Paranorman

Anything but ordinary

In all honesty, I dragged my feet a little bit on the way to the theater to see Paranorman. Something about the movie just struck me as so, well, normal. I went in expecting to see a little kiddie movie set in a universe where curse words do not exist and the power of friendship and family could overcome any obstacle. Ergo, I expected boring, childish cliches.

It took me by surprise. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still (mostly) a kid’s movie – but even I, at the weathered age of eighteen, thoroughly enjoyed it. There are a lot of tricks and surprises thrown in aimed for audience members over the age of twelve to enjoy. The movie’s central theme – acceptance of everyone for who they are, even if they’re different – is a lesson anyone regardless of age should adhere to, and it’s all wrapped up in the film’s commendable stop motion claymation design, which never strays too far from interesting and occasionally reaches absolutely stunning.