This article contains some spoilers for ParaNorman.Every year, adults filled with nostalgia and kids ready for something a little bit spookier seek out the stop-motion classic Coraline. Even after the utterly disgusting revelations about author Neil Gaiman, who wrote the source novella, Coraline remains a charming evergreen watch, thanks to the strong voice performances and the incredible stop-motion animation from veteran director Henry Selick.Believe it or not, though, Coraline isn’t the best movie from its studio, LAIKA. There’s another stop-motion release with even better visuals, even more compelling characters, and an even more moving story. That movie is ParaNorman, and it deserves to be added to everyone’s Halloween watchlist.cnx.cmd.push(function() {cnx({playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530",}).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796");});Abnormal NormanThroughout its first act, ParaNorman delivers more or less what you’d expect from a kid-friendly horror movie. As 11-year-old Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) makes his way from home to school in his small, New England town, he’s harassed by his preppy older sister Courtney (Anna Kendrick), harangued by his high-strung father Perry (Jeff Garlin), and menaced by the local bully Alvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Norman finds comfort in his odd-ball best friend Neil (Tucker Albrizzi) and from his crass but kind paternal grandmother (Elaine Stritch), who loves to watch horror movies with Norman. Norman’s time with Grandma is particularly special because she died long ago. And Neil loves to hang out with Norman, because Norman can see Neil’s recently-deceased dog. In fact, Norman can see and talk with all manner of ghosts, which makes his life difficult.hdHuluFlathdPeacock PremiumFlathdPeacock Premium PlusFlat4kHBO Max Amazon ChannelFlatSource: JustWatchSo while the first act does indulge in the occasional jump scare and spooky image, nervous viewers can take comfort in knowing that Norman takes it all in stride. The ghosts aren’t mean or cruel. They’re just lost, lonely, and confused, unable to move onto the afterlife for reasons they may not yet understand. So when a green arm shoots out from the side of the frame or the ghost of Norman’s crazed great uncle Mr. Prenderghast (John Goodman) emerges from a toilet, viewers will jump and shudder for a moment, but then they’ll feel okay.That is, until things get out of Norman’s control. Mr. Prenderghast’s ghost comes to him with a warning, that he alone had been staving off attacks from a witch by performing a certain ritual. And now that he’s died, Norman must complete the ritual. But he can’t do it right, partially because he’s a kid fumbling through an arcane process, and partially because he’s interrupted by Alvin, coming to deliver a beating. And Norman’s blunder leads to not just the arrival of the witch, but also zombies rising from the grave to attack the town.Here, ParaNorman shifts from horror watered down for kids, to actual horror. The zombies shamble towards the townspeople with pained expressions and maws dangling open. The skies turn black and purple and blue. The townspeople turn into a mindless mob as they try to fight back. And the witch takes the form of a glowering face in the clouds, electric with rage.Crafting TerrorThe horror sequences allow directors Sam Fell and Chris Butler (who also wrote the script) and the animators at LAIKA to show off their craft. Certainly, the characters and setting felt distinctive from the very first frame, with each face rendered as expressive and odd: nose bending at unexpected angles and body shapes exaggerated far beyond anything realistic. Even before the witch and zombies attack, the town had the qualities of German Expressionism, all sharp angles and unusual corners, albeit bathed in green and yellow and blue instead of the traditional black and white.However, the animation gains a renewed fluidity once the horror kicks in. Norman, Alvin, and Neill never feel graceful, nor do Courtney and Neill’s jock brother Mitch (Casey Affleck), who get thrown in with their siblings. Yet, the animators imbue them with a unique dynamism when they start running away from various ghouls. The bounce around in Mitch’s van like toys rattled around by a toddler and Norman scuttles up a tower to face the witch less like a boy and more like a roach.The general unsightliness of the characters and setting underscore ParaNorman‘s central theme, as do the horror sequences in the movie’s second and third acts. Yes, the witch and the ghouls are frightening monsters. But they’re just as unusual-looking as the human beings. And that’s because they too are just human beings, misunderstood and scared.Monstrous MisunderstandingsAt the climax of ParaNorman, Norman faces down the witch, but not to defeat her. Instead, he wants to talk to her, to relate to her. He realizes that she was once Aggie Prenderghast (Jodelle Ferland), a little girl his own age in Colonial America, who has his same ability to see the dead. As with him, that ability scared the people around her, and she was condemned for witchcraft by Judge Hopkins (Bernard Hill) and other Puritan leaders. She died angry and alone, which is why her ghost will come and attack unless Mr. Prenderghast, her relative, completes the ritual. Which is essentially what Norman does, telling her she’s not alone, she’s not evil, and helping her to find peace in happier times.Even more remarkable is the revelation that the zombies who beset the city are Judge Hopkins and the other town elders, whose guilt over shunning Aggie has turned them into the suffering undead. They arrive not to terrorize the city nor consume the living. Rather, they arrive to express their sorrow for the mistakes from the past, to admit they were just scared and foolish, and to beg Norman to complete the ritual so that no one else has to suffer.As these plot points reveal, ParaNorman is ultimately a movie about empathy. Throughout the film, people get scared by something or someone they don’t understand, and they hurt themselves and others when they act out of that fear. But when they accept the fear and then move through it to understanding, they realize the threat wasn’t there at all.Scared into UnderstandingTo be clear, ParaNorman does all of this without undercutting any of the horror. It’s genuinely scary to see the zombies and witch attack, even to grown horror fans. And the movie’s theme only works if people, including the audience, feel real fear. Otherwise, the passing through to understanding has no value.ParaNorman’s approach to horror and empathy recalls a famous misquote/paraphrase from G.K. Chesterton’s 1909 essay “The Red Angel,” which says, “Fairy tales don’t tell children that dragons exist. They know very well that dragons are real. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be defeated.” The most famous version of that paraphrase comes from Neil Gaiman’s opening to the novella Coraline, in which he explains why he made a scary story for kids. Both the book and movie version of Coraline achieved that goal well. But ParaNorman does it even better, by forcing the audience to actually feel fear, and then showing them that fear is no reason to withhold empathy.The post ParaNorman is the Perfect Stop-Motion Horror Movie appeared first on Den of Geek.