ParaNorman - B

Rated PG, 92 minutes

"ParaNorman" has stop-animation fun with zombies, horror films

Norman

"ParaNorman" is a new stop-motion animation film from the makers of "Coraline" that's part adventure, part horror spoof and entertaining enough to keep the attention of its target audience, though some of the humor is clearly above them. The small New England town of Blithe Hallow becomes under siege by zombies. Who can it call? Only misunderstood local boy Norman ("Let Me In's" Kodi Smit-McPhee), who is able to speak with the dead. In addition to the zombies, he'll have to take on ghosts, witches and, worst, of all, grown-ups, to save his town from a centuries-old curse. But this young ghoul whisperer may find his paranormal activities pushed to their otherworldly limits. "ParaNorman" is mildly amusing, energetic fluff with shades of the dark side that should please most ages. Directed by Sam Fell ("Flushed Away"), the stop-motion is fluid and colorful, it moves along quick and is well-voiced by an all-star cast that includes Jeff Garlin, Leslie Mann, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, John Goodman, Tempestt Bledsoe and Elaine Stritch though it's Smi-McPhee and unknown Tucker Albrizzi (both young actors resemble their animated counterparts, a nice touch) who get in the best lines. The script lacks focus and a few scenes in the last act are a shade too intense for some young ones, not to mention the humor is likely to go above the heads of the kids, but they'll still have fun. Also, they won't really get all the amusing references to many horror/adventure films, including "The Sixth Sense," "Sleepy Hollow," "Halloween," "Night of the Living Dead" and even "Back to the Future." "ParaNorman" is spry, nimble and enjoyable enough that 90 minutes will fly by much faster than those zombies that are chasing you.