I See Some Very Funny Dead People: “ParaNorman”

Film Review by Maggie Hames
You know what’s wrong with this world? According to Norman of the animated film ParaNorman, people just don’t listen. And he should know, because nobody listens like Norman; it’s just that the door doesn’t swing the other way for him. Norman sees (and hears, and relates to, and jokes with) dead people in a parody of M. Night Shymalan’s 1999 mega-hit The Sixth Sense. But few people (dead or alive) lend him a sympathetic ear, with the exception of his recently-deceased grandmother, wonderfully voiced by Elaine Stritch. Kodi Smit-McPhee delivers a terrific and nuanced performance as Norman in this Chris Butler and Sam Fell directed film.

Honey! Help! I’m Stuck!

Our Mother’s Day Tribute to TV Moms Who Are Married to Peter Pans
It’s a familiar plot device: the competent, together mom married to the charming doofus of a “man child.” It’s particularly familiar if you’re under the age of forty. These television moms are more often seen in our post-feminist television culture. Decades ago, you’d often see the opposite pairing: the ditzy mom who’s continually gotten out of scrapes by her wiser, more centered husband. In both cases, the clash of “conservative” verses “wild and free” creates the laughs.

Men Are the New Women

The Fall Television Season for Teens and Parents

New Girl starring the adorable and very funny Zooey Deschanel as grammar school teacher Jess gives us a wonderful twist on the “gal whose pals have got her back” show. The “girlfriends” are played by three guys: Jake Johnson as nice guy Nick; Max Greenfield as ladies’ man Schmidt, and Lamorne Morris as former athlete Winston (though Damon Wayans Jr. starred as roommate Coach in the pilot, he won’t be part of the series). Men are the new women, and I mean it in the best possible way. Feminism has come full circle when women and men can be pals without the show being about sexual tension in the apartment. Jess’s new roommates become her great friends who rescue her when she’s stood up by her “rebound” date. As Nick announces as they swoop down to save her, alone at her restaurant table, “We’re reverse Mormons. One man just isn’t enough for her.”

The tag line for the show is “Simply adorkable” and Deschanel is fresher than fresh as Jess, the Lord of the Rings quoting hipster. Deschanel gives Jess plenty of cute quirks. My favorite is that she can come up with a moments-notice “theme” song for every turn life offers her. She gets the guys singing by the pilot’s end. You’ll sing, too.

Speaking of adorable/adorkable women, you should check out the web series The Retributioners starring Stephanie Faith Scott as Stephanie. It blurs the line between reality and fiction and is witty, touching, edgy, and often hilarious, just like life. The series was created by Scott and her writer/director husband Eric Rasmussen and it’s better than most of the sit-coms on television. Scott plays a woman in the city who tracks down people who did her wrong and makes them pay. Only not really. She’s actually too sweet to enact any real revenge and often finds herself getting sucked in all over again. She’s Mary Tyler Moore for the 21st century. Catch all the episodes on their site.

And The Retributioners is miles above either of NBC’s new sit-coms, Up All Night or Free Agents.

Up All Night stars Christina Applegate as Reagan, producer of the Oprah-like women’s show, “Ava.” She and husband Chris (Will Arnett) just had an adorable baby girl. He left a law firm to stay home with the baby as Reagan goes back to work. They look to be—how do I put this—very wealthy. And they whine about all the work that goes into raising a baby. And then they whine some more. And then it’s over. I mean, hire a nanny already.

Saving grace? The scenes at Reagan’s workplace are sensational thanks to Maya Rudolph as Ava, who is merely terrific. I hope this show improves drastically and doesn’t get cancelled for Maya’s sake, or rather for the viewers’ sake. Rudolph’s that scary good.

Can’t say the same for the actively unfunny Free Agents starring Hank Azaria as recently divorced public relations man Alex who breaks into tears at the thought of his sad life. And Kathryn Hahn as co-worker Helen lives among 21 life-sized photographs of her deceased fiancé. Now that’s what I call funny! Alex and Helen wind up in bed; regret it, don’t regret it, who cares? Anthony Stewart Head does what he can with the singularly unoriginal role of boss Stephen who’s rich and great looking and never stops talking about his fabulous life. There is nothing in his character you haven’t seen before (many, many times).

