| ParaNorman | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | |
| Written by | Chris Butler |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Tristan Oliver |
| Edited by | Christopher Murrie |
| Music by | Jon Brion[1] |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Focus Features (North America) Universal Pictures (International) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 93 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $60 million[3][4] |
| Box office | $107.1 million[3] |
ParaNorman is a 2012 Americanstop motion animatedcomedy horror film directed bySam Fell andChris Butler, and written by Butler.[5] Produced byLaika, the film stars the voices ofKodi Smit-McPhee,Jodelle Ferland,Bernard Hill,Tucker Albrizzi,Anna Kendrick,Casey Affleck,Christopher Mintz-Plasse,Leslie Mann,Jeff Garlin,Elaine Stritch,Tempestt Bledsoe,Alex Borstein, andJohn Goodman. It is the first stop-motion film to use a 3-D color printer to create character faces. In the film, Norman Babcock, a young boy who can communicate with ghosts, is given the task of ending a 300-year-old witch's curse on hisMassachusetts town.
The idea ofParaNorman came from Butler, who thought making such a movie for kids could help express the challenges kids face growing up, after realizing that zombie films often contained a degree of social commentary. Production of thestop-motion animation took place at Laika's studio inHillsboro, Oregon for three years, with the animating stage of production lasting about two years and beginning in late2009. Instead of using traditional 3-D format cameras, the studio had sixtyCanon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR cameras film the movie.Jon Brion composed the film's musical score.
ParaNorman was released on August 17, 2012, byFocus Features. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its animation and script,[6] and was a modest box office success, earning $107 million against a budget of $60 million. The film was nominated for anAcademy Award and aBAFTA for Best Animated Film.
In the small town of Blithe Hollow,Massachusetts, Norman Babcock is an 11-year-old outcast whospeaks with the dead, including his late grandmother and various ghosts in town. Almost no one believes him and he is isolated emotionally from his family while being looked down upon by his own peers around the school. Neil Downe, an overweight boy who is also bullied, finds in Norman a kindred spirit. After rehearsing a school play commemorating the town's execution of a witch three centuries ago, the boys are confronted by Norman's estranged and seemingly deranged great-uncle, Mr. Prenderghast, who tells Norman that he soon must take up his regular ritual to protect the town. Soon after this encounter, Mr. Prenderghast dies of a heart attack.
During the official performance of the school play, Norman has a nightmarish vision of the town's past in which he is pursued through the woods by townsfolk on awitch hunt, embarrassing himself and leading to a heated argument with his paranoid father Perry, who later grounds him. His mother Sandra tells him that his father's manner is stern because he is afraid for him. The next day, Norman sees Prenderghast's spirit who tells him that the ritual must be performed with a certain book before sundown that day; then making him "swear" to complete the task, Prenderghast's spirit is set free and crosses over. Norman is at first reluctant to go because he is scared but his grandmother tells him it is all right to be scared as long as he does not let it change who he is. Norman sets off to retrieve the book from Prenderghast's house (having to take it from his corpse).
He then goes to the graves of the five men and two women who were cursed by the witch, but finds that the book is merely a series of fairy tales. Alvin, a school bully who always picks on Norman, arrives and prevents Norman from reading the story before sundown. Norman attempts to continue reading from the book, to no effect. A ghostly storm resembling the witch appears in the air, summoning the cursed dead to arise aszombies, who chase the boys along with Neil, Norman's 17-year-old sister Courtney, and Neil's older brother Mitch, down the hill and into town. Having realized that the witch was not buried in the graveyard, Norman contacts classmate Salma (who tells them to access the Town Hall's archives for the location of the witch's unmarked grave) for help. As the kids make their way to the Town Hall, the zombies are attacked by the citizenry. During the riot, Norman and his companions break into the archives but cannot find the information they need. As the mob moves to attack Town Hall, the witch storm appears over the crowd. Norman climbs the Hall's tower to read the book, in a last-ditch effort to finish the ritual, but the witch strikes the book with lightning, hurling Norman from the tower and deep into the archives.
