ParaNorman

Eleven-year-old Norman Babcock sees dead people. When his mother tells him, “Your grandma is in a better place now,” Norman has a different take: “She's right in the living room.” This macabre, stop-motion animated feature revolves around an adolescent medium's morbid encounters with ghosts, ghouls, zombies, and other ectoplasms who have unfinished business. Voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee, Norman—distinguished by his spiky, Eraserhead-like hair—is undoubtedly odd. Not only is he watched over by his deceased Grandma (Elaine Stritch) but he also has to cope with his incredulous mother (Leslie Mann), disapproving father (Jeff Garlin), and bubble-gum snapping teenage sister, Courtney (Anna Kendrick)—as well as a middle school bully (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Inquisitive Norman researches the legend of a local New England witch who was killed 300 years ago. Norman knows that the witch's spirit is restless and, according to his deranged, psychic uncle (John Goodman), she's about to bring the dead back to life. But no one will believe Norman…until a bunch of decaying bodies begin to haunt the town, and only Norman can reverse the witch's curse. Chris Butler and Sam Fell's ParaNorman is a witty and spooky horror comedy. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by writer-director Chris Butler and director Sam Fell, a “Peering Through the Veil” section of behind-the-scenes featurettes (41 min.), seven “making-of” featurettes (15 min.), “Preliminary Animatic Sequences” (9 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function, and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fun film.] (S. Granger)