ParaNorman (2012)

A misunderstood boy takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse. [imdb]

Nominated for 1 Oscar:

Best Animated Feature

Maybe I wasn't in the right mood when I started watching ParaNorman, but this animated feature wasn't the most pleasant to sit through. I found it disturbingly creepy in the first 30 minutes, with ugly-designed characters, almost of monstruous features - OK, so maybe it was just my mood, but it felt slow, uncomfortable and just pointless... And then it got better as it reached the middle, and that ONLY with the help of the supporting characters.

The screenplay is a bore, there are only a few laughs, but the "visual effects" of the last segment (if I can call them like that) were quite spectacular. Nice original score, a nice look for the film and... that's about it. I won't hold this against it, but this really isn't a film for any kids, despite the age of the leading character - and not because of the subtle fun gay bit, but because of how dark it is and the way it treats death (and especially one dead character) - found that myself to be a bit uncomfortable.

My rating for the film: 6/10. Not much to get excited about.