ParaNorman
ParaNorman is a stop-motion animated horror-comedy about an 11-year-old boy who can speak with the dead and must save his town from a centuries-old witch's curse. It carries a warm heart and a strong message about empathy and accepting differences, wrapped in a genuinely spooky package that earns its PG rating.
Best suited for kids 9 and up, especially those who already enjoy a good scare and can tell the difference between creepy-fun and scary-upsetting.
If you’d rather skip
The film opens with Norman watching a low-budget zombie horror movie on TV in which a zombie lunges at the screen; sets the horror-movie tone immediately.
Norman sees and converses with ghosts throughout his daily routine; some appear with visible signs of violent death such as severed necks or exposed wounds.
Norman has a vivid vision in which the stage set disintegrates into a dark forest with animated trees that sprout teeth and long skeletal fingers that reach for him.