50 free ParaNorman trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
ParaNorman arrived in 2012 as Laika's follow-up to Coraline: a stop-motion zombie comedy about an 11-year-old in Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts, who can talk to the dead and has to end a 300-year-old witch's curse. Chris Butler wrote it after noticing how much social commentary hides inside zombie films, and co-directed with Sam Fell in Hillsboro, Oregon, where sixty Canon DSLRs and the first full-colour 3-D printed puppet faces in stop-motion history did the work. These 50 questions cover the story, the town, the voice cast from Kodi Smit-McPhee to Elaine Stritch, the soundtrack choices, the box office, the Oscar and BAFTA nominations, Mitch's landmark reveal, and the 2025 CGI short The Thrifting. Easy questions stick to Norman, Courtney and the curse; the hard end asks about ad agencies, Annie winners and the iOS game. Every answer is cited to a page we checked, with a one-line explanation so you learn something even when you miss. Play it alone, or print it for a Halloween game night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which animation studio produced ParaNorman?
Laika
It was the studio's second stop-motion feature, following Coraline.
Q 02In which year was ParaNorman released in cinemas?
2012
Focus Features opened it in North America on August 17 of that year.
Q 03Who voices Norman Babcock?
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Smit-McPhee had played the boy in The Road and Let Me In before recording Norman.
Q 04In which US state is Norman's hometown set?
Massachusetts
The witch-trial backstory is a nod to the state's Salem history.
Q 05What is the name of the town where ParaNorman takes place?
Blithe Hollow
The town has turned its witch-hanging history into a tourist trade.
Q 06How old is Norman in the film?
11
Aggie, the so-called witch, turns out to have been the same age when she was condemned.
Q 07Which company distributed ParaNorman in cinemas?
Focus Features
The same distributor had handled Coraline three years earlier.
Q 08Who composed the film's score?
Jon Brion
Brion is better known for scoring Punch-Drunk Love and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Q 09Who co-directed ParaNorman with Sam Fell and also wrote the screenplay?
Chris Butler
Butler had been a storyboard artist on Coraline and Corpse Bride before his directing debut.
Q 10Who voices Norman's cheerleader sister Courtney?
Anna Kendrick
Kendrick returned to the role 13 years later for the 2025 short The Thrifting.
Q 11Who voices the jock Mitch Downe?
Casey Affleck
Mitch's closing-scene line about his boyfriend made headlines in 2012.
Q 12Who voices Alvin, the school bully?
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Mintz-Plasse was cast against his McLovin and Fright Night images as the dim-witted tough guy.
Q 13Who voices Norman's best friend Neil?
Tucker Albrizzi
Neil was recast with Beckett Maillard for the 2025 short The Thrifting.
Q 14Which Broadway legend voices the ghost of Grandma Babcock?
Q 21In which Oregon city was ParaNorman animated?
Hillsboro
The studio sits in the Portland suburbs near Nike's campus; Nike co-founder Phil Knight owns it.
Q 22How many Canon EOS 5D Mark II cameras were used to shoot the film?
60
The DSLRs replaced traditional 3-D format cameras on the tiny sets.
Q 23How old is the witch's curse that Norman must end?
300 years
The town commemorates the execution every year with a school play.
Q 24What was ParaNorman's production budget?
Elaine Stritch
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.
Q 15Who voices Judge Hopkins, leader of the cursed zombies?
Bernard Hill
Hill is best known as King Théoden in The Lord of the Rings and Captain Smith in Titanic.
Q 16Who voices Agatha "Aggie" Prenderghast?
Jodelle Ferland
Ferland had already played eerie children in Silent Hill and Case 39.
Q 17Who voices Norman's eccentric great-uncle, Mr. Prenderghast?
John Goodman
Prenderghast's ghost forces Norman to swear he will perform the ritual before crossing over.
Q 18Who voices Sandra Babcock, Norman's mother?
Leslie Mann
Sandra's maiden name is Prenderghast, which makes the town eccentric her uncle.
Q 19Which Cosby Show alumna voices Sheriff Hooper?
Tempestt Bledsoe
Bledsoe played Vanessa Huxtable for eight seasons.
Q 20ParaNorman was the first stop-motion film to make character faces how?
With a full-colour 3-D printer
Coraline had used black-and-white printers; colour printing let the team produce far more expressive faces.
$60 million
It grossed $107 million worldwide, which studio head Travis Knight called fine but short of his hopes.
Q 25Roughly how much did ParaNorman gross worldwide?
$107 million
About $56 million of it came from North America.
Q 26Which film beat ParaNorman to the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature?
Brave
Pixar's Scottish fairy tale also took the Golden Globe and the BAFTA that season.
Q 27Which advertising agency created the film's marketing campaign?
Wieden+Kennedy
The Portland agency is the studio's neighbour and is famous for Nike's Just Do It.
Q 28Which White Stripes song plays over the closing character cards?
Little Ghost
The track comes from the band's 2005 album Get Behind Me Satan.
Q 29Which Donovan song does the school play cast sing?
Season of the Witch
The 1966 track is a fitting choice for a pageant about a witch hanging.
Q 30Which British rapper's "Fix Up, Look Sharp" is heard in the film?
Dizzee Rascal
The 2003 single was the second release from Boy in da Corner.