Deadline is reporting that Focus features is looking to put out an animated feature in 2012 called ParaNorman. The story deals with a town over-run by zombies that has to call on a local kid who has the power to speak to the dead, so that he may act as their “zombie whisperer”. It’s coming at you from the same people who produced Coraline and The Tale of Desperaux, so it very well could end up decent. I am aware that zombies of a sort made a cameo in Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, but this is zombies front and center, which is different.

And the reason it’s different is because it means zombies are full-on mainstream now. Not only are zombies going to be on prime-time television with The Walking Dead and the forthcoming The Awakening, but kids are going to have zombie product aimed at them. There are many out there who feel that the zombie sub-genre is, ahem, dead, but I think it’s just the opposite. Zombies are going to the front of the pop culture line along with anthropomorphic animals and superheroes.  Your kids will soon have zombie stuffed toys. Chew on that, America.