There's nothing wrong with being scared, Norman, so long as you don't let it change who you are.
—Grandma Babcock
ParaNorman is a stop-motion animated comedy horror film from Laika Animation Studios, better known for their success with Coraline. It's directed by Chris Butler (the main storyboard artist on Coraline) and Sam Fell (an Aardman alumni and director of Flushed Away), based off a script written by Butler, and was released in August 2012.The film follows the titular protagonist, Norman (voiced by KodiSmit-McPhee), living in a small town in Massachusetts. With the "gift" of speaking to the dead, Norman is called an outcast by most of the town, most of which populated by childish adults and a nasty population of kids. When the town comes under siege by zombies,ghosts and witches, only he can actually save the town from these creatures, not to mention a three centuries-old curse on the town.Now has a shout out and a character page.
This movie provides examples of:
Actor Allusion: Kodi Smit-McPhee seems to have made a name for himself as a kid in danger with the unknown.
Jodelle Ferland is playing a little girl who curses a town after its residents wrongfully try and execute her for witchcraft. Sound familiar?
Adult Fear: Agatha, an innocent child, was condemned to death as a witch by a fearful society. And it almost happens again, with Norman's parents protestations being drowned out by the yelling of the mob showing just how powerless they are to stop it.
All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Subverted. Mitch is gay and has no idea Courtney has been trying to flirt with him.
All of the Other Reindeer: Deconstructed. Norman tries to take the constant bullying with grace but often finds his heroics hampered by almost every living person's low opinion of him. It doesn't help that the witch (in fact, an 11 year old girl) died because of this.
An Aesop: Multiple: "don't let fear make you do bad things," "bullying of any kind is wrong," and most importantly, "revenge is wrong". Interestingly, it's not the protagonist who needs to learn the last one; instead, he teaches it to the accused witch.
A meta example would be Mitch being the first openly gay character in a mainstream children's animated film. The creators have gone on to state that this reveal is tied to the overall message of the film of not judging people.
And I Must Scream: Pretty much the witch's curse the town is famous for. The seven Puritans are said to be damned to walk the earth as the undead. They're all very aware of their punishment when the curse comes into full effect in the movie.
Aside Glance: In-Universe. The actress in the cheesy zombie movie Norman watches screams at her attacker, stops to cast an annoyed look off-camera (presumably at the director), and then screams again.
Ass Kicks You: The police officer smacks the van that had all of the kids and one of the zombies inside with just her hips, and the truck gets forcibly knocked away.
The Atoner: The Judge (as well as the other zombies) know that the curse is their fault because of what they did to Agatha, and they had only wanted to tell Norman how to stop it.
Badass Pacifist: Norman takes a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown that pushes the bounds of the movie's PG rating and never once stops trying to reason with the witch's ghost.
Big Bad: Initally the witch's ghost is presented as this, but this is Averted by the reveal.
Bigger Bad: Judge Hopkins in his past life, he sentenced a little girl who history says is the witch to death, thus starting this whole mess. Kind of Averted by his Heel Realization in his now Zombified state.
Neil: It’s just because I’m fat and I have asthma and I sweat when I walk too fast and my lunchbox has a kitten on it, and I have irritable bowel syndrome.
Bring My Brown Pants: When Alvin first tries to run away from the zombies, he exclaims "I think I peed my pants!"
Casanova Wannabe: Alvin is frequently seen trying to woo girls while never coming close to impressing them. He's aware of it, too.
Cassandra Truth: Norman has apparently told a lot of people about his ability, and they all think he's either insane or lying for attention, but worthy of ridicule either way. Makes it really difficult to get support when the dead actually rise.
Celestial Deadline: Norman was supposed to read from the book at the witch's grave before sunset.
The Cheerleader: Courtney is the 'bitchy' version (with shades of the 'stupid' version) but she turns out to be not so bad in the end.
Chekhov's Gun: Norman's ability to speak to the dead becomes useful when the town comes under siege by supernatural forces.
