Movie Review: Frankenweenie

I was not originally intending to go see Tim Burton's Frankenweenie but one of the reviewers said it was "his freshest idea since [bla dee bla bla.]" I thought "challenge accepted." I wanted to see how a black and white short that Burton filmed long before Nightmare Before Christmas could be made into a "fresh film."

"His freshest idea since bla dee bla bla." - Reviewer I. Dontrespect

Poster from Original Short

This film (with a difficult to spell title) is your basic boy loves dog story. But with a Burton twist you also have to learn to accept death, accept things that have come back from death AND save Jimmy from the burning building. However a midst love there is a ton of action that keeps the movie going all the way through to the end. A good Halloween flick for children, if violence and truly horrifying monsters are your thing.

A good introduction to the monster movie

There were many details that didn't seem to be necessary to the film. For instance the movie takes place in 1950's New Holland and has a Dutch Day celebration. I can see the 1950's perfection and fear of the strange being a factor, it certainly was in Burton's short, but it did nothing to strike particular fear into peoples hearts since the first thing that was "different" in the town was a 7 story man eating turtle. Are they trying to say that even the Dutch would be afraid if this monstrosity? I had no idea the Dutch were so brave.

Original Frankenweenie 

But the senseless detail that I was most excited about was that the main character Victor (at least the second main character Burton had named victor in the last 10 years) was a film maker. I though Hooray! this might be Burton's autobiography of sorts. But alas victor put down his camera and picked up his lab coat as soon as the movie got started.

Tim Burton has named two main characters Victor in the last eight years.

Then there is of coarse filler. Unless you cram the plot of a short with pointless plot then you must fill it with pointless action. When other children attempt to revive their pets (for a school science fair that never happens) their pets turn into unspeakably terrible monsters that are then easily defeated.

I did like however the consistencies Burton made with the original Frankenstein story. The dog went through an emotional journey of loneliness fear and misunderstanding. It was a good introduction to the monster movie for children and will teach them the basic ideas of Frankenstein. Like how the doctors name is Frankenstein not the Monsters.  Come on people!

Fresh? I think not. Good? Perhaps. But overall it is not on my recommendations list.