Frankenweenie

Based on Tim's short of the same name back in 1984 which got him fired by Disney for being considered way too scary (I have seen it & yeah, it is pretty dark, but it's still very good thanks to the heartwarming relationship between Victor & Sparky), 28 years later, he finally decided to bring it to the big screen in stop motion. Up against Hotel Transylvania & ParaNorman (which I'll also be reviewing) in 2012, this one was an interesting one for people for the reasons mentioned as it had been a while since Tim went back to stop motion. The film ended up nominated for an Oscar, Annie, BAFTA & a Golden Globe, but lost all of them to Brave & Wreck-It Ralph. On a brighter note though, it did win a Saturn Award for Best Animated Film. Now that Tim has gone back to stop motion a fourth time, will be be as good as his other works, or is it as painful as being struck by lightning? Let's find out!

Story: Honestly, while the plot is pretty much an extended version of the original short, it doesn't really do well as a movie. The main problem I have is that the main plot doesn't really hold up as a film & as a result, there are subplots going on & it goes against the original message of the short & the relationship between Victor & his dog isn't really as heartwarming (there is still some sweet scenes & it does deal with the death of a pet pretty realistically before Victor decides to revive Sparky.) & it ends up being like ET where he has to hide Sparky from his parents & the town. Also, the fact the father wants Victor to be a 'normal kid' is just cliched nowadays & very predictable. However, there are still some good things like the fact the set-up is more about the ideology of bringing animals back from the dead & it is interesting mostly thanks to the very quirky side characters & the fast paced action scenes during the climax. However, unfortunately, I don't think this version of Frankenweenie is as strong as the original short or Tim's other animated film despite his good intentions.

Animation: Yeah, like Corpse Bride & The Nightmare Before Christmas, the animation has the classic Gothic Tim Burton style & also paying tribute to the classic monster movies & not just because it's in black & white. The character designs this time round are much eccentric this time round & mostly pay tribute to the classic Universal monster movies like the Weird Girl (seriously, you can't stop staring at her freakishly ginormous eyes), E.Gor with a design similar Igor from Frankenstein & Nassor to Boris Karloff from the mentioned movie & Mr Ryzkruski being a caricatured version of Vincent Price. By the way is it me or does Elsa look a lot like Lydia from Beetlejuice (not saying much since she is voiced by Winona Ryder)? But that's nothing compared to the very creative monsters for the film after the kids' attempts at bringing animals back to life go horribly wrong, like the combination of Mr Whiskers & a bat, that werewolf monster, the sea monkeys being similar to the Gremlins & Shelley the turtle looking like Godzilla. As for the backgrounds, it's not that special or as creative as Tim's other works, but it does look nice for what it is. In fact, the area about suburbia actually kind of reminds me of Edward Scissorhand thinking about it! Overall, the animation in this is really good, but not as creative as Tim's other films.

Characters: I feel bad for saying that the characters aren't really as good as his other films because they do bring the film down. Victor is the cliched outcast with no development, his parents voiced by Catherine O'Hara & Martin Short are the cliched loving mum & dad who wants his son to be more normal, Elsa is pretty much a blank slate & doesn't contribute anything to the plot (I feel bad cos Winona Ryder is good in it & I was expecting her to be Victor's love interest when I first saw it, which did not happen) & Sparky is the cliched dog (OK, his relationship with Persephone is cute). As for the side characters, they are easily the most memorable parts of the film with the Weird Girl, voiced by an unrecognisable Catherine O'Hara with an eccentric personality & a freaky design, Edgar is Igor style character who is the first to know about Victor bringing Sparky to life & backstabs him by telling the other kids, Nassor, voiced by Martin Short (yeah, Martin & Catherine do play quite a few roles in this & they are very good), is the Boris Karloff-esque bully, Bob is the fat kid that wants to win the science fair with Toshiaki, who's the cynical & smart kid & pretty much nothing else. (OK, the scene where Shelley dies again proves he did miss her) Mr Rzykruski is the eccentric science teacher & is probably the most interesting adult character in the film as despite his eccentricity, his heart is in the right place & wants to inspire the kids to do science. Overall, despite the uninteresting main characters, the side ones manage to pick up the film & make it fun to watch!

 

 Overall, this isn't really Tim's best animated film, but it doesn't mean that it's bad. The animation is great, the quirky side characters avoid all of them from being unlikeable despite the main ones & there is some heartwarming & funny moments in the story along with a sweet message despite it not really being as strong as the short it's based on. I would recommend it to those who enjoy Tim's other works & the original Frankenweenie to give it a watch at least once because the positive aspects are still there despite the flaws. Just don't expect it to be his best work is all I'm saying.

Story: 6/10

Animation: 8/10

Characters: 7/10

Overall: 7/10