The team at animation powerhouse Laika, makers of the much beloved and Academy Award-nominated Coraline, are sure to knock us dead with ParaNorman, another stop motion feature film shot in 3D with Dragonframe.

Paranorman, slated to be released in August 2012, is directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler. The voice cast includes Kodi Smit-McPhee as Norman, Leslie Mann, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck and John Goodman. The film centers around a misunderstood boy who can speak with the dead and thereby finds himself defending his town from zombies and assorted otherworldly creatures. His biggest challenge, though, may prove to be narrow minded adults.

LAIKA has the distinction as an animation company of its CEO also being a world class animator. Laika CEO Travis Knight was a lead animator on both ParaNorman and Coraline, tackling the toughest shots and always bringing depth and emotion to his performances.

Travis Knight-

“Dragon is an extraordinary achievement in design and function.”

This is the first sneak peek at a string of high profile features shot with Dragon, coming out soon.

And here are some truly great behind the scenes pics from the Paranorman Team via Instagram: