Paranorman

I had heard that Paranorman was good, but I wasn't expecting it to be this good.

It's truly an all-ages film, in that adults have as much to enjoy as kids do. Unlike many all ages films, however, it doesn't do that by slamming as many pop culture references as possible into a kids story. Paranorman is far more canny. It relies more on sly insights and clever framing and deft acknowledgement of human interactions than snark and sarcasm.

And yes, it's about bullying... but not just schoolyard bullying. This is the brilliance of the film. It is ultimately about fear, and what fear does to people. It's about how fear can make good people do evil things. It is about how fear can change you into something horrible. How fear makes you the thing to be afraid of.

I love how violence is not the answer, but it's the thing that people turn to as a solution. I love the connection between the puritans and the modern townsfolk, and I love the horror of the puritans at seeing what their village has turned into.

I think that special note should be taken of the character design. There is something so visually appealing about LAIKA's style: Norman's perpetually frightened hair, Mitch's torso while standing next to Courtney's hips, the gentle eye pouches on Sandra and the stocky goateed midwesternness of Perry. As caricatures, they're simply wonderful. Everyone is so gloriously imperfect. There isn't a Disney princess in the lot.

I greatly enjoyed Coraline, but I loved Paranorman and I can't wait to see what LAIKA brings us next.