ParaNorman (2012)

All Critics (162) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (141) | Rotten (21) | DVD (1)

Ghoulish? Yes. Funny? You bet.

September 11, 2012 Full Review

Cath Clarke

Time Out

Top Critic

Paranorman has a unique look that's equal parts old school and cutting edge.

August 30, 2012 Full Review

Richard Roeper

Richard Roeper.com

Top Critic

The film avoids the pandering of many animated features, bringing an acerbic edge and a thrilling intelligence to its story.

August 27, 2012 Full Review

Bruce Diones

New Yorker

Top Critic

"ParaNorman" took a huge risk on a scarier concept, and it paid off enormously.

August 22, 2012 Full Review

Amanda Mae Meyncke

Film.com

Top Critic

"ParaNorman" is never less than entertaining, but you'll have to follow it into a strange purgatory between two opposing genres.

August 17, 2012 Full Review

Rafer Guzman

Newsday

Top Critic

If the story lacks the consistent psychological depth of Coraline, another tale of an outcast finding solace in a parallel world, amends are made during the lovely climax.

August 17, 2012 Full Review

Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

Top Critic

The thrilling finale is a terrific blend of heartfelt emotion, surreal visuals and inventive ghostly spectacle, and the film's timeless message is put across in wonderfully ghoulish and surprising ways.

October 6, 2013 Full Review

Alan Jones

Radio Times

Is there such a thing as a gateway drug for horror films? If so, ParaNorman might be just the ticket.

October 6, 2013 Full Review

Chris Knight

National Post

[C]inema is nothing if not a fluid creature that has the power to affect us based on any number of variables. The climactic action sequence of ParaNorman is too busy from a visual standpoint, but its message shines loud and clear.

September 8, 2013 Full Review

Glenn Dunks

Trespass

I can't imagine any kid who enjoys Halloween (I mean the holiday, not the movie) not being delighted by ParaNorman.

July 17, 2013 Full Review

Eric D. Snider

EricDSnider.com

The only thing animated about it is the animation, which is so spectacular that you begrudge the script for not being equally inspired.

May 26, 2013 Full Review

Al Alexander

The Patriot Ledger

PARANORMAN is ambitious and inventive, marvelously conceived, but the bulk of its value lies within the movie's open-minded philosophy.

April 3, 2013 Full Review

Meredith Borders

Badass Digest

Movies that set themselves firmly against bullying are great, but ones that play to horror fans are even better.

March 21, 2013 Full Review

Wesley Lovell

Cinema Sight

An extremely strange blend of genres and styles, ParaNorman somehow manages to pull it off...sort of.

January 22, 2013 Full Review

Gabe Leibowitz

Film and Felt

Kids who can handle the bumps should find much to love in this beautifully animated ramshackle parcel, one that's packed full of detail, humour and positive messages.

January 17, 2013 Full Review

Tom Clift

Moviedex

ParaNorman is style, substance, [delicious] brains and a huge [cold dead] heart.

January 17, 2013 Full Review

Blake Howard

2UE That Movie Show

ParaNorman demonstrates - as did films such as Coraline, The Corpse Bride, Wallace & Gromit and The Nightmare Before Christmas - that stop-motion animation has a texture and warmth that can't (yet!) be replicated by computer.

January 16, 2013 Full Review

Jim Schembri

3AW

I still liked ParaNorman and it deserves to be seen for its wit and the work of its passionate animators.

January 9, 2013 Full Review

Matthew Toomey

ABC Radio Brisbane

Bristling with energy, here's a delectable 3D film that's inventive, funny, devilishly ghoulish, loaded with splendid effects and a heartfelt story at its core

January 6, 2013 Full Review

Louise Keller

Urban Cinefile

Funny, frightening, exciting and extremely thoughtful about the nature of the conflict at the core of the film, ParaNorman is a standout feature animation.

January 6, 2013 Full Review

Thomas Caldwell

Cinema Autopsy

Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee) loves zombie movies, monster movies, and all other kinds of movies about dead people, the grosser and gooier the better.

December 10, 2012 Full Review

Cynthia Fuchs

Time to Play Magazine

The inner horror fan is accessed via the child inside in this quirky stop-motion animation treat

December 9, 2012 Full Review

Cameron Williams

The Popcorn Junkie

Like its hero, this smart, funny and beautifully animated film achieves great things by daring to be different.

October 30, 2012 Full Review

Andy Lea

Daily Star

Charming stop-motion lumps chase a witch

October 20, 2012 Full Review | Comments (2)

Marty Mapes

Movie Habit

For moviegoers who tend to look down their nose at horror films, ParaNorman offers proof positive that the genre that gets us screaming can also have real substance.

October 19, 2012 Full Review

Jason Buchanan

TV Guide's Movie Guide

...this is truly edgy for children's fare.

October 19, 2012 Full Review

Adam Ross

The Aristocrat

• 1. Alvin: Don't get your bra in a twist, fat boy. This has nothing to do with you, so keep out of my way.
  2. Neil: Or what?
  3. Alvin: Or, uh, I'll punch you in boobs.
  4. Neil: I don't have boobs. These are pectorals.
  5. Neil: Ow! My boobs!
  – Submitted by Isabella M (6 months ago)
• 1. Mr. Prenderghast: Tell me you'll do this.
  2. Norman Babcock: I. I.
  3. Mr. Prenderghast: Swear!
  4. Norman Babcock: You mean the F word?
  5. Mr. Prenderghast: I mean, promise!
  – Submitted by Isabella M (6 months ago)
• 1. Sandra Babcock: Y'know, sometimes people say things that seem mean, but they do it because they're afraid.
  2. Norman Babcock: He's my dad. He shouldn't be afraid of me.
  3. Sandra Babcock: He's not afraid OF you, he's afraid FOR you.
  – Submitted by Sara J (8 months ago)
• 1. Neil: So what do we do now?
  2. Norman Babcock: I... uh... I-I really don't know.
  3. Courtney: Yes you do, Norman. You've got to get to that witch's grave!
  4. Norman Babcock: But-
  5. Courtney: But nothing, you listen to me, buster! We didn't turn away when Daleridge High was slaughtering our volleyball team, did we?
  6. Norman Babcock: I thought we did.
  7. Courtney: No we didn't! I've cheered the uncheerable, Norman, and I'm NOT letting you give up now!
  – Submitted by Sara J (8 months ago)
• 1. Norman Babcock: Mr. Prenderghast appeared to me in the bathroom.
  2. Neil: Ew.
  3. Norman Babcock: No, his spirit. His says the witch's curse is real and I have to go up to the old graveyard and stop it before the sun sets tonight.
  4. Neil: So... you wanna come play a bit later?
  5. Norman Babcock: Didn't you hear what I just said?
  6. Neil: Yeah, but I thought my idea was the less likely to get us eaten.
  – Submitted by Sara J (8 months ago)
• 1. Mitch: [after Norman randomly shouted 'The dead are coming!' during the school play] Did he just say the 'dead' are coming?
  2. Perry Babcock: No, no, no, no...
  3. Norman Babcock: Yes! The tree told me! [everyone looks at Neil, who's dressed as a tree]
  – Submitted by Sara J (8 months ago)