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In 1984, Tim Burton directed a dark little short film called Frankenweenie—a film that got him fired from his job at Disney because it was deemed too dark and scary for kids. Ironically enough, 28 years later, the same studio that objected to the original film is releasing the full-length remake—one that is, without question, guaranteed to give kids nightmares.
Burton’s stop-motion remake is the story of Victor Frankenstein (voiced by Charlie Tahan), an odd little boy who spends most of his time in the attic, conducting science experiments and filming monster movies with his best—and only—friend: his dog, Sparky.
After Sparky is hit by a car, Victor attempts to bring his beloved pooch back to life by harnessing the power of one of his town’s frequent storms. The experiment is a success—but, unfortunately, his attempt to keep it a secret isn’t.
When Victor’s classmate, Edgar (Atticus Shaffer), catches a glimpse of the undead dog, he sees it as the perfect science fair project. Although he promises to keep Victor’s secret, it isn’t long before word gets out, causing the rest of their classmates to attempt similar science experiments—with disastrous results.
Few filmmakers have as distinctive a style as Tim Burton. Whether he’s directing live-action or stop-motion, his films are always quirky and twisted and visually stunning—and that’s definitely the case here. Frankenweenie may be filmed entirely in black and white, but that doesn’t mean that it’s flat or dull. It’s actually surprisingly vibrant, with intriguing set designs and plenty of clever little details.
Of course, kids may not buy into the idea of a black-and-white animated movie—and that’s one of the film’s drawbacks. Grown-up viewers will understand that the decision to make the film black-and-white is just one part of Burton’s classic horror homage, but kids will most likely just see it as missing a bunch of colors.
At the same time, though, it’s a good thing that those colors are missing—because if the film had been in color, there would have been a whole lot of red. Burton doesn’t sugar-coat anything here. Frankenweenie is extremely violent and sometimes shockingly gruesome, with nightmare-inducing monsters that meet some pretty grisly ends. In fact, it’s surprising that the film managed to get a PG rating.
While younger members of the audience will be covering their eyes and shrieking in horror, though, their parents will appreciate the playfulness of it all. It’s filled with allusions to all kinds of classic horror films, going well beyond the obvious Frankenstein references.
The story, however, is a bit of a mess. In turning a 30-minute short into a 90-minute feature, the challenge is to add something fresh and new to the story instead of simply adding fluff. Unfortunately, the feature-length Frankenweenie is a whole lot of random fluff—a muddle of undeveloped characters and add-on plotlines that don’t really amount to anything. The parents’ revolt against the children’s controversial new science teacher doesn’t really go anywhere, while the town’s preparations for their annual Dutch Day celebration are mostly pointless. Even the kids’ cut-throat competition for science fair domination is left unresolved.
Visually and creatively, Frankenweenie is a fantastic film. Burton’s signature style makes it clever and playful and scary, too—a fitting (albeit cluttered) tribute to classic horror. But don’t let the PG rating fool you; it’s best to leave the kids at home.
Blu-ray 3D Review:
The Blu-ray 3D release of the first-ever black-and-white animated feature comes complete with a colorful bunch of extras. If you’re interested in the process of stop-motion animation, you won’t want to miss Miniatures in Motion, a detailed making-of feature that takes viewers behind the scenes of Frankenweenie to see how stop-motion movies are made. You can also get a glimpse of the process in Frankenweenie Touring Exhibit, which shows some of the puppets and sets from the movie.
Other extras include a Plain White T’s video and two short films: Victor’s animated short, Captain Sparky vs. the Flying Saucers, and Tim Burton’s original live-action version of Frankenweenie.
While the movie itself may be too scary for younger viewers, they’re sure to enjoy the imaginative action of Captain Sparky. Older viewers, meanwhile, will appreciate the behind-the-scenes look at the filmmaking process in Miniatures in Motion. So, no matter what your age, you’ll find something worth watching on this Blu-ray release.
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