Paranorman

Paranorman is a mildly entertaining and harmless animated adventure about Norman, a boy who can see dead people. Branded as a freak and an outcast by his classmates and misunderstood by his family, Norman has a chance to be a hero when an ancient witch's curse threatens his town and only he can stop it. Made by the people who made Coraline, Paranorman also has some beautifully designed and rendered stop motion animation but, also like that film, the story and characters aren't all that engaging or strong. The characters are all stereotypical of this sort of thing, the outcast, the fat kid, the bully, the jock and none of them, even Norman, don't have strong enough personalities to make them truly engaging. Once the story is set in motion, it is a by the numbers "only our young protagonists can save the day" story and it follows the blueprint quite closely with all the cliches present such as enemies becoming friends and the misunderstood hero becoming appreciated more. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it just that it adds nothing new and never really involves the viewer on more then a casual entertainment level. Like the similar Super 8, it's well made but, missing the magic that made similar films like The Monster Squad or E.T. special. It's a cute movie and an entertaining enough watch but, it's also kinda forgettable once all is said and done.