ParaNorman

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I See Dead People

There's nothing wrong with being scared, Norman, so long as you don't let it change who you are. —Grandma Babcock

Para Norman is a stop-motion animated comic horror film from Laika Animation Studios -- better known for their success with Coraline -- that was released in August 17, 2012. It was directed by Chris Butler (the main storyboard artist on Coraline) and Sam Fell (an Aardman alumni and director of Flushed Away), based off a script written by Butler.

The film follows the titular protagonist, Norman (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee), living in a small town in Massachusetts. With the "gift" of speaking to the dead, Norman is called an outcast by most of the town, most of which populated by childish adults and a nasty population of kids. When the town comes under siege by zombies, ghosts and witches, only he can actually save the town from these creatures, not to mention a centuries-old curse on the town.

A trailer can be seen here. Be warned, some of the imagery rivals Coraline in scariness.

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Tropes used in ParaNorman include:

• Actor Allusion:
  • Once again, Anna Kendrick loses a guy that she was crushing on to the gay community.
  • The title of "Kid in danger with the unknown" seems to be the names of Kodi Smit-McPhee's characters.
  • Jodelle Ferland seems to get roles where a girl who places the town under a curse after the residents tried and execute her for witchcraft.
• Adorably Precocious Child: Norman.
• Adults Are Useless: Most of the adults range from Too Dumb to Live and sometimes just plain crazy.
• Adult Fear: Agatha, who's an innocent kid, was condemned and put to death as a witch. History repeats again almost, this time with Norman's parents' protestations getting drown out by the mob which shows just how powerless they are.
• Aloof Big Sister: Basically, Courtney.
• All of the Other Reindeer: Deconstructed hard.
• An Aesop:
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Courtney sees Norman as this.
• Anti-Villain:
• The Atoner: Mainly The Judge (and his zombie companions) are fully aware that the curse was their fault. The zombies only want to tell Normal just how to stop the curse.
• Badass Pacifist: Norman takes the beatdown route that even pushes the envelope of the movie's PG rating and never stops trying to reason with Agatha's ghost.
• Barbie Doll Anatomy: Averted. When Mitch is shirtless he has nipples.
• Bare Your Midriff: Courtney.
• Big Bad: Mainly the ghost of the witch.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Norman and Mr. Prenderghast. Including Agatha. Turns out it runs in the family as well as having the ability to speak to the deceased.
• Black Comedy
• Book Dumb: Neil.
• Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick:

Neil: It's just because I'm fat and I have asthma and I sweat when I walk too fast and my lunchbox has a kitten on it, and I have irritable bowel syndrome.

