The Women of “ParaNorman” Find Their Voice
Anna Kendrick (“Twilight” series,
“Up in the Air”) and Leslie Mann (“Knocked Up”) join the voice ensemble cast of
Focus Features' new, 3D animated thriller “ParaNorman.”
When
a small town comes under siege by zombies, who can it call? Only misunderstood
local boy Norman (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee), who is able to speak with the
dead. In addition to the zombies, he'll have to take on ghosts, witches and,
worst, of all, grown-ups, to save his town from a centuries-old curse. But this
young ghoul whisperer may find his paranormal activities pushed to their
otherworldly limits.
Leslie
Mann gives voice to Norman’s mom, Sandra Babcock, a caring parent who must
watch her son being ostracized because of his special ghost-whispering talent.
While Mann, a mother of two, clearly understands the maternal dimension of her
character, she also connected to Norman on a personal level.
“As
a kid, I always felt like an outsider and felt left out,” Mann explains. “In
the fourth grade, though, I said I wanted to be an actress, and now it’s fun to
be able to use the thing that everyone made fun of me for – my high voice.”
Despite
such early humiliation, Mann persevered to become one of Hollywood’s most
talented comic actresses. And while she connected with Norman’s spirit, she
also loved the spirit of the film and its filmmakers. “I had seen and loved
`Coraline,' and LAIKA Studios sent over pictures of the `ParaNorman' characters
so I knew I would get to be part of the creative process with all these
animators. Also, I enjoyed being able to come in to work looking like a slob.”
Although
she is an Oscar-nominated actress and got her first major award nomination at
the age of just 12, Anna Kendrick was intimidated by the prospect of playing
Courtney Babock, the eponymous hero's seemingly shallow sister.
Kendrick
admits that “doing voiceover both excited and terrified me. I was flattered to
be asked, although I thought, ‘What if I’m bad at this?’”
Kendrick's
ability to bring both humor and a strong sense of humanity to the characters
she plays made her the ideal person to voice Courtney, a cheerleader who is too
easily dismissed by others based on her surface appearance. Not long into
playing the role, Kendrick found that her skills as a live-action thespian had
fully transferred over to this new medium.
“It
turned out to be a pure acting exercise,” she says. “Going into it, I worried I
would feel restricted having to stand in front of the microphone. It was just
the opposite –– I felt as if I had no limitations; I didn’t worry about my face
or my body or hitting my mark. I’d be given direction and then say the lines
without overthinking them.”
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