Don’t get me wrong—I love the mega-talent Hank Azaria—but experience suggests he’s a classic character actor, all quirks, tics, and funny voices, not a leading man. And as a voice talent, he’s second to none. The Simpsons owes this guy for their very success. I figure he made some kind of deal with the devil, one of those ironic bargains where he gets to be super-famous, but only his voice achieves fame. He’s just not a leading man, but that’s nothing to be ashamed of; leading men can be very boring. As boring as Free Agents. Just don’t. Do some reading. Or take up crochet. You’ll thank me later.

What do you think? Seen any of these shows yet? Share your thoughts here.

Couch Po-tah-to: Spot-On Children’s Media from Great Britain

She’s cheeky, she’s Britain’s Peppa Pig, the gentle British series about a group of animal friends. Peppa Pig’s the “soccer” of children’s television: wildly popular all over the planet but just catching on here. Nick Jr. just started showing Peppa Pig twice a week, and I’m betting the show will soon demand a daily time slot. And unlike her British cousin, runaway train Thomas the Tank Engine, Peppa and her friends retain their British voices; no dubbing into “American” here and thank heavens! Why not use the show to introduce your child to the concept that there are other countries in the world?

Nick Jr. accurately describes the show as “teaching sharing and caring while nurturing social and emotional development.” Peppa Pig Producer Richard Lewis told BBC Mobile that the secret to Peppa’s success is the show’s support for parents’ values. Peppa shares and takes turns and is a sweet little “gal.” Episodes often end with the entire cast of animals falling to the ground in delight, laughing and rolling about. It’s disarming.

You can watch Peppa Pig on Nick Jr. and there’s a large cache of episodes on YouTube. Older kids can utilize the foreign-language Peppas on YouTube to practice their French, Italian, or Spanish, to name just a few of the languages into which Peppa Pig has been translated.

Another British creation in the same spirit as Peppa Pig is Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom, starring Ben Elf and Princess Holly and their exploits in the secret world “under the brambles” of your garden. The animation style resembles cut paper with interesting camera work that peers through the “layers” of the garden to find Ben and Holly. There’s a good supply of episodes on YouTube and at their own site at http://www.littlekingdom.co.uk. And sweet Roary the Racing Car has all the excitement of the race course but gentled down for the preschool set. The animation style is similar to Bob the Builder. Roary The Racing Car can be seen on PBS’ Sprout Online and on YouTube.

You can sample from a nice selection of British children’s series at Nick Jr.’s U.K. site at http://www.nickjr.co.uk/shows. Even if these shows don’t catch on in the U.S., you can follow your favorites through any number of Internet portals and of course, on YouTube.

The latest issue of The Wallace and Gromit Newsletter is excited to report, “Nick Park has recently been immortalized in yellow as he guest stars in an episode of The Simpsons!” Nick Park’s scene in the recent “Angry Dad” episode is set at the Academy Awards. Not surprising as the multi-Oscar winning animator is a favorite of the Academy; and rightly so.

His Wallace and Gromit series is a “go-to” dvd at our house. Wallace is the hapless inventor and cheese-loving “owner” of clever, long-suffering dog-to-the-rescue Gromit. Park’s work includes feature films, several shorts, and a spin-off series, Shaun the Sheep and can be found packaged in many different dvd incarnations available new and used at Amazon.com and elsewhere.

My young daughter loves them, but young kids may need to watch with their folks, as there is drama there. My daughter got sad when Gromit ran away from home in the rain in the short film, The Wrong Trousers. She’s really come to care for that doggie!

The animation is old-school clay, and your big-screen television will reveal the artist’s fingerprints on the characters. Subscribe to the newsletter yourself at http://www.wallaceandgromit.com where you’ll also discover the greater world of Wallace and Gromit. Like Peppa, they’re as big as soccer is in the rest of the world.