Unconscious, Norman has a dream where he learns that the witch was Agatha "Aggie" Prenderghast, a little girl of his age and a distant relative, who was also a medium. Norman realizes that Aggie was wrongfully convicted by the town council when they mistook her powers forwitchcraft. After awakening, Norman encounters the zombies and recognizes them as the town council who convicted Aggie. The zombies and their leader Judge Hopkins admit that they only wanted to speak with him to ensure that he would take up the ritual, to minimize the damage of the mistake they made so long ago. Norman attempts to help the zombies slip away so they can guide him to Aggie's grave, but is cornered by the mob. Courtney, Mitch, Neil, and Alvin rally to Norman's side and confront the crowd, arguing that their rage, fear, and misunderstanding make them no different from the cursed townsfolk from long ago. Although the mob realizes the error of their ways, the witch unleashes her powers to create greater havoc throughout the town.
Judge Hopkins guides Norman's family to the grave in a forest. Before the grave is reached, Aggie's magical powers separate Norman from the others. Norman finds the grave and interacts with Aggie'svengeful ghost, determined to stop the cataclysmic tantrum she has been having over the years. Though she attempts to push him away, Norman holds his ground, telling her that he understands how she feels as an outcast, that her vengeance has only made her like the ones who wronged her, causing her to remember happier days. Having finally encountered someone who understands her plight and by remembering her caring mother, Aggie is able to find a measure of peace and cross over to the afterlife. The storm dissipates, and she, the zombies and even the Judge all fade away. The town cleans up and regards Norman as a hero.
In the end, Norman watches a horror film with his family and the ghost of his grandmother, who have grown to accept Norman for who he is.
Blithe Hollow townspeople are voiced byKirk Baily,Cam Clarke, Lara Cody,Eddie Frierson,Rif Hutton,Edie Mirman and David Zyler.
The idea of the film came from Chris Butler, who, realizing that zombie films often contained a degree ofsocial commentary, thought making such a movie for kids could help express the challenges kids face growing up.[12]
Production of the stop-motion animation feature took place at Laika's studio inHillsboro, Oregon.[13][14] The film was in production for three years, with the animating stage of production lasting about two years and beginning in late2009. Rather than using traditional 3-D format cameras, the studio had sixtyCanon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR cameras film the movie.[15] Advertising agencyWieden+Kennedy created the campaign for the film.[13]ParaNorman is the first ever stop motion film to use full-color3-D printers for replacement animation. Laika's previous filmCoraline had pioneered and popularized the use of black and white 3-D printers, which sped up puppet production considerably and allowed the team to make the large number of puppet faces required for the film.[16] "Quite often it's the stop-motion movies that are more out there," co-director Fell toldThe New York Times. "They're a little quirkier, they're a little harder to pin down."[17]
Jon Brion composed the film's score, and an accompanying soundtrack album was released on August 14, 2012.[18] Bits of other music appear in the film, including the theme music fromHalloween, theDonovan song "Season of the Witch" (sung by the school play cast) and "Fix Up, Look Sharp" by British rapperDizzee Rascal. "Little Ghost", aWhite Stripes song from their 2005 albumGet Behind Me Satan, plays at the end, over character cards identifying the main cast. However, one track in the film, an updated version of "Aggie Fights", was not included in the soundtrack.
ParaNorman was released onDVD andBlu-ray on November 27, 2012, byUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment.[19] A new edition fromShout! Factory under license from Laika was released on Blu-ray on September 14, 2021, and later onUltra HD Blu-ray on December 13, 2022.[citation needed]
A video game calledParaNorman: 2-Bit Bub was made foriOS.[20]
| ParaNorman: The Thrifting | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Thibault LeClercq |
| Written by | Chris Butler |
| Produced by | Peter McCown |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Kevin Lax Robert Lydecker |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Fathom Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 7 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
ParaNorman: The Thrifting is an computer animatedhorror comedy short film directed by character designer Thibault LeClercq, produced by Peter McCown and written by film directorChris Butler who executive produced the short with producer and CEOTravis Knight, based on the characters from the film by Butler andSam Fell.
