FrankenWeenie (2012) (Movie Review)

In 1984, director Tim Burton created a live action short-film titled “FrankenWeenie”, which re-told the story of “Frankenstein”, except it featured a deceased family dog in the role of the monster. I actually grew-up watching the short on Disney channel, and would later grow-up with it on home video. As such, I’ve always considered it a minor classic to watch around Halloween, and an important chapter in Tim Burton’s early career. Over the years, I became a devoted fan of Tim Burton’s movies, and ever sense his 2005 stop-motion picture “Corpse Bride”, I genuinely wanted to see Burton recreate his original “FrankenWeenie”. Much to my surprise and delight, my wish came true in 2012 with the theatrical stop-motion animated picture “FrankenWeenie”. This movie came out at a time in which I felt Burton was losing his creative touch, which made this feel like a breath of fresh air, and the first film of his in a while that felt like something special to him. While he isn’t without passion in his projects, I feel there’s a day and night difference between the movie’s that studios hire him to direct, versus the movies he genuinely wants to make. For example, 1993’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” was something special that stemmed from his imagination, whereas 2010’s “Alice in Wonderland” was something he directed because a studio hired him. As such, I can always feel the difference between original Tim Burton, and Burton committed to doing the job he was hired to do.   

   “FrankenWeenie” is clearly something special from Tim Burton, as both a love letter to his original short film, and to old Halloween specials in general. He even went the extra mile to present the film in Black and White, which is daring, as kids today in general don’t care for Black and White films … they like their bright colors, pop-culture references, and non-stop energy. 

“FrankenWeenie” is refreshingly slower paced, more relaxed, doesn’t throw pop-culture jokes in your face, and yet, I still find it very absorbing, with its own simple atmosphere and laid-back tone. The plot in many respects is just like the original short, but expanded in just the right ways to be feature length. A young boy named Victor Frankenstein loves to make home movies, which leads to a cereal moment of stop-motion characters watching a stop-motion film. His lead home movie star and closest friend is his pet dog Sparky. One day the dog tragically dies, and is buried in the towns local pet-cemetery … which is modeled perfectly after the original live action short. After a quirky new science teacher lectures Victor and his class on the power of electricity, Victor suddenly has an idea to revive the dog in his very own Frankenstein lab. After literally crossing the lines of life and death, Victor has to deal with the Ethics of bringing his dog back, and needs to keep him under control. Meanwhile, a hunchbacked “Igor” child discovers Victors secret, and soon, all his classmates aim to bring their dead pets back from the dead … only bigger and crazier.

    The appeal of the film once again comes from it’s odd, yet absorbing atmosphere. While I can imagine some kids and general viewers getting bored with the film’s presentation, I personally find myself sucked into it every time. I’ll admit, I don’t know if I would have liked this movie if I saw it as a little kid, but being exposed to it as a young adult, at a time when family films are overly animated, fast moving, and rely on either juvenile hummer or pop-culture jokes … “FrankenWeenie” just felt like something to admire. It’s also a genuinely delightful experience, with a lovable lead character, appealing stop-motion effects, and I even find the Black and White look of the movie to be gorgeous. Victors Attic lab setting lends itself to a display of stop-motion marvels. There are admittedly some boring detours, like the classmates working on their early science projects, but the film always manages to pull me back with its own unique charm. My favorite scene in the whole film is this quiet little moment when Sparky runs away from home, and goes to his own grave-stone … as if he feels like he belongs there. It’s a somber little moment, and I feel you can analyze something of substance from it.  

    Also, unlike most Halloween specials, the spooky imagery is used sparingly, which I surprisingly find myself appreciating here. Typically, I prefer my Halloween specials to feature the holiday in every frame, but in this film … it really pops whenever something traditionally Halloween-esk appears on screen. Of course, the film was shot in 3D, so the spooky imagery literally pops … and it’s effective when we see things like swarms of bats or a black cat screeching into the camera. One thing I do miss are musical numbers, which characterized Burtons first two stop-motion films, but there are at least some catchy songs on the soundtrack, including Karen O’s “Strange Love”, and Plain White T’s rendition of “Pet Sematary”. Danny Elfman naturally provides another winning score that adds a lot to the film’s whimsical personality. Also, for as subdued, and refreshingly laidback as the film is, I feel it rewards the viewer with a thrilling, monster packed third-act. When all the other greedy kids bring their pet’s to life, it leads to a lot of creative creature designs, and some really fun sequences of monster mayhem. Ever sense the early days of Ray Harryhausen, monsters have always been more appealing to me in stop-motion form. I especially love this wink to Gamera with this giant Turtle monster.    

