ParaNorman

As a co-writer of Coraline and the co-director of Flushed Away respectively, Chris Butler and Sam Fell had just the credentials to create arguably the most innovative 3D animation to date.

Employing a unique hybrid of CGI and stop-motion technology, ParaNorman tells of a town besieged by rudely awakened and rather irate zombies.

The town’s only hope of salvation is Norman, a boy blessed with the ability to understand the zombies’ language (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee, in a role that could hardly be more different from his character in The Road).

As he battles with ghosts, witches and moronic adults as well as the living dead, Norman’s supernatural powers are entertainingly stretched to their limits, and the film’s breathtaking pace is further enhanced by stellar voicing from the likes of John Goodman, Elaine Stritch and Casey Affleck.