In honor of the release of Laika Animation's fourth film 'Kubo and the Two Strings' I will be discussing my favorite Laika film, 'ParaNorman.' This is the film that got me interested in the company's work. 'ParaNorman' is a film that contains all the things I like such as ghosts, zombies, witches, kids going on a 'Goonies' inspired adventure, and beautiful stop-motion animation. However, the element that left an impact on me was how the darker elements of the film gave a deeper focus to the film's overall message. This film acts as an example of how dark elements can be used to enhance a story and effectively plant the message into the minds of the children watching. That may sound disturbing until you understand the message the film conveys. (Spoilers Ahead)
The film focuses on a young boy named Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who lives in a small Massachusetts town named Blithe Hollow. Blithe Hollow is a town that is famous for a witch that was tried and executed about 300 years ago. Since then the town has profited off of the historical event by selling tacky witch gift shop items and lame annual middle-school plays. Blithe Hollow acts as a noteworthy satire of Salem, Massachusetts and how it profits off of what were genuinely tragic events, but that is only the tip of this iceberg. Norman is a boy who can see and communicate with ghosts, including the ghost of his dead grandmother. The people around him (parents, teachers, classmates) don't believe him and this ability has led to him being mostly ostracized and bullied at school.
As you can see the film carries a strong anti-bullying message, but the true emotional gut-punch of the film comes toward the end of the film. Norman and a small group of kids are tying to stop the vengeful spirit of the witch that has returned and is trying to destroy the town. Norman attempts to send the monstrous spirit of the witch back to the grave, but fails. He is knocked out and is shown a vision of the witch's trial while unconscious. The room is darkly lit and only the Puritan judges, who stand on tall podiums and look bitterly down at Norman, are visible. They accuse the witch of magic and talking to the dead. Suddenly, they sounds of a young person can be heard crying and Norman turns around to see that the witch was actually a young girl.
The young girl, Agatha Prenderghast (Jodelle Ferland), is the same age as Norman and appeared to have the same ability to talk to the dead that Norman has. Through this we can see the connection between Norman's experience and Agatha's experience. They're both children who were born with unique abilities and were both hated and feared for them. While Agatha's experience was more extreme (remember the town put her to death), it shows how our paranoid attitude toward people we view as "the other" can spiral out of control and give way to dire consequences for many. Norman uses this shared experience to empathize with Agatha's spirit, allowing him to talk to her, and finally allowing her spirit to move on to the afterlife to be at rest.
'ParaNorman' is a film that shows us how something like bullying has the capacity to grow into something deadlier. The dark twist emphasizes how something like school bullying is something that should not be tolerated and that people who are different should not be met with fear and hostility because of their differences. To a child, the reveal of an innocent child being put to death has the capacity to make them think about their their actions and make them less likely to treat a young student disrespectfully just for being different. This is how darkness can be effectively used in film. It's impact can resonate with the viewer and make them think about the actions they make based on their feelings and what consequences those actions can have on people.