The short brings backAnna Kendrick, who voiced Courtney in the film, along with new actors such asFinn Wolfhard while Brayden Gleave and Beckett Maillard voices Norman and Neil than the original actors. Produced fromLaika in association withPassion Pictures, the short was released in promotion to the re-release of the main film on October 2025.[21]
The short opens up with Norman and Courtney walking to Ye Olde Grimporium to find a Halloween costume this year. While Courtney flirts with a moody shop clerk, Chad, Norman starts searching for a costume before bumping into his friend Neil. Finding a strange mask, the lights went out as a supernatural entity chases them around the shop. However, it turns out the entity is only a spiritual ghost kid named Edward who wants his mask back from Norman. Fighting over the mask, Edward's mother, who's also a spiritual ghost, interrupts this and takes Edward away while grounding him. The store is restored but Norman decides he doesn't want a costume. Chad kicks the boys and Courtney out and locks the store for tonight. As they leave, Norman takes one last look at Edward above before leaving while Courtney calls Mitch about Chad.
In June 2025,Laika announced at the Annecy of a re-release of their filmParaNorman with companyFathom Entertainment along with a CGI-animated short follow-up by as part of their 20th anniversary of the studio.Anna Kendrick reprise her role whileFinn Wolfhard was casted as Chad while newcomers, Brayden Gleave and Beckett Maillard, replacesKodi Smit-McPhee andTucker Albrizzi as Norman and Neil. On October 9, the trailer was posted from Laika's Youtube channel with a first look at the short being more stylized like the credits of the original film.[22]
Unlike the original film which was produced in stop-motion, the animation was made byPassion Pictures inParis,France while assets and production design comes from Laika Studios.[21][23] Composers Kevin Lax and Robert Lydecker, who previously worked with producer Peter McCown onDreamWorks Animation'sNetflix filmOrion and the Dark, were attach to score the short film thanJon Brion.
The short was released on October 25, 2025 as part of the re-release anniversary of the original film in 2012.[21]
| Award | Category | Recipients | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annie Awards[24][25] | Best Production Design – TV/Media | Thibault Leclercq, Santiago Montiel, Jung Woonyoung, Stephanie Bray-Lee | Pending |
| Best Storyboarding – TV/Media | Coleton Palmer, Katherine Jay Myong, Heewon Jeong | Pending |
Review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes givesParaNorman an approval rating of 89% based on 189 reviews, and an average score of 7.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Beautifully animated and solidly scripted,ParaNorman will entertain (and frighten) older children while providing surprisingly thoughtful fare for their parents."[6]Metacritic gives the film aweighted average score of 72 out of 100 based on 33 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable" reviews.[26] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[27]
Justin Chang ofVariety wrote in his review, "Few movies so taken with death have felt so rudely alive asParaNorman, the latest handcrafted marvel from the stop-motion artists at Laika."[28] Michael Rechtshaffen ofThe Hollywood Reporter said, "It has its entertaining moments, but this paranormal stop-motion animated comedy-chiller cries out for more activity."[9]
ParaNorman earned $56 million in North America, and $51.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $107.1 million.[3] The film premiered inMexico on August 3, 2012, opening in second place with box office receipts of $2.2 million, behindThe Dark Knight Rises.[29] For its opening weekend in North America, the film placed third, with receipts of $14 million, behindThe Expendables 2 andThe Bourne Legacy.[30]Travis Knight, head of the studio that produced the film, believed the box office total was fine, but did not live up to his expectations.[31]