• Bring My Brown Pants: Alvin attempts to flee from the zombies, exclaiming "I think I peed my pants!"
• The Bully: Alvin.
• Casanova Wannabe: Alvin attempts to woo girls but isn't successful.
• Chekhov's Gun: Norman's ability to speak to the dead becomes useful when the town comes under siege by supernatural forces.
• Cool Loser: Norman happens to be able to speak to the dead, but is considered an outsider in the community. However, this is somewhat justified when you really consider from everyone else's perspective how this is a kid who is going around claiming he speaks with dead people.
• Cool Old Lady: Grandma Babcock.
• Cosmetic Horror: This happens to the school drama teacher, her makeup is awful, worst is her green facial mask that's so bad that only talking to her saved her from being mistaken for one of the zombies.
• Crapsack World: Much of the trailer shows the rundown suburbia that the protagonist lives in. And of course...
• Creepy Child: According to most of the town, Norman is this and Same can go for , the little girl, who is the "infamous" witch.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Basically the town's ghosts, they're friendly. Template:Sproiler
• Dumb Blonde: Courtney, though it looks like she dyes.
• Dumb Jock: Mitch.
• Dumb Muscle: Mainly Mitch and Alvin. Plus, they're not that smart.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Norman has to fight a "witch" to protect a town that mostly scorns him, only to find that the townspeople Template:Spolier
• Everything's Deader with Zombies: The first creature to invade Blithe Hollow. Oh, and it gets worse...
• Evil is Petty: The witch cursed all of Blithe Hollow to be attacked by the zombies of those who tried her.Averted. Since, Aggy cursed the zombies to go through the same thing that she went through.
• Executive Meddling: The aerobics instructor's butts aren't as...Detailed as they appear in the teasers and trailers.
• Exotic Eye Designs: Norman's irises and pupils are faceted. No other character has eyes like his, so it's not a result of the heavy stylization in the film.
• Fat Best Friend: Neil.
• Favoritism Flip Flop: At the ending of the film, Alvin explains to some girls that he and Norman are real close for years. It's true in a sense, since Alvin was Norman's bully.
• Fighting for Survival: When the townspeople encountering the zombies where doing what every sane person does, turns out to be unnecessary.
• Five-Man Band:
  • The Chick: Courtney
  • The Big Guy: Mitch
  • The Lancer: Alvin
  • The Hero: Norman
  • The Smart Guy: Neil
• Foot Focus: Briefly with Courtney, since she was painting her nails.
• Foreshadowing: The practice session of the school play, including the line about the witch's portrayal being historically inaccurate.
  • While watching the B-Movie's opening, Norman's Grandma made a weird suggestion of instead of running to the hills, the girl in the film could've at least try to reason with the zombie.
• Freaky Is Cool: This trope is the reason why Neil befriends Norman.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: The witch's ghost used to be a sweet girl that has the power to see ghosts. Her other terrifying powers appear after when she was hang.
• Genre Savvy:
• George Lucas Throwback: Basically The Goonies meets Night of the Living Dead.
• Getting Crap Past the Radar:
• Gypsy Curse:
• Hartman Hips: Courtney and her mom.
  • Taken to extremes with the aerobics instructor Neil likes to freeze-frame on.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Norman is not exactly Mr. Popular in town, for reasons mentioned above in Cool Loser.
• Heroic BSOD:
• Hollywood History:
• Homage: To Scooby Doo, the Sheriff mutters "Meddling Kids" and later "Jinkies" (A line that Velma frequently uses), when she almost crashes her car.
  • One of the Para Norman movie posters does this:
• Incompatible Orientation:
• Improbable Hairstyle:
• Insufferable Genius:
• Invisible Parents:
• I See Dead People:
• Large Ham:
• Loners Are Freaks:
• Lovable Jock:
• Meaningful Name:
• The Merch:
• Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Norman And Aggy.
• Motion Blur:
• Not Evil, Just Misunderstood:
• Not Using the Z Word:
• Now What?
• Oblivious to Love:
• Odd Friendship: With the ghosts. One of them being a town loon voiced by John Goodman.
• One of the Kids:
• Only Sane Man:
• Our Zombies Are Different:
• Playing Against Type:
• Poor Man's Porn:
• The Poor Mans Substitute: In-Universe. Word of God likened the town to a b-list version of Salem, Massachusetts.
• Popular Is Dumb: Courtney is a cheerleader and Mitch is a jock.
• The Reveal:
• Sassy Black Woman:
• Scenery Porn: Well, it is made by the creators of Coraline, but this one seems to take it Up to Eleven in a multitude of ways.
• Sealed Evil in A Can:
• Shaming the Mob:
• Shock and Awe:
• Shout Out:
  • To most of the bad '70s B-Grade Horror flicks. Plus, those are the ones that Norman likes to watch.
  • Norman's rington is the Halloween theme tune.
  • Blithe Hollow's name is a mashup of two ghost stories, Blithe Spirit and Sleepy Hollow.
• Shout Out To Shakespeare:
• Sins of Our Fathers:
• Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism
• Stealth Insult:
• The Stinger:
• Strange Boy:
• Strong Family Resemblance:
• Stylistic Suck
• Talking to the Dead:
• Then Let Me Be Evil:
• Torches and Pitchforks:
• Town with a Dark Secret:
• Unfortunate Names:
• Überwald
• When Trees Attack:
• White and Grey Morality:
• Witch Hunt:
• Witch Species: Hinted that some of the Prendreghast descendants.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
• Would Hurt A Child:
• You Are a Tree Charlie Brown: Neil's part in a school play.
• Zombie Advocate:
• Zombie Apocalypse: