Throughout this past week, I like anyone else my age, have been totally preoccupied by school. Well, I’ve finished the first three weeks of my freshman year in high school, and if anyone’s in grade school, I give this warning.. Enjoy middle school while it lasts. At one point in my first week, I mentioned “How To Train Your Dragon”, and one of the other kids said “Oh, I saw that. It was all animated; it sucked.” Seriously, what is the deal with animation prejudice? So, next time you want to make an animated movie, try to see if it can be made in live action, because then, people will like it more. And have you noticed that most animated films nowadays are rated G or PG? “ParaNorman” deserves a PG13 rating more than any animated film I’ve seen, but don’t let that distract you from it’s story.

Norman Babcock was born with the ability to communicate with ghosts, but everyone thinks he’s making that up. Because of this, he is constantly being picked on by the kids at school, with the exception of Neil, another victim of bullying, who starts to befriend Norman. But when Norman’s mysterious uncle passes away, a century-old curse starts to come back to haunt the town, and Norman is the only one who can stop it.

I’m just going to come out and say it. THIS. IS. NOT. A. KID’S. MOVIE. Not only because of the scary content, but also because of suggested romance, mild language, and a buttload of drama. At first, I was worried that the movie wasn’t going to take itself seriously like ‘Coraline’ did. (By the way, that’s an incredible movie, too.) But the movie seems to take itself a little TOO seriously, with questions on the Salem Witch trials, death, and the afterlife. There’s no real villain in the movie, as everyone is just trying to do what they believe is the right thing. Some of the sillier scenes were added in just for the trailer, and don’t seem to blend with the more dramatic material the film has to offer.

This is one of those films that I can relate to well, Norman reminded me a lot of myself with how he just doesn’t seem to fit in. The movie seems a bit too serious for it’s own good, but if you’re in high school, this is one animated film that you might want to check out. Anyone younger than 13 may want to stay away from this one, but “ParaNorman” is a film that i highly recommend. Oh, and one more thing. When my Mom and I went to see this film, we were the only ones in the theater! How weird is that?

Or maybe there was a ghostly audience after all…

Nah.

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