Directed by
Tim Burton
Written by
John August, based on a movie by Tim Burton and Leonard Ripps
It’s
hard to believe that it’s been 5 years since Sweeney Todd, and there’s only
been two Tim Burton movies between then and this year’s Frankenweenie: Alice in
Wonderland and Dark Shadows. I actually
enjoyed Alice in Wonderland, despite its significant flaws, but even as a Tim
Burton fan I couldn’t get excited about Dark Shadows. On the other hand, Frankenweenie, a
stop-motion remake of Burton’s own live-action short film, is pure Tim Burton.
Victor
Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan) is a young boy who loves his dog Sparky. When Sparky dies in a car accident, he can’t
let him go. Accidental encouragement from
his science teacher Mr. Rzykruski (Martin Landau) and his parents (Martin Short
and Catherine O’Hara) leads him to perform the classic experiment and bring
Sparky back to life.
The film really stands on the fact
that it’s a true return to form for Tim Burton.
This is right back in that dark but quirky atmosphere that’s made him
famous. Some of the elements even seem
like homages to Burton’s own movies, like a suburbia similar to Edward
Scissorhands. Using both stop-motion and
black-and-white gives the movie a tone that’s distinct but still familiar, in a
good way. An atmosphere that’s
unsettling but easy to get into. He
builds worlds on contradictions, and here it’s the mix of a normal suburbia
filled with off-beat characters, the happiness of life that’s hit by death. There’s an instant sympathy about Victor’s
feelings towards Sparky’s death, and a wish fulfillment for the audience in
bringing him back to life.
While
it’s been a long time since I’ve seen the original Frankenweenie (and I
remember it absolutely terrifying me as a kid), the basic plot remains
intact. The second and third acts are
where things are changed up a little more, thanks to Edgar “E” Gore (Atticus
Shaffer) finding out about Sparky and getting the other kids to replicate the
experiments on different animals. The
film becomes a full homage to the classic Universal monster movies. Somehow the more comedic and action-packed
finale doesn’t necessarily take away from the rest of the movie. Instead it only helps to fill in the gaps on
its message about science, and how it’s only good or evil depending on who’s
using it. It’s the lack of knowledge on
the part of the other kids that causes the problems. At the same time, this provides a great
showcase for the supporting cast. The
way every character is styled makes them instantly unique, and the black and
white just helps to accent their features.
Frankenweenie
is a fully enjoyable movie. It may not
reach the heights of Burton’s best works, but at the same time, it is very much
Tim Burton. Love him or hate him, this
is his style, his playground, and he is doing everything that he does best
here.
