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Dec 05, 2014Nursebob rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Norman Babcock sees dead people. And dead animals. Not only that, he also engages them in animated conversations whether it be his deceased grandmother whose taken up residence on the family couch or the civil war vet riding his spectral horse down main street. Needless to say this supernatural talent has earned him a reputation: his family can’t decide whether he needs to see one shrink or two and the school bully is always eager to remind him of what a freak he is. But all that is about to change, for Norman’s hometown is under a curse placed by a vindictive witch executed there three hundred years earlier (a fact local merchants use to lure tourist dollars) and as the anniversary of her death approaches an unearthly storm descends upon the village releasing a horde of angry zombies intent on mass destruction—and only Norman has the wherewithal to save the day. Accompanied by his airhead sister, fellow pariah Neil, and Neil’s hardbodied neanderthal brother, Norman prepares to do battle with the forces of darkness—but even he is not ready for the truth behind the witch’s vengeance. A delightfully macabre bit of 3D animation with enough icky humour to keep the kids happy (a tug-of-war with a corpse is bizarre enough without the “toilet ghost” sequence) while writer/director Chris Butler throws in enough grown-up laughs to earn a “PG” rating—apparently a little gay zinger towards the end had conservative bloggers burning up their keyboards. Add to that some sly little visual gags and one-liners and you have a highly entertaining cartoon fable that abandons the usual claptrap about “tolerance” for those who are different and instead goes straight for full-on acceptance. And the wonderfully retro closing credits, complete with toe-tapping musical accompaniment, provide the icing on the cake.