Summary: From creative genius Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland,” The Nightmare Before Christmas”) comes Frankenweenie, a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life – with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous.
Year: 2012
Australian Cinema Release Date: 25th October, 2012
Australian DVD Release Date: TBA
Country: USA
Director: Tim Burton
Screenwriter: John August, Tim Burton, Leonard Ripps
Cast: Dee Bradley Baker (Persephone van Helsing/Shelly/Were-Rat/Colossus/Mr. Whiskers/Driver (voice)), Robert Capron (Bob (voice)), Martin Landau (Mr. Rzykruski (voice)), Christopher Lee (Movie Dracula), James Hiroyuki Liao (Toshiaki (voice)), Catharine O’Hara (Mrs. Frankenstein/Weird Girl/Gym Teacher (voice)), Winona Ryder (Elsa Van Helsing (voice)), Atticus Shaffer (Edgar ‘E’ Gore (voice)), Martin Short ((Mr. Frankenstein/Mr. Burgemeister/Nassor (voice)), Melissa Stribling (Movie Mina), Charlie Tahan (Victor Frankenstein (voice)), Frank Welker (Sparky Frankenstein (voice))
Runtime: 87 mins
Classification: PG
Dave Griffiths’s ‘Frankenweenie’ Review:
It’s something that fans of director of Tim Burton have never had to go through before… a patch where the legendary filmmaker has actually delivered some fairly ordinary films. Alice In Wondeland was one of the worst films he has ever delivered while Dark Shadows was good but nowhere near as great as the films that have earned Burton the respect of the film making world over his career. So it’s great to see Burton get to the top of his game once again with Frankenweenie.
Frankenweenie follows young Victor Frankenstein (voiced by Charlie Tahan – TV’S Blue Bloods & Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) a gifted young student who listens too carefully to his science teacher, Mr. Rzykruski (Martin Landau – Dark Horse, Have A Little Faith) and brings his one true friend, his dog Sparky back to life after he is killed in a tragic accident.
Victor is quick to work out that he needs to keep the revived Sparky a secret from his parents (Catherine O’Hara – TV’S Leslie & Glenn Martin DDS and Martin Short – Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, TV’S The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That) but when fellow student Edgar (Atticus Shaffer – TV’S The Middle & Shake It Up) finds out what has happened it is only a matter of time until others including Elsa (Winona Ryder – The Letter, The Iceman), Bob (Robert Capron – Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, The Three Stooges) and Toshiaki (James Hiroyuki Liao – Applebaum, World Invasion: Battle LA) also find out and decide they can try and bring things back to life as well.
Frankenweenie sees Tim Burton return to the type of stop animation that made some of his early movies really stand out. Together with a great script Burton has used the animation of Frankenweenie to really take this film back to the period when it was set… in the 1950s. Throughout the film Burton pays tribute to horror films of the past in such a way that the film becomes a pure joy for any serious film lover to watch.
In fact while Frankenweenie is being promoted as a children’s/family film you would have to argue that this is one animated films that adults are going to love, even the script allows for some adult humor that will go right over the heads of all the kids in the audience.
The other part of Frankenweenie that makes this such a memorable film is the amount of work that the animators have put into each character. While some resemble characters from horror films of the past others are so strange and hilarious that you’ll end up laughing as soon as they appear on screen.
Frankeweenie sees Tim Burton return to his usual brilliance and you certainly won’t be disappointed.
Other Subculture Media Reviews of ‘Frankenweenie′: http://www.helium.com/items/2381893-movie-reviews-frankenweenie-2012 Also check Episode #5 of our The Good The Bad The Ugly Podcast for a more in-depth review of ‘Frankenweenie’
Rating: 4/5
IMDB Rating: