Forced Films 2019 – #1 – Jay’s 1st Pick – ParaNorman (2012)

This is the first of 10 films that I was “forced” to watch by my fellow bloggers who participated in my 4800th review Contest last December. This movie was the 1st of 2 films chosen by Jay from Life vs Film and the Head Shepherd at the LAMB

Tnx for the suggestion. Let’s see what I thought of it….

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“Don’t make me throw this hummus… it’s spicy! ” – Neil

Number of Times Seen – 1 (18 Feb 2019)

Brief Synopsis – A young boy with the gift of being able to see the dead is tasked with keeping his town safe when the spirit of a witch is released on the town in the hope of wrecking havoc.

My Take on it – I’m usually not the biggest fan of films that deal with the supernatural and had no interest in seeing this before Jay suggested that I watch it.

I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the film was.

The premise works really well and they manage to keep things interesting throughout.

I love the 80’s vibe that the film has throughout because it really fits this kind of story and also helps add to the intrigue of the story.

They do a wonderful job with the animation which is great to look at and the technical work and story stow how much this film was deserving of its Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.

The voice cast is superbly chosen and Kodi Smit-McPhee is perfect in the lead role.

The addition of Casey Affleck, Anna Kendrick, Leslie Mann, Christopher Mintz-Palsse and Jeff Garlin also add to the enjoyment of this film as the story moves along.

The story itself is quiet innovative and original and they expertly use animation to tell this story in a unique way which helps keep things interesting the entire time.

Bottom Line – Really interesting premise that works quite well. They are able to get the 80’s vibe for this kind of story down right and that helps keep things intriguing The animation is great to look at and it’s understandable that this film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. The voice cast is great and also add to the enjoyment of this story. The story is quite innovative and original and works really well since they are able to utilize animation for it that helps the plot move along. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – During the last few weeks leading up to the film’s release, Laika sent 49 packages to 49 people (including Neil Gaiman and Kevin Smith and Jenny “The Bloggess” Lawson). Each package consisted of a wooden crate from “Blithe Hollow” full of “grave dirt” which recipients had to dig through to unearth a coffin. Inside the coffin was one of the seven cursed zombies, complete with background information and name. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)