“Seriously though, this is one of those movies where everything gets kind of ruined by one very annoying nitpick.  
I enjoyed the animation, the creativity, even the way the moral is handled and how it’s presented. Also it feels a lot more mature than many other movies made for grown ups. It doesn’t patronize the audience at all. It’s fantastic to see directors treating animation as a way to tell a story, instead of toning everything down and make it kid friendly.
 
But, and here’s the problem, the characterization is horrendous. Norman’s fine as our likable hero, Agatha’s okay as our redemptive villain, and some of the other secondary characters range from alright to passable, but everyone else is just awful. Some of the people in this town deserve to die horribly, especially Norman’s Family. They don’t turn around until the end of the movie, and when they do it feels really forced, like it’s the screenplay dictating the emotions instead of the characters.
 
So, I guess I can recommend this movie for a lot of good reasons, but be ready to hate some of these people so much you’ll be begging for them to fall inside a meat grinder.
 
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go get a lightning rod. I don’t think this much electricity should go to waste.”