By: Jesse Striewski

Back in the fall of 2012, I was still a single father of a six-year-old boy, and one of the easiest downtime activities to do back then was take him to the movies – that year’s ParaNorman was one of many we made it out to. So thirteen years later when my-now grown son expressed wanting to go see the 3D re-release with his old man again (with his girlfriend along for the ride this time too, of course), I couldn’t say “no.”

The original film centers around an 11-year old social outcast named Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who is misunderstood by his family and bullied by his peers for his strange and unusual behaviors – he can see and talk to ghosts that others around him cannot. But things change once the dead starts rising from their literal graves and scaring the locals.

With the help of his goofy best friend Neil (Tucker Albrizzi), his self-centered older sister Courtney (Anna Kendrick), the school bully (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), and Neil’s older jock brother Mitch (Casey Affleck), Norman must stop the zombies roaming the town, while also uncover their secrets that ultimately lead to their arrival to begin with.

The new short film, The Thrifting, finds Norman, Neil, and Courtney (Anna Kendrick once again in the only returning voice role) attempting to locate a Halloween costume in a dark and desolate second hand store that has some built-in permanent ghostly residents. Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things fame also lends his voice as the store clerk in this entry.

Flyer for the all-new ParaNoman short film, The Thrifting.

All in all, each film in the ParaNorman universe is harmless family entertainment and fun in their own ways; the world needs more films like them right now.

Overall Series Rating: 3.5/5 Stars