50 Fun Facts About ParaNorman

Which animation studio produced ParaNorman?

It was the studio's second stop-motion feature, following Coraline.

In which year was ParaNorman released in cinemas?

Focus Features opened it in North America on August 17 of that year.

Who voices Norman Babcock?

Smit-McPhee had played the boy in The Road and Let Me In before recording Norman.

In which US state is Norman's hometown set?

The witch-trial backstory is a nod to the state's Salem history.

What is the name of the town where ParaNorman takes place?

The town has turned its witch-hanging history into a tourist trade.

How old is Norman in the film?

Aggie, the so-called witch, turns out to have been the same age when she was condemned.

Which company distributed ParaNorman in cinemas?

The same distributor had handled Coraline three years earlier.

Who composed the film's score?

Brion is better known for scoring Punch-Drunk Love and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Who co-directed ParaNorman with Sam Fell and also wrote the screenplay?

Butler had been a storyboard artist on Coraline and Corpse Bride before his directing debut.

Who voices Norman's cheerleader sister Courtney?

Kendrick returned to the role 13 years later for the 2025 short The Thrifting.

Who voices the jock Mitch Downe?

Mitch's closing-scene line about his boyfriend made headlines in 2012.

Who voices Alvin, the school bully?

Mintz-Plasse was cast against his McLovin and Fright Night images as the dim-witted tough guy.

Who voices Norman's best friend Neil?

Neil was recast with Beckett Maillard for the 2025 short The Thrifting.

Which Broadway legend voices the ghost of Grandma Babcock?

Grandma's advice that it is fine to be scared as long as it does not change who you are anchors the film's message.

Who voices Judge Hopkins, leader of the cursed zombies?

Hill is best known as King Théoden in The Lord of the Rings and Captain Smith in Titanic.

Who voices Agatha "Aggie" Prenderghast?

Ferland had already played eerie children in Silent Hill and Case 39.

Who voices Norman's eccentric great-uncle, Mr. Prenderghast?

Prenderghast's ghost forces Norman to swear he will perform the ritual before crossing over.

Who voices Sandra Babcock, Norman's mother?

Sandra's maiden name is Prenderghast, which makes the town eccentric her uncle.

Which Cosby Show alumna voices Sheriff Hooper?

Bledsoe played Vanessa Huxtable for eight seasons.

ParaNorman was the first stop-motion film to make character faces how?

Coraline had used black-and-white printers; colour printing let the team produce far more expressive faces.

In which Oregon city was ParaNorman animated?

The studio sits in the Portland suburbs near Nike's campus; Nike co-founder Phil Knight owns it.

How many Canon EOS 5D Mark II cameras were used to shoot the film?

The DSLRs replaced traditional 3-D format cameras on the tiny sets.

How old is the witch's curse that Norman must end?

The town commemorates the execution every year with a school play.

What was ParaNorman's production budget?

It grossed $107 million worldwide, which studio head Travis Knight called fine but short of his hopes.

Roughly how much did ParaNorman gross worldwide?

About $56 million of it came from North America.

Which film beat ParaNorman to the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature?

Pixar's Scottish fairy tale also took the Golden Globe and the BAFTA that season.

Which advertising agency created the film's marketing campaign?

The Portland agency is the studio's neighbour and is famous for Nike's Just Do It.

Which White Stripes song plays over the closing character cards?

The track comes from the band's 2005 album Get Behind Me Satan.

Which Donovan song does the school play cast sing?

The 1966 track is a fitting choice for a pageant about a witch hanging.

Which British rapper's "Fix Up, Look Sharp" is heard in the film?

The 2003 single was the second release from Boy in da Corner.

The theme music from which horror film appears in ParaNorman?

Norman's opening scene has him watching a zombie movie with his grandmother's ghost.

Mitch Downe is widely described as a milestone for mainstream animation because he is what?

Co-director Chris Butler said a film about not judging people had to have the courage of its convictions.

ParaNorman was the first PG-rated film ever nominated by which organisation?

It was nominated for Outstanding Film - Wide Release in 2013.

Which film beat ParaNorman to the 2013 GLAAD prize for Outstanding Film - Wide Release?

Ironically, that film's star Ezra Miller and ParaNorman's Anna Kendrick both had breakout years in 2012.

Which two films finished ahead of ParaNorman on its North American opening weekend?

It opened third with about $14 million.

In which country did ParaNorman premiere two weeks before the US?

It opened second there, behind The Dark Knight Rises.

What grade did CinemaScore audiences give ParaNorman?

Critics were warmer: Rotten Tomatoes rates it 89%.

Who was the town's "witch" really?

Norman's dream shows the council mistook her gift, the same one he has, for witchcraft.

How many cursed townsfolk rise from their graves as zombies?

Five men and two women, the council that condemned Aggie, were cursed by her.

What does the ritual book Norman retrieves turn out to contain?

Reading a bedtime story each year had been enough to keep Aggie calm.

Where does Salma send the kids to look for the witch's unmarked grave?

The mob is already attacking the zombies by the time they break in.

How does Mr. Prenderghast die?

His ghost then hounds Norman about the ritual from the school bathroom.

How long was ParaNorman in production at the studio?

The animation stage alone ran about two years, starting in late 2009.

Who won the Annie Award for Character Animation for ParaNorman?

The studio's CEO still animates on his own films and later directed Kubo and the Two Strings.

Which earlier film from the same studio pioneered black-and-white 3-D printed faces?

That technique let the crew produce the large number of puppet faces the film needed.

Aggie's climactic rage sequence blended stop motion and CGI with which technique?

Her crackling hair was inspired by a concept artist blowing ink to create a Tesla-coil effect.

Which label released a new Blu-ray edition of ParaNorman in 2021?

A 4K Ultra HD edition followed in December 2022.

What was the title of the ParaNorman iOS game?

Bub is the name of Neil's dead dog, whose ghost Norman can see.

Which studio animated the 2025 short ParaNorman: The Thrifting?

The CGI short was made in Paris for the film's anniversary re-release.

Which Stranger Things actor voices the shop clerk Chad in The Thrifting?

Courtney flirts with Chad while Norman hunts for a Halloween costume.