ParaNorman (2012) (with Stacey Abbott)

Fantasy/Animation

As Halloween rolls around once more, things take a positively spooky turn as Chris and Alex discuss the stop-motion animated horror film ParaNorman (Sam Fell & Chris Butler, 2012) with very special guest Professor Stacey Abbott, who is incoming Professor of Film at Northumbria University and an expert in histories of gothic and horror in film and television. Topics for this discussion include the role of horror cinema in processing trauma, including the special case of children’s horror that is both with and for children; horror as a series of embodiments and the broader question of body genres; links between ParaNorman and Frankenweenie (Tim Burton, 2012) in the creation of juvenile outsiderdom; the troublesom entanglement of digital effects with stop-motion aesthetics; why horror might work best when connected to the materiality of object animation; and how ParaNorman is a film that reflexively recognises the many pleasures of horror for children.

**Fantasy/Animation theme tune composed by Francisca Araujo**

**As featured on Feedspot’s 25 Best London Education Podcasts**