Tim Burton’s latest film pleases heart and mind

Frankenweenie is a beautifully crafted children’s tale

Supplied
Supplied
Supplied

Frankenweenie is 87 minutes of gloriously gothic, animated fun.

It’s just not entirely for kids.

With his latest animated film since 2005’s Corpse Bride, Tim Burton returns to the stop-motion we know and love in his signature aesthetic.

Based on a 1984 live-action short film of the same name, Frankenweenie tells the classic tale of a boy and his dog. When a tragic accident takes Sparky from Victor (voiced by Charlie Tahan), the aspiring young scientist secretly takes matters into his own hands and brings the pooch back to life, thanks to some inspiration from a new science teacher, Mr. Rzykruski (voiced by Martin Landau).

You can’t walk an undead dog without letting the cat out of the bag, so hijinx ensues once the secret of Sparky is unleashed—providing some hilarious results.

Frankenweenie is full of delicious references to classic horror films and stop animation, as well as to Burton’s own filmography. This is one reason why Ifeel this film is more for adults than children.

While it could be argued that the comedy in most contemporary children’s films targets both their intended audience as well as older viewers, the pop culture references in Frankenweenie are entirely for adults.

Adults were the ones laughing the hardest and most often during the screening, with very few coming from the children in the audience (there weren’t any fart or poop jokes, and no one got hit in the crotch).

The film is also trademark Tim Burton, so while it may be animated with Disney’s stamp of approval, I wouldn’t necessarily classify it as a children’s picture.

The film is also trademark Tim Burton, so while it may be animated with Disney’s stamp of approval, I wouldn’t necessarily classify it as a children’s picture. Thefilm pays homage to the great horror films that precede it, so naturally it contains frightening and gory scenes, complete with guts, explosions, impalement, and even somewhat of an expletive, which surprised me.

The black and white presentation is beautiful, and as an old-fashioned, cranky film-watcher, I find the 3D unnecessary. While it did create some depth in certain scenes, it was a largely forgettable feature.

Beyond this, I have two small qualms with the film. And while both didn’t necessarily affect my love of the film, they certainly pulled me out of the familiar ‘Burton universe.’

The first is a sexist line that refers to a moving pail when Victor hides the newly resurrected Sparky under it. I could almost excuse it (and a racist line, spoken by Victor’s father, voiced by Martin Short) if I were placing the film in a modern post-war setting devoid of political correctness.

But I can’t when Pluto’s demotion to a lesser planet is brought up by an adult at a parent-teacher meeting. That is a recent occurrence, and makes those comments completely off-putting, especially in a supposed children’s film.

However, Sparky and the story are adorable, the animation is wonderful, and the references and laughs are plentiful. As a long-time Burton nerd, I was not disappointed.

Related Reads