Frankenweenie Reviews

This 2012 film of Frankenweenie I don't think is as good as Edward Scissorhands(my personal favourite), Ed Wood, Beetlejuice, Batman and Big Fish. If Nightmare Before Christmas counts, I'd include that as well. Sleepy Hollow was also excellent, as was Sweeney Todd. As a matter of fact I was dithering whether to say that this was Burton's best since Sweeney Todd, but I felt Big Fish had more heart. And I consider the 1984 short film superior. This in mind, it is vastly superior to Planet of the Apes(his worst), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland and Dark Shadows.

Frankenweenie(2012) is not quite perfect. The story wavers slightly in pace and focus when Victor's classmates plot to uncover his secret. That said, I was hugely impressed with it, one of my personal favourites of the year so far actually. The visuals are simply gorgeous. The black and white shadings fit with the Gothic atmosphere, and the deliberately grotesque characters are vivid in their design. The music score by Danny Elfman has this haunting undercurrent that Sleepy Hollow had as well as the sparkling beauty that made Edward Scissorhands so poignant. It is a very dynamic and atmospheric score indeed.

It is a very well-written film as well. It is wickedly funny, already improving on Dark Shadows with some very clever nods to Godzilla movies and other B-movie horror films. But Frankenweenie doesn't rely on manic humour, fart jokes or slapstick to make itself funny. The humour here is actually very subtle and deadpan. What is further special about Frankenweenie was its story. Having seen and loving to death the short film I knew what to expect, but I found the telling of this story to be fresh and just with as much heart. While there are funny moments that don't jar with the focus of the story and generally the film is full of energy, the film is often very poignant. The ending in particular has genuine pathos to it.

The characters are instantly engaging, oddball like with the best of Burton's films but engaging nonetheless. Aside from Sparky, the most memorable of them were Victor, Mr. Rzykruski- there is an intentional uncanny resemblance to Vincent Price- and the creepy girl with the cat. The voice work is really excellent, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short and Winona Ryder give wonderfully dry vocal performances but it was Martin Landau who stole the show, he was an inspired choice for Mr. Rzykruski, and he is deliciously eccentric yet does equally wonderfully in conveying the character's wisdom.

All in all, a really delightful film, not Burton's best or quite one of my favourites, but I do consider it his best film in the past decade or so. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Inicio decente, desarrollo mediocre, clímax de mierda y final genérico. El filme pudo tocar temas muy interesantes, pero se fue por la vía fácil y genérica, desembocando en un clímax carente de todo sentido dentro del canon de la película. Puede ser entretenida y enternecedora si te conformas con lo mediocre.

Funcionaba mil veces mejor como un corto (1984) que como una película, el concepto es demasiado ridículo como para durar tanto tiempo sin que llegue a ser inconsistente en todos los elementos que presenta.

To be honest,  considering the recent dubious track-record of the once great Tim Burton,  I had my doubts before watching this flick. I mean,  the guy is apparently struggling so much to bring up something fresh and new that the only thing he can come up with is basically recycling his own work which is all rather sad in my opinion. Anyway,  after all, I have to admit that it was still a fairly enjoyable stop-motion feature but I can’t say that it really impressed me though. Indeed, I'll give you that, it was very well made and it was visually very neat, as expected from this director. However,  I really had a hard time to care about the story. Indeed, the original version which was made more than 30 years old was a cute little story but not much more than that and the short format was perfect for this material. For this new version, they had to expand it somehow so they came up with this science fair idea which was rather underwhelming. Eventually,  it all end up with a bunch of kids reproducing the experiment on their own creating some weird monsters resulting in a big climax which never grabbed me. To conclude, even though it was again another half-baked project for Burton, I still enjoyed most of it and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Despite some rather shoddy characterizations and a disconnected meandering plot Frankenweenie is one of Tim Burton's better recent efforts. The films is an expansion of an older live action short shot by Burton during his early years with Disney and, to be honest, it shows. The core idea of reanimating a dog is nicely plotted but the other story events seem almost random with numerous less than memorable characters doing strange and bizarre things for little to no reason. There is no real cohesion to the events here.

