Before the 1980s, the zombie genre was very black and white in its content. It was horror, and nothing more than that. Luckily, after The Return of the Living Dead was released, this film managed to show a new face to the world of zombies by proving it isn't too hard to make a joke out of the undead. ParaNorman manages to take that lead and bring a new level once again to the zombie genre. In this case, making zombies "kid-friendly".
This film tells the story about a bullied kid, who can see ghosts, who is given the responsibility to save his town from the witch's curse that will raise the dead. This is a film that is essentially all about the dead. Though, even with that dark theme in context to film's audience, it works.
It doesn't take an extreme route of lameness like Casper the friendly ghost, but the ghosts aren't menacing. They're humorous and friendly, without hitting that point of being too over the top. Norman explains that they do fit the expected role of being ghosts who have unfinished business in the real world, but to a child seeing this film, I'm sure the association of them having been people who died is probably not the immediate connection they make. It seems more as though they fit the never ending list of the paranormal seen in children's films. Same goes for the zombies. It's not the dead that are the problem, it's the living.
Opposed to what were used to seeing, these zombies don't actually chow down on anyone. The reason behind that is later revealed, but they still fit the role we all know them for as they chase their prey down. Although the characters are frightened by the creatures, there always is a rather comical tone to the whole situation, which never lets the film become too dark.
There are other aspects to the plot, that may seem cliché, but it's clear the intention behind that was to cross homage several horror films. Moments like those ranged from the creepy house on the hill to the five man group of teens and kids who get caught in the nigh time shenanigans with nobody to turn to. It takes from other horror movies, but then brings it to a level for children to enjoy. It also had just enough of its own tricks and plot twists to keep it fresh and unique.
Although a lot of the characters fit the the expected archetypes in children's films, the jock and mean older sister for example. The lead along with his self entitled friend, Neil, were both very interesting characters. Neil was simply adorable and had some of the best lines in the film. Though despite having a lot of odds against him, he was described as someone who was confident in who they were and would never turn back on anyone. As for Norman, he was a rather tragic character throughout most of the story who was alienated by nearly everyone in his town, including his own family.
There was some angst thrown in, but considering the weird is now a celebrated thing, Norman comes across as a character that people can relate to on several levels. Unlike with the humour Neil's character delivered, Norman was a sharp witted kid, and the script made a lot of his comments very tongue and cheek, which brought on a more mature comedy for the older audience to understand. The duo worked well to allow the script to have a broad age appeal.
Despite the fact that ParaNorman managed to create a usually adult subject matter for kids, I still think it's probably an older audience that will really appreciate this film. It has so many nods to the horror genre, that a kid clearly wouldn't pick up on. The animation is also something that needs to be appreciated, as it outshines pretty much all stop motion features out there. I tip my hat to whoever managed to create the translucent ears effect.
As any good old zombie flick should do, this one was nothing short from a joy to watch. It creates a film for both a young and old audience to like. With all the continued money grabbing films for children being created (Ice Age, Shrek, Madagascar, and sadly more), it's nice to see one that actually has some heart put into it, and I hope it encourages a trend to deliver some more quality media for the youngens.
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