The film has drawn attention for the revelation in its final scenes that supporting character Mitch is gay, making him the first openly gay character in a mainstream animated film.[32] Nancy French ofNational Review Online suggested that the film could lead parents "to answer unwanted questions aboutsex andhomosexuality on the way home from the movie theater."[33] Conversely, Mike Ryan ofThe Huffington Post cited Mitch's inclusion as one of the reasons whyParaNorman is "remarkable".[34] Co-director Chris Butler said that the character was explicitly connected with the film's message: "If we're saying to anyone that watches this movie don't judge other people, then we've got to have the strength of our convictions."[35] In 2013,ParaNorman was the first-ever PG-rated movie nominated byGLAAD in its annualGLAAD Media Awards, but lost toThe Perks of Being a Wallflower.[36]
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| Award | Category | Recipients | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Animated Feature | Sam Fell, Chris Butler | Nominated |
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Animated Film | Won | |
| Annie Awards[37][38] | Best Animated Feature | Nominated | |
| Directing in an Animated Feature Production | Sam Fell, Chris Butler | Nominated | |
| Animated Effects in an Animated Production | Andrew Nawrot, Joe Gorski, Grant Lake | Nominated | |
| Character Animation in a Feature Production | Travis Knight | Won | |
| Character Design in an Animated Feature Production | Heidi Smith | Won | |
| Production Design in an Animated Feature Production | Nelson Lowry, Ross Stewart, Pete Oswald, Ean McNamara, Trevor Dalmer | Nominated | |
| Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production | Emmanuela Cozzi | Nominated | |
| Writing in an Animated Feature Production | Chris Butler | Nominated | |
| Foley Mixing in an Animated Feature Production | Richard Duarte | Won | |
| BAFTA Awards[39] | Best Animated Film | Nominated | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Animated Feature | Won | |
| Critics Choice Awards[40] | Best Animated Feature | Won | |
| Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association | Best Animated Film | Won | |
| Denver Film Critics Society | Best Animated Feature | Won | |
| GLAAD Media Awards[41] | Outstanding Film - Wide Release | Nominated | |
| Houston Film Critics Society | Best Animated Film | Nominated | |
| Indiana Film Critics Association | Best Animated Feature | Nominated | |
| Las Vegas Film Critics Society | Best Animated Film | Won | |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Animated Feature | Nominated | |
| Online Film Critics Society[42] | Best Animated Feature | Won | |
| Phoenix Film Critics Society | Best Animated Film | Nominated | |
| Producers Guild of America | Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures | Travis Knight, Arianne Sutner | Nominated |
| San Diego Film Critics Society | Best Animated Film | Won | |
| San Francisco Film Critics Circle | Best Animated Feature | Won | |
| Satellite Awards[43] | Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media | Nominated | |
| Saturn Awards[44] | Best Animated Film | Sam Fell and Chris Butler | Nominated |
| Southeastern Film Critics Association | Best Animated Film | Won | |
| St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association | Best Animated Film | Nominated | |
| Toronto Film Critics Association Awards | Best Animated Feature | Won | |
| Utah Film Critics Association | Best Animated Feature | Won | |
| Visual Effects Society[45][46] | Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture | Chris Butler, Sam Fell, Travis Knight, Brad Schiff | Nominated |
| Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture | Graveyard: Phil Brotherton, Robert Desue, Oliver Jones, Nick Mariana | Nominated | |
| Main Street: Alice Bird, Matt Delue, Caitlin Pashalek | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture | Practical Volumetrics: Aidan Fraser, Joe Gorski, Eric Kuehne, Andrew Nawrot | Nominated | |
| Angry Aggie Ink-Blot Electricity: Michael Cordova, Grant Laker, Susanna Luck, Peter Vickery | Nominated | ||
| Washington D. C. Area Film Critics Association | Best Animated Feature | Won |
In 2017, animator Ila Solomon posted test footage for aParaNorman television spin-off. The series would have used practical sets, but all the characters would have been rendered in CGI made to look like stop-motion. Not much information was given, but it was apparent that the show did not get picked up.[47]
Norman Babcock is an 11-year-old who is dubbed as"a freak" in his school because he can speak to the dead.