Dropped the Gun: Though there are notable points, like when searching for the witch's grave, that this ability isn't used.
Averted in the DVD Extras. All the ghosts within Blithe Hollow were hiding from the witch. Norman couldn't talk to them because they'd all disappeared.
Norman's grandmother at the beginning says (in regards to the zombie movie he was watching) that it would be better if they just sat down and talked to each other.
Collective Groan: The reaction of the group after the library at Neil's elation that he finished a whole book in one night. A book twenty-seven pages long.
Even better, they were looking for records on the accused witch, and Neil had picked an old asbestos installation manual.
Comically Missing the Point: When Mitch accidentally runs over a zombie, the head comes to life and growls at him. He freaks out and kicks it. When he gets back in the car, Courtney and the others are freaking out over a man apparently coming back to life, Mitch is more impressed by how far he kicked the zombie's head.
Cool Loser: Norman happens to be able to speak to the dead, but is considered an outsider in the community. However, this is somewhat justified when you really consider from everyone else's perspective how this is a kid who is going around claiming he speaks with dead people.
Cosmetic Horror: The school drama teacher. Mrs. Henscher's daytime makeup is awful, but her puke green facial mask was bad enough that only her talking saved her from being mistaken for a zombie.
Crapsack World: The town is a rundown little suburb, the locals have a low tolerance for any behavior that lies outside the norm, and it of course has a dark secret.
Creepy Child: Norman is considered this by some, but Aggy is more a terribly wronged one.
We see early on how it looks to everyone else; he ducks around empty air, constantly talks to empty space, and even stops at roadkill to pet it. As it's not until shortly thereafter we get to see through his eyes, it's pretty clear he comes across as a Cloud Cuckoo Lander at best.
There's also the nameless kid in the mob that sets her teddy-bear on fire and chucks it through a broken window. She also carries around a zombie's arm for a short portion of the movie before giving it back.
Darker and Edgier: It's even darker than Coraline - this is saying something. It also only got a PG rating - probably one of the darkest PG rated movies out there.
Dark Is Not Evil: The ghosts all over town are a pretty friendly bunch overall. Likewise, the zombies were never malicious, they just wanted to atone for their sin of killing the "witch", Agatha, who in turn was simply angry over the wrongs that were committed against her.
At one point, Judge Hopkins even cracks wise about Courtney, but we don't really hear what he said. Though, due to context (kids squabbling in the backseat, female authority figure leans back and tells kids to stop it), this can be interpreted as "He started it."
Dumb Blonde: Courtney, though it looks like she dyes. She doesn't seem that dumb on closer inspection, just self-absorbed. She at least knows what an aneurysm is, anyway.
Dumb Muscle: Mitch and Alvin are pretty strong given their ages, and not too bright.
Earn Your Happy Ending: Norman has to fight a supernatural menace to protect a town that largely scorns him, only to find a growing number of the townspeople realize that his ability is to speak to the dead is real and they are ready to help him in the crisis, until by the end, he is hailed as a fearless hero with an extraordinary ability.
Evil Is Petty: The witch cursed the entire town to be attacked by the zombies of the people who tried her. Averted in the end. Aggy wasn't cursing the town to be attacked by zombies, she was cursing the zombies to go through the same thing she went through.
Favouritism Flip Flop: At the end of the film, Alvin explains to a couple of girls that he and Norman have been real close for years now. Seeing how Alvin was Norman's bully, that statement is technically true.
Fighting For Survival: The townspeople upon encountering the zombies. It turns out to be unnecessary in the first place.
The practice for the school play, especially the line about the portrayal of the witch not being historically accurate.
During the opening B-Movie, Norman's Grandma suggests that instead of running, the girl in the film could try to reason with the zombie.
Early in the film, Neil tells Norman that he'd be a bully too if he was strong and stupid like Alvin. When Norman confronts Agatha, one of the thing he tells her is that using her power to terrorize the townfolk just makes her a bully.
