This August a small town will be under attack by zombies and it will be up to Norman (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee), an unusual boy that talks to the dead, to save the town. From the studio that brought you Academy Award nominated Coraline, Focus Features, presents ParaNorman, a 3D stop-motion comedy thriller from the animation company LAIKA.

ParaNorman is directed by Sam Fell (“The Tale of Despereaux,” “Flushed Away”) and Chris Butler, with the story written by Butler. The talented voice cast includes: Leslie Mann, John Goodman, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

In addition to the zombies, Norman will be up against ghosts, witches and grown-ups, in order to save his town from a centuries-old curse. Will his unusual talents be enough to overcome the paranormal challenges?

Focus Features has shared a neat video that gives a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into creating Norman. They make it look so easy!

His parent’s don’t get him, sister doesn’t like him and the kids at school think he’s a joke. Will he be able to get their help to save the town? You don’t become a hero by being normal. From the looks of the trailer, Norman is anything but normal and neither is this funny thriller that aims to give kids a zombie movie of their own.

If you want to see more of Norman and his ghostly friends check out the ParaNorman Facebook page or join the chatter on Twitter @ParaNorman and use #ParaNorman.