The LAIKA production is set for international release in August 2012, and Coraline  is anything to judge by, it is sure to include creepy monsters and dark humour with a light-hearted and creative children’s twist.

The spooky animated tale tells the story of a strange young boy, Norman, who has a unique gift of speaking to the dead. His ghost whispering skills are put to the ultimate test when he has to save his town from an ancient curse, which brings to life all kinds of grizzly ghouls.

Norman’s unique paranormal gift helps him to save the town from destruction in a battle against monsters, witches, zombies and ghosts.

But for Norman, these monsters aren’t the problem; the biggest challenge he faces are the dreaded, groaning, moaning grown-ups.

ParaNorman stars the voice of fifteen year old Kodi Smit-McPhee (Norman Babcock), as well as featuring Leslie Mann, John Goodman, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Jodelle Ferland.

Directed by Sam Fell (Flushed Away) and Chris Butler, the film may have competition against Tim Burton’s newest animation, Frankenweenie which is set to be released just two months after ParaNorman.

LAIKA has also produced several short Sesame Street films as well as the short, MoonGirl in 2005.

The film – starring the musketeer-inspired cat from the popular Shrek films – reached the North American movie top spot, taking in £21.2m ($34m) during its opening weekend.

It pushed the horror film Paranormal Activity 3 which only took in £11.6m, down to second place, just half the amount of Puss in Boots.

The ginger ninja is voiced by 51-year-old Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, who also narrated the character in Shrek 2 and 3.

The family romp tells the story of Puss’s adventures with his friends, Humpty Dumpty and Kitty Softpaws, before he met Shrek. His mission is to hunt down Jack and Jill, two murderous outlaws who are in possession of an ancient power which could destroy the world.

The 3D film, directed by Chris Miller, also includes voices from Salma Hayek (Kitty Softpaws), Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris (Jack and Jill), as well as The Hangover star Zach Galifianakis (Humpty Dumpty).

The Shrek spin-off was intended to be a direct to DVD release, however, it proved to be so popular that it was reconsidered for theatrical release.

Puss in Boots comes to UK cinemas on Friday 9 December, just in time for panto season.

‘Up’ tells the story of a boy’s journey through life to old age, illustrating the ups and downs, the joys, sorrows, triumphs, and regrets that he experiences through friendship, romance and marriage. And all in 89 minutes, which is no mean feat.

His adventure teaches him some of life’s most important lessons in a meandering heart-warming treat of a tale. If this is sounding a bit too saccharine for you, or indeed a bit too heavy for your little one, it’s not – and that’s where the film excels.

While kids will be captivated by the visually glorious spectacle, colourful characters and simple plot, adult heart-strings will be tugged by the captivating, action-packed drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

As a bonus, the depth to the story wasn’t entirely lost on a young audience either, as my seven-year-old companion remarked at the end: ‘It doesn’t matter about things and stuff, as long as you have people you love, you are very lucky’. Aaaaaah, a ticket worth every penny.