After the play, Sandra tells Norman "Sometimes we do/say things because we are scared." This line is said later by Norman.
In a meta example, TV spots aired around the Olympics show the zombies getting along well with Norman.
Freaky Is Cool: Pretty much the reason why Neil befriends Norman.
From Nobody to Nightmare: The witch's ghost used to be a sweet little girl whose only power was the ability to see ghosts. Her othermore terrifyingpowers only emerged after the townsfolk sentenced her to death by hanging.
Funny Background Event: A couple on a date are cooing at each other over wine, while out the window Mitch's car tumbles and bounces down the hill.
The Future Is Shocking: The Puritan zombies are awakened in the modern day, and are shocked to see such things as a bar, sexy advertisements, and a TV window display broadcasting endless scenes of war, violence, and scantily-clad pop stars.
Genre Savvy: The bar owner. When she realizes the man asking for help is not drunk or crazy and that there really are zombies, she shouts, "KILL 'EM IN THE HEAD!"
Genre Deconstruction: Oh boy a lot. Zombies come back from the dead to wreak havoc on a sleepy town thanks to a witch's curse. Except the witch was an innocent little girl, the zombies are completely harmless and rather pathetic compared to anything in Norman's horror movies, and the town uses the little girl's trial and hanging to pull in the tourists and sell cheesy merchandise.
Giving Them the Strip: The Judge zombie manages to grab Norman, who sheds his jacket and runs away. The zombie can be seen staring at it in confusion for a second before tossing it aside.
Gypsy Curse: What Aggy inflicts on the town for her unjust condemnation.
Heroic BSOD: Norman has a psychotic break when he learns that the witch was eleven years old when she died and the witchcraft she was accused of was the ability to talk to ghosts.
Hollywood History: In-Universe example; the school play about the witch's curse is admitted to be historically inaccurate. The play's witch is a stereotypical hideous crone, while the real witch was a scared little girl persecuted and killed for something she didn't understand.
Humans Are The Real Monsters: In this movie, it's the humans who are the aggressive attackers and the ghosts and zombies who just want to help. Not to mention that the puritan zombies were actually much worse people when they were still human. At the same time, a big theme of the movie is that people often do bad things because they're afraid, not because they're inherently cruel. When they realize there's nothing to be afraid of, they're much kinder.
If You Can Read This: The background text in the movie is absolutely rife with jokes, puns, and unusual bits of humor, such that it's almost impossible to catch all of it in one viewing. Things like Salma's "My First Fusion Reactor" book and "The hands of fate" board game for instance...
Incompatible Orientation: Courtney and Mitch, due to the last-minute story reveal of Mitch being gay.
Improbable Hair Style: Norman's hair is always sticking straight up. Even if he combs it or it gets all mussed up, it'll always pop back to its original stance.
Insufferable Genius: Salma. Lampshaded by Norman when he calls her asking for advice.
Invisible Parents: We know Neil and Mitch must have them, if only because of "Mom's exercise DVDs", but they're never seen.
Ironic Echo: Sanda tells Norman the reason Perry is always angry is because he's afraid for Norman. He initially believed his dad is afraid of him, which was the same reason Judge Hopkins and the other zombies felt about Aggie.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Courtney starts out as a typical self-centered teenaged girl, but she's not a bad person at heart and she steps up her game later on and she's the first one to convince the town to give her little brother a break.
And, although a little put out, she takes the revelation that Mitch is gay pretty well considering she's been crushing on him all the way through the movie.
The drama teacher not only chews the scenery with every line she says, but she insists that her student actors do the same thing.
Old Man Prenderghast, as well. Alive and dead.
Letimotif: Both Norman and Neil have very noticeable ones, Norman's being a clarinet with acoustic guitar in the background, and Neil's being a simple keyboard riff with a xylophone and what seems to be bongos in the background.
