ParaNorman

When ParaNorman’s teaser trailer started making the rounds a couple of things caught my attention. First, the use of Donovan’s Season of the Witch was a stroke of genius. Second, it was a kids movie about paranormal things, a subject my kids love. That being said, when the film came out I rounded up the family and headed to the local cinema to watch the film.

My in theater experience with ParaNorman was one that left a lot to be desired. Quite frankly, I got bored, a lot. Not only that but the film kept bordering on being a kids film and being a film for kid like adults who were caught up in the zombie craze. Did one character suggest the kids go to an Adult bookstore? It reminded me of the early days of DreamWorks where all of their films had innuendo’s popping out from all angles or were flat out inappropriate, cough cough Road To El Dorado. In any case the constant teetering between being a good kids film and a good film designed for both kids and their parents was a bit rocky.

My home cinema experience with ParaNorman was pretty much the same. The only thing that kept me watching was the brilliance of the films Blu-Ray transfer in contrast with the animation technique. At times flaws really shined through, for example there is a bit of a jerking motion during some scenes where the characters move frame by frame in a weird looking slow motion way, their shadows do as well. Other then that though the aesthetic element of the release is amazing. Too bad the film, even on my second go with it, was still mediocre at best.

PICTURE QUALITY:
Simply put, reference quality. ParaNorman has to be one of the finest, if not the finest, animated film I’ve seen on Blu-Ray. It has a lot to do with the animation technique, I think. Though it’s quite literally stop-motion animation coming to life before your very eyes, the phrase gets new meaning when you see this film. If you enjoyed it in theaters and have been dying to own it on Blu-Ray, prepare to have your mind blown by the feature's amazing picture and bombastic sound.

BONUS FEATURES:
~Commentary from directors Chris Butler and Sam Fell.
~Peering Through The Veil: A collection of featurettes that expose the world of ParaNorman.
-That’s ParaNorman
-Creating A World
-Voicing ParaNorman*
-Building Characters
-Making Faces
-Rigging The Game
-Bringing The Undead To Life
-Angry Aggie
-Weird And Wonderful
~7 Featurettes On Making ParaNorman:
-You Don’t Become A Hero By Being Normal
-A Normal Childhood
-Playing As A Profession
-Making Norman
-This Little Light
-Have You Ever Seen A Ghost
-The Zombies of ParaNorman
~Preliminary Animatic Sequences: Hand drawn panels and early voice over work
~BD/DVD/DIGITAL/UV Copies
~U-CONTROL feature