The general unsightliness of the characters and setting underscore ParaNorman‘s central theme, as do the horror sequences in the movie’s second and third acts. Yes, the witch and the ghouls are frightening monsters. But they’re just as unusual-looking as the human beings. And that’s because they too are just human beings, misunderstood and scared.
Monstrous Misunderstandings
At the climax of ParaNorman, Norman faces down the witch, but not to defeat her. Instead, he wants to talk to her, to relate to her. He realizes that she was once Aggie Prenderghast (Jodelle Ferland), a little girl his own age in Colonial America, who has his same ability to see the dead. As with him, that ability scared the people around her, and she was condemned for witchcraft by Judge Hopkins (Bernard Hill) and other Puritan leaders.
She died angry and alone, which is why her ghost will come and attack unless Mr. Prenderghast, her relative, completes the ritual. Which is essentially what Norman does, telling her she’s not alone, she’s not evil, and helping her to find peace in happier times.
Even more remarkable is the revelation that the zombies who beset the city are Judge Hopkins and the other town elders, whose guilt over shunning Aggie has turned them into the suffering undead. They arrive not to terrorize the city nor consume the living. Rather, they arrive to express their sorrow for the mistakes from the past, to admit they were just scared and foolish, and to beg Norman to complete the ritual so that no one else has to suffer.
As these plot points reveal, ParaNorman is ultimately a movie about empathy. Throughout the film, people get scared by something or someone they don’t understand, and they hurt themselves and others when they act out of that fear. But when they accept the fear and then move through it to understanding, they realize the threat wasn’t there at all.
Scared into Understanding
To be clear, ParaNorman does all of this without undercutting any of the horror. It’s genuinely scary to see the zombies and witch attack, even to grown horror fans. And the movie’s theme only works if people, including the audience, feel real fear. Otherwise, the passing through to understanding has no value.
