I think Henry Selick is a much better stop motion director. I used to like Tim Burton but lately...
ParaNorman is not directed by Selick. Chris Butler and Sam Fell are directing it. I don't think Selick has anything to do with the movie. It might be the same animators, and its the same studio, Laika, who apparently also did work on Corpse Bride
I totally thought that was Selick, but you're right.
It's the same Coraline company. I guess thats what confused me. I think Disney's snatched Selick up for all of his future endeavors so I'm sure he's up to something good over there. Coraline was so lush and beautiful and interesting and morbid while being something completely apart from Burton. I love that. Neil Gaiman's material is really hit-or-miss with me, but his book and the film were very much "hit!"
Tim Burton seems to have lost his way since his telling of Planet of the Apes. His tale was interesting, but once again his style eclipsed a much richer substance. He did the same thing with Batman, but for some reason it worked there even though he discarded so many key elements. I still find him rather ungracious for not having anything nice to say about Nolan's work on the franchise. Not only did Nolan reinvent a character securely locked in the minds of the public, he took great creative care to respect the roots of that character. Tim Burton, on the other hand, is on record mocking those who read comic books and saying that he read very little for his work on Batman. (shivers)
Burton's return to Frankenweenie and Beetlejuice give me hope that he's on the right track again. I was sorely disappointed in his Willy Wonka and Alice in Wonderland. I'm not sure what to think about Dark Shadows, but the ads seem fun. And of course there's the animated Addams Family reboot he's working on. Not sure if he's actually directing that, but everyone will think he did either way.