throwaway lines sting with the same righteous rage that fuelled the entirety of Boxtrolls. That approach wouldn't have worked here, however, because this is a far kinder movie, soundtracked by my favourite, Jon Brion, in his usual wearily philosophical style.

The film isn't perfect, of course; it suffers from that old chestnut where no fat character is allowed to be taken seriously, which is a shame given the cheerfully egalitarian stance it takes on race and sexuality. Still, as family-oriented animated horror goes, it's one of the best, and almost certainly the best-hearted. One to enjoy.