‘ParaNorman’ amounts to deadly laughter

Norman Babcock is an outcast. He doesn’t have any friends at school, and most people think…

Young boy Norman tackles dead people in animated film “ParaNorman.”

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Norman Babcock is an outcast. He doesn’t have any friends at school, and most people think he’s a freak. But he isn’t Hollywood’s average derelict, because Norman Babcock isn’t just an outcast. He can see dead people.

“ParaNorman” — an animated movie from the makers of “Coraline” — tells the story of Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and his town Blithe Hollow, a place that is obsessed with the paranormal and a rumored curse that resonates in every corner of the town. A less-than-average boy with a sixth sense, Norman seems like the perfect combination of uninteresting and abnormal to be the quintessential recluse. But when Blithe Hollow suffers the repercussions from its century-old curse, Norman is the only person who can save it, thanks to his freaky gift.

Norman’s room has posters and figurines of zombies plastered to the walls and ceiling, while more still lie on the floor. Even his slippers and toothbrush point to his obsession with the reappearing dead.

But at the beginning of the film, as he sits in his living room speaking with his grandmother — a woman that no one else in his family addresses — the audience quickly realizes that Norman isn’t speaking to a living person. Instead, he’s speaking to her ghost, who’s destined to walk the earth because of her unfinished business. Uncontent to rest until she completes her purpose in the living world, she shares with Norman a message that resonates as a major theme throughout the film.

And although Norman doesn’t have many human friends with whom he interacts, he speaks regularly with the many ghosts that haunt Blithe Hollow. His chatter doesn’t go unnoticed, and Norman becomes the joke of his town and an easy target for the bullies at school.

But that doesn’t stop the kind (and somewhat oblivious) Neil from befriending him, creating a duo of outcasts. The two develop a friendship focused almost entirely on Norman’s odd ability to see the dead. Unfortunately, Norman believes he cannot have friends because of his abnormalities and pushes Neil away to be on his own, suffering in loneliness and acting cold toward the rest of the world. But it only takes a zombie resurrection and town mob to reunite the two, as well as Norman’s airheaded sister Courtney and Neil’s athletic brother Mitch. After some struggle, the four band together to put the town in its place, and with the support of others, Norman inevitably saves the day.

Though “ParaNorman” has all the qualities of a typical children’s film, it still exhibits certain adult characteristics that will be lost on younger viewers. Certain horror film references accompany other adult themes to make “ParaNorman” less innocent than it could be, giving adult viewers more of a reason to see the film despite its overall silly plot.

Still, there isn’t much about the movie that makes it interesting. “ParaNorman” sticks to an easy, but still popular, plot. The outcast turns into a hero by saving the town from a zombie curse, learning that he needs others just as much as they need him. Norman continues to see dead people and might not make any more friends, but the townspeople are grateful to him for his actions, leaving the movie to wrap up like most animated films: with a childish, happy ending.

“ParaNorman” feeds off the zombie obsession that consumers have been quick to eat up, making it a viable film for those interested in animation and not-too-spooky horror films. But the plot is fairly dull, and other than a few laughs, the film doesn’t offer too much for moviegoers.