Making zombies kid-friendly
That turns a lot of conventions on their heads while giving valuable lessons about bullying and loneliness
“Zombie movie” and “for kids” aren’t words that normally go together. But there’s nothing normal about ParaNorman, the entertaining, eye-catching and touching new stop-motion animation film from Laika, the folks who brought us Coraline.
In Montreal last week for Paranorman’s premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, British co-directors Chris Butler and Sam Fell were as giddy as schoolboys about their project.
“It’s bizarre,” said firsttime director Butler, who also wrote the film, about seeing an idea he has been working on for a decade and-a-half finally come to fruition. “It’s completely surreal. This has been in my head for so long. Even seeing that (Paranorman) poster over there is so weird, in an amazing way.”
Which is an apt description of Paranorman, the story of an 11-year-old boy (voiced by Kodi Smit-mcphee) who talks to ghosts. But you won’t hear him spout, “I see dead people,” in a haunting voice designed to strike fear into the pit of your heart.
Norman chats up his late grandmother (Elaine Stritch), while watching horror movies in the living room; and he befriends all kinds of other ghastly types on his walk to school in the once-witch-filled New England town of Blithe Hollow, where he is derided as an outsider. But when the dead are raised because of an ancient curse, guess who steps up to save the day.
The film walks a fine line between comedy and scary, managing to remain suitable for kids while providing just enough thrills to make things exciting.
“It’s a balance you play every day,” Fell said, of the filmmaking process. “It was in the script, already. The characters are fun and funny, even in scary situations. … Or you have a scary scene that gets intense for three minutes, but the next part is a lighter scene.”
For Butler, who was head of story on Coraline and whose previous gigs included storyboard artist on Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride and design work on Fell’s The Tale of Despereaux, ParaNorman’s premise was a launch pad to say something more personal.
“Basically, it’s a love letter to all the stuff I grew up watching,” he said. “I love horror movies and zombie movies, but there’s an era in the ’80s that had a big influence on me and made me want to make movies in the first place. We talk about this (film) as John Carpenter meets John Hughes.
“The John Hughes movies and early Amblin movies (Steven Spielberg’s production company) — Goonies, E.T. — it was kind of this heady mix of all these influences, plus Scooby Doo. I wanted to play in that world, but use all these references to tell a story that had a more emotional truth to it. The story of a boy who doesn’t fit in seemed appropriate.”
Norman gets picked on, mostly by bully Alvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), but he is teased by his other classmates as well. He finds a friend and ally in chubby pal Neil (Tucker Albrizzi). The film’s commentary goes beyond bullying, however. Even the big bad zombies turn out to have a compelling backstory, which doesn’t prevent the townspeople from calling for their heads in classic witch hunt-style, and skeletons of their own in the closet.
“Bullying is not just getting beaten up every day,” Butler said. “Bullying is any kind of intolerance, any kind of discrimination that comes from prejudice. Bullying is someone giving you a funny look because of what you’re wear- ing, the colour of your skin or the way you speak. Everyone knows what it’s like to be judged like that.”
“And everyone judges other people,” Fell said.
“I wanted to make the audience complicit in this,” Butler added.
Other dull-witted members of Norman’s entourage become unlikely parts of his team, including: his cheerleader sister, Courtney (Anna Kendrick) and Alvin’s dumb jock big brother, Mitch (Casey Affleck). Mitch even owns a Scooby-style van, which will bring back Saturday morning cartoon memories for older viewers.
The story is brought to life with vibrant stop-motion animation, enhanced with 3D. But instead of merely wowing us with pretty pictures, Butler and Fell made sure their adventure had grit.
“Skewed naturalism,” Fell said, describing their approach to the imagery. “It’s a contemporary film. We wanted to create the real world, hold a mirror up to it and shoot it in a very cinematic way.”
“A few people have commented that there are a lot of large bottoms (in the film),” Butler said. “From the point of view of an 11-year-old, the grown-up world is mostly bellies and butts. We also wanted to make his world a properly lived-in town … including the dirt in the gutter. We didn’t want this pixel-perfect, idealized place where all the paint is fresh, and apple pies are warming on window sills. We wanted graffiti and crushed cans. That makes it instantly recognizable. You feel like you know that world, therefore you’re more invested in the characters.”
At its core, the pair emphasizes, ParaNorman is not just about reinventing horrormovie clichés, but about the adventures of its intrepid protagonist. To that end, zombies made for the best kind of bad guys, since they’re not so scary after all.
“If you really do analyze zombies, they’re kind of rubbish – shambling on.” Imitating a scared voice, Butler said, “‘Oh God! There’s a zombie after me!’ Well, run and you’re done. We’re turning a lot of conventions on their heads, playing with these horror motifs and having fun with them.
“It gets intense, but what’s more intense than the ghouls and monsters is the emotional intensity. I think (ParaNorman) has something serious to say. And I think that’s the right balance.”