One of the best films of the year isn't coming out in the rush of Oscar season, wasn't a huge blockbuster, and wasn't even necessarily made for grown-ups. Quietly coming to theaters in August, Laika Studios's ParaNorman-- a wondrously animated stop-motion film-- was the little movie that could, opening slowly but winning rave reviews and big fans, eventually making nearly $100 million worldwide. No, it's no Avengers, but it's the kind of sincere, impeccably crafted movie that you want to catch on your own and then rave about to all your friends, anyway.
And now you can get the chance, with ParaNorman ready to arrive on Blu-ray on November 27, and crammed with enough extras to make you marvel all over again about how insanely hard it is to make a stop-motion film, and all the gorgeous craftsmanship that goes into making a feature like ParaNorman. To get a sneak peek at one of those extras, check out this exclusive behind-the-scenes clip below:
I love that time-lapse shot of the guy creating the scene by moving the characters ever-so-slightly. It's something that you know happens behind the scenes of a stop-motion film but is incredible to watch happen; you see that the characters are all puppets being manipulated by master animators, but you can't help believing that they're real too.
ParaNorman is one of the best movies I've seen this year, for kids or anybody else, and you really owe yourself the chance to see if for yourself come November 27.
