Frankenweenie is
another masterful stop-motion animation by Tim Burton. The movie is fun and
captivating, but I fear the black-and-white tone, intended to set the mood for
the Frankenstein story, might not sit well with children. Personally, after a
while, I forgot the movie was in black and white and just enjoyed every moment
of Burton’s storytelling. The plot is well crafted and holds a strong place in
my mind, here is a film I’ll remember for a long time.
Frankenweenie is
a clever remake of the Frankenstein story through Tim Burton’s unique lens.
Burton’s natural draw to dark fiction and themes of the dead interacting with
the living, are always a joy to see. Like we’ve seen in his other stop-motion
films, The
Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Corpse
Bride (2005), he has a way of presenting this world of the
dead interacting with the living with very good flair. Unlike the two
stop-motions I listed above which were musical, Frankenweenie isn’t a
musical, but it’s worth every minute.
The movie’s plot
revolves around a young boy, Victor, a self-proclaimed genius who learns from
his science teacher that muscle spasms can occur when electricity is passed
through a corpse. This little science lesson becomes useful when Victor loses
his dog, Sparky. Sparky was Victor’s only friend and his connection to the
world outside his head. Sparky was hit by a car while chasing a ball, and the
devastating loss leads Victor to attempt bringing him back to life.
Victor digs up
Sparky’s body, sews up the parts that had fallen off, and conducts the
Frankenstein experiment using lightning and a little love—and Sparky comes back
to life. However, hiding a reanimated dog isn’t as easy as Victor thought.
Soon, a classmate discovers Sparky and demands that Victor bring his goldfish
back to life in exchange for keeping the secret. Victor complies, but the
classmate spills the beans, and soon all the kids in town are trying to
resurrect their dead pets.
This movie is a
classic horror-comedy in its own right, and the stop-motion animation is more
fluid than in Burton’s previous works. Despite being a critical success, the
movie wasn’t a commercial hit. Which may mar any chance of Burton doing
stop-motion again in the future, but I do hope not.
If you missed
seeing this movie in 2012, I can guarantee you’ll enjoy it if you watch it now.
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