Passes the Bechdel test
ParaNorman
2012. Directed by Chris Butler and Sam Fell, written by Chris Butler.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
19 women characters. 12 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 115. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
In the town of Blithe Hollow, Norman Babcock is a boy who can speak to the dead, but no one besides his eccentric new friend, Neil, believes his ability is real. One day, Norman's estranged eccentric uncle tells him of an important annual ritual he must take up to protect the town from a curse cast by a witch it condemned centuries ago. Eventually, Norman decides to cooperate, but things don't go according to plan. Now, a magic storm of the witch threatens Blithe Hollow as the accursed dead rise. Together with unexpected new companions, Norman struggles to save his town, only to discover the horrific truth of the curse. With that insight, Norman must resolve the crisis for good as only he can.
- Released
- 17 Aug 2012
- Genres
- Animation, Adventure, Comedy
- Rated
- PG
- IMDb
- 7 / 10
- Metascore
- 72 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 19 wins & 46 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Norman 204 lines, man
- Neil 68 lines, man
- Courtney 57 lines, woman
- Mitch 40 lines, man
- Aggie 35 lines, woman
- Alvin 35 lines, man
- Sandra Babcock 34 lines, woman
- Perry Babcock 32 lines, man
- Prenderghast Ghost 12 lines
- Grandma Babcock 10 lines, woman
Full cast, 50 people
- Kodi Smit-McPhee as Norman Babcock (voice)
- Tucker Albrizzi as Neil Downe (voice)
- Anna Kendrick as Courtney Babcock (voice)
- Casey Affleck as Mitch Downe (voice)
- Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Alvin (voice)
- Leslie Mann as Sandra Babcock (voice)
- Jeff Garlin as Perry Babcock (voice)
- Elaine Stritch as Grandma Babcock (voice)
- Bernard Hill as Judge Hopkins (voice)
- Jodelle Ferland as Aggie Prenderghast (voice)
- Tempestt Bledsoe as Sheriff Hooper (voice)
- Alex Borstein as Mrs. Henscher (voice)
- John Goodman as Mr. Prenderghast (voice)
- Hannah Noyes as Salma (voice)
- Jack Blessing as Slob Guy / Civil War Ghost (voice)
- Ranjani Brow as Movie Lady (voice)
- Michael Corbett as Movie Zombie (voice)
- David Cowgill as Greaser Ghost (voice)
- Nicholas Guest as Hippie Ghost / Mobster Ghost (voice)
- Emily Ricks as Sweet Girl (voice)
- Bridget Hoffman as Crystal / Parachutist Ghost / Librarian (voice)
- Wendy Hoffmann as Gucci Lady (voice)
- Holly Klein as Hair Dryer Ghost (voice)
- Alicia Lagano as Female Tourist (voice)
- Scott Menville as Deputy Dwayne / Rapper Guy (voice)
- Nick Petok as Blithe Hollow Kid (voice)
- Ariel Winter as Blithe Hollow Kid (voice)
- Jeremy Shada as Pug (voice)
- Steve Alterman as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Kirk Baily as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Jacob Bertrand as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Liz Bolton as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Ava Benavente as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Cam Clarke as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Lara Cody as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Caitlin Cutt as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Susan Dudeck as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Denise Faye as Blithe Hollow Townsperson (voice)
- Eddie Frierson as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Matthew Ford Holt as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Rif Hutton as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- David Jolliffe as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Ashley Lambert as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Donna Lynn Leavy as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Evan R. Mehta as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Edie Mirman as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Juan Pacheco as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Kelsey Rose as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- Joshua Stern as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
- David Zyler as Blithe Hollow Townperson (voice)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 115
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 to 6 | 14 | 15 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 to 12 | 2 | 10 |
| 13 to 15 | 7 | 15 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 32 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 26 |
| 22 to 24 | 3 | 8 |
| 25 to 27 | 3 | 5 |
| 28 to 30 | 1 | 23 |
| 31 to 33 | 8 | 18 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 21 |
| 40 to 42 | 9 | 20 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 11 |
| 46 to 48 | 2 | 8 |
| 49 to 51 | 5 | 13 |
| 52 to 54 | 1 | 0 |
| 55 to 57 | 9 | 15 |
| 58 to 60 | 3 | 3 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 to 66 | 3 | 2 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 1 |
| 70 to 72 | 5 | 6 |
| 73 to 75 | 1 | 6 |
| 76 to 78 | 1 | 10 |
| 79 to 81 | 2 | 1 |
| 82 to 84 | 4 | 6 |
| 85 to 87 | 5 | 11 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 3 |
| 91 to 93 | 2 | 0 |
| 94 to 96 | 3 | 3 |
| 97 to 99 | 7 | 7 |
| 100 to 102 | 18 | 39 |
| 103 to 105 | 5 | 7 |
| 106 to 108 | 5 | 7 |
| 109 to 111 | 31 | 35 |
| 112 to 114 | 5 | 12 |
| 115 to 115 | 0 | 5 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scene
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
MRS HENSCHER: You stink of illiteracy! SALMA: Why is the witch always a hideous old crone with a pointy hat and a broomstick? I don't believe it's historically accurate, Mrs Henscher! Mr… MRS HENSCHER: It's not supposed to be. It's supposed to sell postcards and key chains.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 29 are women's.
168 lines from women, 410 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
19 women and 22 men in the cast. 12 women and 13 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 2 of 602.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 61 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 28% of the words (3,032), men 72% (7,973). Women have 29% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
9
Two men
49
Exhibit F: behind the camera
3 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 18% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Sam Fell (man), Chris Butler (man)
- Written by
- Chris Butler (man)
- Produced by
- Arianne Sutner (woman), Travis Knight (man)
- Shot by
- Tristan Oliver (man)
- Edited by
- Christopher Murrie (man)
- Music by
- Jon Brion (man)
- Production design by
- Nelson Lowry (gender not listed)
- Costumes by
- Deborah Cook (woman)
- Cast by
- Allison Jones (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Visual Effects
2 women, 13 men, 35 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 7 men, 8 not listed
-
Sound
0 women, 7 men
-
Production
2 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 2 men
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 0 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 43 on average. Men: 34 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Jodelle Ferland 17, Anna Kendrick 26, Leslie Mann 40, Elaine Stritch 87
Men
Tucker Albrizzi 12, Kodi Smit-McPhee 16, Christopher Mintz-Plasse 23, Casey Affleck 36, Jeff Garlin 50, Bernard Hill 67
Exhibit H: the money
It made 1.8 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $60 million
- Box office
- $107 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 115 scenes and 602 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