Mr. Prenderghast has one as well; a simple strings tune.
Even Agatha gets one, sounding like a modern take on the soundtrack of a zombie chase scene from the 80's. It plays during fights with her, the most epic being her last fight with Norman, which has some violin mixed in.
Loners Are Freaks: Justified with Norman, since the whole town, including his father, tend to scorn him for being able to talk to the dead since no one believes it. It's more of a defense mechanism.
Lovable Jock: Mitch is not particularly bright, but he's not mean to anybody.
Prenderghast literally means "ghost catcher" or "ghost holder".
Norman means "northerner" or "north-man". Even before the Norman conquest in the year 1066, it was used to describe outsiders or people who didn't belong or were not natives.
Sandra (the name of Norman's mother) means "defender."
Blithe means to show a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper. Considering the town's portrayal of the legend, it's appropriate.
Agatha means "good". Too bad the other townspeople of her time didn't take that to heart.
Motion Blur: They actually sculpted smear frames. Click here to see.
Mundane Solution: Alvin's lock-picking method; he just smashes the window, reaches through it and opens the door that way. And he's proud of this, too!
Never My Fault: One of the townspeople can be heard saying after the curse is broken to a reporter, "It wasn't mind idea, they forced me into it!"
Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: Aggie is just a justifiably angry child throwing the mother of all tantrums. The zombies are just trying to relieve the curse they brought upon themselves through fear and hysteria. Even the angry mob of humans turns out to be not beyond reason.
Not Using the Z Word: Subverted. Courtney uses it but Norman tells her not to use "the z-word."
Novelization: Goes the extra mile from the typical tie-in novel for children and takes the form of a hardcover (with the cover underneath the jacket based on the Prenderghast book featured within the film). It also serves as the manual with some extra details on the characters, such as how Grandma's death affected Norman, the strange circumstances of his birth, the witch trials in Blithe Hollow and other material. Not to mention the character Salma is somewhat of an Ascended Extra in the book, having some more lines and such.
Oblivious to Love: Mitch seems to have absolutely no clue Courtney is constantly trying to flirt with him. Turns out he's gay, but he still clearly has a case of this in that he only mentioned it incidentally.
Our Ghosts Are Different: Agatha Prenderghast has very interesting powers. However, she's the only one - all the other ghosts are talkative at best.
Uncle Prenderghast also destroyed a bathroom. Considering their abilities in life, perhaps the ghosts of mediums have stronger abilities.
Our Zombies Are Different: The Judge and the other zombies are a very rare Type R: Revenant. They have intelligence, and they aren't hungry for brains, but like any Type R, they are driven by a single, burning purpose. In their case, they only want to break Agatha's cycle so they may finally rest in peace.
Playing Against Type: Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who is best known for playing nerdy outcasts in movies like Superbad and Role Models, voices the school bully in this one.
Powered by a Forsaken Child: In a decidedly mundane manner; Agatha's execution is the core of the city's identity and tourism industry. That she's unable to move on, stuck as an angry, hateful ghost, is incidental.
Precocious Crush: Alvin for Courtney, who is not exactly impressed.
The Reveal: The witch is just a scared and angry little girl, and the spell book really isn't anything but a bedtime story.
Sassy Black Woman: Sheriff Hooper (the motorcycle cop.) Salma might also count.
Scenery Porn: Well, it is made by the company that made Coraline, but this one seems to take it Up to Eleven in a multitude of ways.
Screaming Woman: The girl in the horror flick Norman watches. She doesn't even have any lines, all she does is shriek in terror.
Screams Like a Little Girl: Alvin when he opens the front door of Mr. Prenderghast's place only to see a zombie.
One of the zombies when they see what became of Blithe Hollow.
Sealed Evil in a Can: Norman realizes what his uncle wanted him to do to suppress the menace annually is not enough and seeks a permanent solution.
Shaming The Mob: Courtney does this to defend Norman and the Zombies from the angry mob.
