‘Disappointing’ may be the first word popping into your head after seeing Tim Burtons latest animation film “Frankenweenie”, ‘boring’ may be the second followed closely by the question: “What has happened to the Wizard of Odd and his usually interesting and surprising ideas?
Frankensweenie is a feature length remake of Burtons 1984 short and tells the story of geeky outsider Victor Frankenstein (voiced by Charlie Tahan) and his only friend, his dog Sparky. When Sparky is run over by a car Victor uses is scientific nerdiness to bring him back to life, but the joy of having his friend back is soon overshadowed by the surprising events that follow.
When Victors classmate the unpopular and very odd looking Edgar ‘E” Gore (voiced by Atticus Shaffer) finds out about Sparkys revival he wants his very own un-dead playmate. One invisible fish later and a chain reaction of creature creating occurs. And like any good old-fashioned monster movie there is a damsel in distress, an unsuspected hero and a happy ending.
Frankensweenie is a beautifully produced film and the black and white cinematography is stunning, however the 3D effects feel unnecessary. The characters are unmistakably Burtonesque and play homage to all the great horror classics but the storyline is weak and very safe, often a little dull.
This stop-animation is not really suitable for children as the humour is quite dark and the charming slapstick scenes and horror film references are too adult oriented. Burton is not at his best with Frankensweenie, and no matter how big a feast for the eyes this animation may be it does not make up for the lacklustre plot.
jensinewall 