That being said Frankenweenie deserves to be seen because the animation in it is spectacular. The choice of black and white fits the character design and the "Burtonesque" mood and the titular Frankenweenie is a tour de force of animation. The design and animations of his stop motion puppet imbue the character with a life and personality not often seen in animated films (not often seen here either as most of the human characters lack that same spark). Combine this with some truly breathtaking set pieces at the end of the film and you have a visual masterpiece that elevates the art of the genre. Go into it like you would a imagery laden foreign film - be numbed by the nonsensical nature of the script but blown away by the visuals and you should be happy.

Once upon a time there was an eccentric filmmaker who developed his own creative and visionary style that became a huge influence within a generation in aspects of cinema, art and the way that a lot of people live today. Tim’s most recent works consisted of Alice In Wonderland, a totally misinterpreted feature with great visuals and Dark Shadows, another film with impressive effects but went totally out of hand. He needed another breakthrough and things have not been going too good for him. However, upon learning that his next motion picture will be another one of his stop-motion animated features, hope was restored. There have been high expectations since then and although Frankenweenie does not quite become the film that we should have had; it is still another decent addition to Tim’s successful stop-motions list.


Of course, any stop-motion film involving Tim Burton is going to receive a wide audience and has successfully achieved this over the years. His newest work, one that is, in fact, a remake of his own creation, is filmed in a much darker tone than his previous works with the animation technique. The black and white picture made Frankenweenie much scarier for kids, especially when its release was approaching the Halloween season. Also, the slightest bit of colour would have killed the film’s dark touch. However, certain moments within the story and some of the characters felt a little out of place on occasions. For example, the build-up to the science fair and the somewhat romantic connection between Sparky and poodle Persephone were rather awkwardly shoehorned into what, at times, appeared a shamble. Considering this, Frankenweenie still provides a lot, effects-wise, and is worth seeing in 3D.


Whether physically or emotionally, Tim Burton has given us some very bizarre characters in almost every film he has done. In Frankenweenie, we're introduced to another hero – Victor Frankenstein, an ordinary but extremely creative young boy. ‘Victor’ follows after the protagonist in Burton's previous stop-motion feature Corpse Bride and short Vincent as well as his former collaborator – Vincent Price. Also, he relates to Burton’s reinterpretation of Charlie in his adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic novel. In that sense, Victor has a kind but big heart. His relationship with his beloved dog Sparky was very cute, which the kids would love. However, there was something slightly missing. It wasn't quite emotionally engaging or realistic enough. Both are interesting characters but when united as one, it did not quite connect and it was rather underwhelming.


Following the absence of recent, frequent collaborators Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, the supporting cast includes more of Tim Burton’s on-screen associated; most of whom he hadn't worked with for many years. Catherine O'Hara and Martin Short took on the roles of Edward and Susan Frankenstein, Victor’s parents, as well as two additional supporting characters between them. Furthermore, Winona Ryder reunites with Tim Burton for the first time since Edward Scissorhands in 1990, but only provides her voice as Elsa Van Helsing. Unfortunately, her presence within the film as well as Elsa’s character was not necessarily relevant. Victor’s relationship with Elsa was not developed enough and isn't the film really about the friendship between a young boy and his dog? On a more positive note, Martin Landau makes his presence known once more in a Tim Burton's feature. He portrayed Mr. Rzykruski, Victor's unique but wise science teacher. This character plays homage to Burton’s childhood hero Vincent Price as well as Landau's own Oscar winning performance as Bela Lugosi. Therefore, Rzykruski is the strongest character in Frankenweenie and is a rather original addition from Burton.


Despite Frankenweenie was originally a short film, this feature remake unusually works to a certain extent. The film has a lot to offer, effects-wise, and is Burton's darkest stop-motion project since Vincent. Furthermore, if you are an avid of Burton's past works, you would recognize the familiar concepts of particularly settings within Frankenweenie and appreciate them. The film may have squeezed past Alice In Wonderland and definitely Dark Shadows, but we still aren't getting the old Tim Burton. Finally, it may not have surpassed The Nightmare Before Christmas nor Corpse Bride, but Frankenweenie is still a satisfactory treat for kids and adults to enjoy.

I'll just put it out there; I'm not very familiar with many of Tim Burton's directorial efforts. The only films I've seen, in which Burton was at the wheel, was the immensely underrated Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the immensely underperformed Alice In Wonderland. So while I can't tell you how the stop motion animated Frankenweenie ranks in comparison to Burton's other films, I can tell you that this is a very good movie, worth watching.