    However, the most important monster for this movie to get right was its lead dog Sparky, as he’s the heart of the movie, and thankfully he steals the show with his signature cute-factor, and charming personality. He’s wide-eyed, energetic, and conveys the right amount of emotion needed for this character to leave an impression. Despite begin a Frankenstein-esk creature, I just want to reach into the TV screen and take this dog home as my own pet. Personally, I’ve come to view Sparky as a Halloween mascot in his own right, even though he’s not marketed as frequently as Jack Skellington. Tim Burton has a tradition of having a dead dog character featured in his stop-motion films, including the ghost dog Zero from “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, the skeleton dog Scraps from “Corps Bride”, and even the experimented pet dog Abercrombie from his short film “Vincent” ... which is visually referenced at one point in the film when Sparky’s shadow resembles a scary monster. More to the point, it was only a matter of time for Burton to make a lead character out of a stop-motion zombie dog … and he had the perfect template to begin with. The connection between the boy and the dog also works, and the two share some genuinely touching scenes together. Even the poodle with the Bride of Frankenstein hair is given a bigger role in this film, and has her own odd, if genuinely touching connection to Sparky.   

    This also marked the first Burton movie in years to not have either Johnny Depp or Helena Bonham Carter in leading roles … which was highly refreshing. Instead, Burton brought back cast members from some of his earlier films. Famed comedian Martin Short, who was in Burtons “Mars Attacks!”, voices a number of characters in this film. Thankfully, he’s not voicing any obvious comedic characters, and instead voices a dad who’s encouraging his son to do more with his life. It’s both a refreshing change for the actor, and an improvement on the one-note parent from the original short. Catherine O'Hara, who played the mother in “Beetlejuice”, and the voices of Sally in “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, is likewise voicing a number of characters in this film, including an odd girl whose cat’s litter tells the future ... it’s that special kind of weird character that can only exist in a Tim Burton movie. The most special of all is the late Martin Landau, who was previously in “Sleepy Hollow”, and played Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood”, voices a kooky science teacher in this film. It was a perfect role for the late actor, and aside from being enjoyably over the top, I like that this teacher has some genuine heart-to-heart moments with the lead boy Victor. The two share a humble conversation on the crossroads between a scientist’s intelligence and his emotions, and it's a great little scene. 

The most nostalgic cast member of all is Winona Ryder, who jump-started her career with early Burton films like “Beetlejuice” and “Edward Scissorhands”. In this movie, it’s a minor role as the voice of a troubled neighborhood girl named Elsa, but it’s still nice to have her present in a big theatrical picture, and this was before her career rebounded with “Stranger Things”. Plus, her character is a loving callback to her original Livia character from “Beetlejuice”. Lastly, the late horror icon Christopher Lee, who also appeared in a number of Burton movies, makes a visual cameo in a scene where the parents are watching the 1950 classic “Horror of Dracula” on TV ... which is a great touch. Just like in the original shot film, this movie builds to a thrilling climax set in a burning win-mile. The difference in this version is that the dog Sparky is trying to rescue his little poodle friend from the clutches of a monstrous Vampire-Cat named Mr. Whiskers ... because of course something like that would happen in a bizarre movie like this. It’s an awesome set-piece for a final battle, and the showdown between Sparky and Mr. Whiskers is in all honestly my favorite hero versus villain match from any of Burtons animated Halloween films. Everything ends on an emotional high-note, and it leaves me with a big, dumb smile on my face every time.

     In the end, I personally adore “FrankenWeenie” … it’s one of my favorite animated films to re-watch around Halloween, and it has a secure spot among my favorite Tim Burton movies. Re-making one of his own classic short films, and giving it a more modern look was a welcome change of pace, and the result is a genuinely heartwarming film, combined with an odd Burton style premise, likable characters, subtlety, and an action packed ending full of awesome creature effects. It's one of those special movies that can win me over with its own simple charm, and never needs any big song numbers or spooky highlights to hold my interest. It’s a film that tends to sneak-up on me, as I don’t usually think about watching it annually for Halloween, but I still find myself watching it anyway, and loving it more with each passing season. “FrankenWeenie” came out at a time when Burton needed something special, and it payed off with a positive reception of critics, as well as a nomination at the Academy Awards for best animated picture. If you’re a fan of stop-motion or Burton movies in general, then this film is well worth looking into. It has a distinct atmosphere, a refreshingly simple premise, and heart as big as its central character.    

Thanks for reading my review of the animated 2012 movie “FrankenWeenie” … and let’s make every day in October feel like Halloween!