Laika, the stop-motion animation studio previously responsible for Tim Burton’s morbid “Corpse Bride” and Neil Gaiman’s terrifying “Coraline,” seem to like nothing more than provoking sensitive parents into frothing rages. And they’re really good at it. In a culture where many folks seek to insulate their kids at all costs from the nastier aspects of the human condition, these guys make full-on horror movies and market them for children. This sort of mischief could easily be interpreted as irresponsible, provocative, or even downright offensive, if there weren’t a precedent in kid’s entertainment for such frightening fare. From the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm to campfire ghost stories to Creature Double-Features on Saturday afternoons, there is a long and grand tradition of scaring the wits of our little ones—and of the little ones loving it.

The first time directorial team of Chris Butler (who worked on storyboards for both “Corpse Bride” and “Coraline”) and Sam Fell (who directed the computer generated “Tale of Despereaux” and Aardman Animation’s failed first foray into CGI, “Flushed Away”) were both clearly raised on the works of Carpenter, Romero and Raimi. Their story—of a small medium with a big heart who speaks freely and easily with the ghosts of the departed, but fails to connect with the live folks around him, until of course, a 300 year-old curse releases a group of shambling corpses on his little Massachusetts town—is rife with references to their classic fright films. It’s not just the screaming teens and reanimated dead, either. The lighting, the camera positions, and the immediately familiar and wholly original score by Jon Brion, are all dead-on tributes to the R-rated ’80s. But they don’t stop there. Butler and Fell seamlessly weave in equally-opposed elements of Spielberg and John Hughes, balancing the horror with humor and rendering what otherwise could have been a nightmare inducing scare-fest into something like a feature-length “Scooby Doo” adventure crossed with “Breakfast Club.”

The very personal themes of tolerance and kindness at the core of “ParaNorman” are orbited by a good number of timely, if extraneous, liberal messages about individual responsibility in mob situations, ecological mindfulness, the commercialization of terror, and (in one fabulous surprise) homosexuality. Along with the omnipresent violence and gore and certainty of mortality, many may find it all a bit much.

But it is the vibrant and honest characters in “ParaNorman,” each of whom is allowed far more than the usual share of quiet establishing moments, which carry the movie. An impeccable design aesthetic--showing that all of the characters, not just “the outsider” Norman, are quirky, individual entities and all a little peculiar in their own ways--also buoys “ParaNorman.” The first hour of the movie is fun, engaging, and resolutely refuses to talk down to its audience. The import of this fact is more than a little undone in the final reel, unfortunately, as much of the meticulous, thoughtful build-up is chucked out the window. Taking a brave chance on turning beloved conventions in on themselves at the last minute, the filmmakers regrettably slide an otherwise rousing, and sneaky, morality tale into preachy schmaltz, a move that’s more troubling than the zombies, witches, and poltergeists.

Based on their films so far, Laika’s overriding message appears to be that we’re all a little weird and monsters are made of misunderstanding. With only three completed features, it looks like they may already be directly addressing parents who attack them for being too dark in a world that’s scary enough. But Laika should be applauded for standing their ground and making entertainment that at least attempts to treat children as the complicated, intelligent, emotional, and resilient creatures they can be.

Their lighthearted, devil-may-care approach to critics is summed up nicely in “ParaNorman,” when little Norman, watching a slasher flick in the living room, is asked by his Dad from the kitchen, “Hey kid, whatcha watching?” Norman replies casually, “Sex and violence.”

And that’s perfectly OK. The world may be a scary place, but as Laika argues, cultivating a healthy fear of the correct things can be perfectly normal and is possibly crucial. It’s the refusal to face that which frightens us that will cause bigger problems down the line.