But Frankenweenie certainly won't appeal to everyone. The story line may be a bit too disturbing for some (though the PG rating does help constrain it), but teens and adults shouldn't mind.

Frankenweenie is actually a remake of a 1984 short film of the same name, produced by Disney, and directed by Tim Burton. If you didn't already know this, you may not be the target audience for this film. Burton was actually fired after making this short film, after it was deemed too dark. Now, nearly 30 years later, and we have a remake of the film that Burton was once fired for making. There's an irony there.

The story follows a boy named Victor, who is devastated when his dog and only friend, Sparky, is hit by a car and dies. In an attempt to revive his companion, Victor tries to resurrect his dog using lightning. Victor succeeds, though some adjustments have to be made, and no one can know about Sparky's re-given life. Still, fellow students discover that Sparky has come back to life, so they attempt to revive their own pets, which brings disastrous results.

Frankenweenie is filmed in black and white, which is an extremely risky move, considering that this is being pitched as a family film, and most kids will not find the lack of pretty colors appealing (if the color choice is keeping you from seeing Frankenweenie, then this probably isn't the film for you anyway). The color choice is a tribute to old fashioned horror films, and while it may seem gimmicky to some, it really does give Frankenweenie a very wonderful retro feel.

The retro feel, however, is not only evident in the color palette. Many elements of the story are purposely done to resemble films of yesteryear, which will may create some nostalgic moments for older audiences.

Even though Frankenweenie is a "family" film, I can't recommend it for youngsters. The aforementioned black and white won't appeal to them, and Frankenweenie can be relatively dark and creepy for a family flick. Plus, there are some "boo" moments which could frighten young ones.

Still, only more mature audiences are going to get the most out of Frankenweenie. Just as last year's Rango paid tribute to classic westerns, Frankenweenie has boatloads of references from the horror genre. Though horror buffs will benefit the most from this, spook film novices (such as myself) will still get a lot of the in-jokes. Obvious ones like the re-animation of Sparky, the Igor-resembling classmate and other such things should appeal to all members of the audience, while slightly more obscure references will leave more experienced movie-goers chuckling. There's even a Jurassic Park reference!

The characters in Frankenweenie are instantly memorable and immensely entertaining. While the main characters like Victor, and his parents may fall a bit more into the "generic" category, the supporting cast is a riot. The voices for these characters will surely be imitated upon exiting the theater due to the silly accents and often hilarious dialogue.

The animation, as is often the case in claymation films is absolutely stunning. The frame rate is noticeably higher than that of Pirates! Band of Misfits, another one of 2012's claymation films. Character designs are extremely amusing, and sight gags are numerous (though perhaps not as plentiful as the aforementioned pirates flick, though it comes close).

As a side note, I saw this is in 2D, and I noticed very few segments that could've made use of 3D. However, because Frankenweenie is in black and white, I can't imagine any color blurring. I would stick to 2D, though.

The outrageous characters are made even more hilarious thanks to excellent voice acting. Charlie Tahan is commendable as Victor, while Catherine O'Hara (who is cast as several characters) speaks with much humor. Other voice talents (including Martin Short, Martin Landau, Winona Ryder, and Atticus Shaffer) are equally convincing as their characters.

As one expects from a Tim Burton film, Frankenweenie is scored by Danny Elfman. While Elfman often fails to make his scores too much different than his last, I am pleased to report that Frankenweenie feels quite a bit different than his other scores. Similarities are still very much evident, but this score where near as similar as his scores for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice In Wonderland. Frankenweenie also boasts a much more playful mood than Elfman's other work, which is extremely welcome.

Frankenweenie is absolutely delightful. Gorgeous animation, hilarious characters, and boatloads of film references provide an entertaining 87 minutes. Plus, it has plenty of heart to contrast the creepy and darker elements of the story. Frankenweenie won't appeal to everyone, but animation lovers and movie buffs will have a scream.

Going into watching Frankenweenie, I was expecting it to be a decent stop motion film, but I did not expect iti to be as good as it was. It pays homage to the classic horror films of yester year, illustrating Burton's passion for them, while adding a lot of heart and insight in to a child's yearning for companionship. Striking visuals and a very witty script make this a must see.

A-