Shock and Awe: Agatha's extra supernatural abilities.
Spiritual Successor: Fans have likened the art style and the feel of the film overall to Psychonauts. Appropriate, as the art style of the game was inspired by stop-motion animation.
Stealth Insult: Norman manages to snarkily deliver one to Alvin.
Alvin: They're going to eat our brains! Norman: I think you'll be safe.
The Stinger: After the credits, a stop-motion video of how Norman's figure was made is shown.
Stylistic Suck: The zombie movie Norman watches in the beginning. The props are obviously rubber, the acting is unnatural, the girl has to shove the boom mic out of frame...
Take That: The scene where the townspeople all ruthlessly attack the zombies despite the zombies not even attempting to hurt anyone. It reminds this troper of the "zombie apocalypse" fans who only see zombies as an opportunity to shoot something that looks human without actually being human, rather than as a legitimately scary monster.
Talking to the Dead: Mr. Prenderghast and Norman have this ability. It apparently runs in the family. Way back in the family.
Then Let Me Be Evil: We see the kind of crap Norman gets put through as a result of his gift. Ultimately, we discover that Agatha Prendergast—the legendary "witch" of Blithe Hollow—was exactly the same: an innocent child who could see the dead, only becoming the monster that the townsfolk feared after they sentenced her to death.
Torches and Pitchforks: The mob at the Town Hall. Parodied when they drop all their weapons - including a bowling ball.
Town with a Dark Secret: Centuries ago, the citizenry of the town condemned and executed a young innocent girl for being a witch. Since then, consciously or not, the town has distorted her memory into a hideous caricature, which makes Agatha more angry with each passing year...
The Unfavourite: Norman seems to be for his parents, mostly his father, but it's implied not to be the case anymore at the end.
Norman is the favourite to his grandmother, though. the whole reason she's still around is because she promised to protect Norman.
The Voiceless: All the zombies, except for the Judge, who can be understood by Norman.
“Well Done Son” Guy: Norman, with his dad literally saying "well done son." near the end of the movie.
Wham Line: One of Norman's magic-induced flashbacks makes a girlish sob into a Wham Line of epic proportions.
Followed by the witch's crime: "You were speaking to the dead!"
What an Idiot: Invoked in-universe, with the actress in the horror flick Norman is watching in the beginning. A zombie comes towards her and she just stands there screaming. (Her annoyed glance at the camera hints she's not exactly thrilled with this.)
Sort of, anyway. During a vision Norman has while in the school play, a tree grabs him and warns him that the "dead are coming."
Played straight before the final confrontation. Agatha uses trees to trap and separate Norman's family, then attempts to use spiked roots to impale Norman.
White and Grey Morality: The Judge and Aggie are just scared and angry. The Judge by the end is just sorry.
Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: realistically done and a really nice touch to The Reveal. When Norman gets a vision of the Blithe Hollow witch trial, he doesn't see the accused, until he hears someone crying from behind him. His eyes narrow in shock◊ and he turns around to see Agatha, the "witch" of Blithe Hollow, is a girl his age.
Witch Hunt: The trope that causes all the trouble in the first place.
Witch Species: Hinted at with certain descendants of Prenderghast blood.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: The "witch" is an (extremely psychically powerful) little girl who lost it when she was accused and executed.
Would Hurt a Child: The Judge's sentencing of a young girl to be hanged for talking to the dead.
Zombie Advocate: Norman, when he realize the zombies have intelligence and are afraid too. His sister, Neil, Mitch and Alvin back him up on this.
Zombie Apocalypse: Subverted in that the appearance of the zombies does freak the townspeople out, but they then quickly gather weapons and attack them and the zombies are instantly overwhelmed because they are not strong, numerous, or infectious.
Wonderfully subverted even further in the courthouse scene. The zombies and kids are inside as questing arms burst through the walls and windows, much like in any Romero movie. That's right, LIVING people are breaking down the walls in an attempt to attack the undead.
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