The Good: Decent voice work, Good animation
The Bad: Plot and characters fail to pop, Nothing superlative
The Basics: Tim Burton’s latest animated film, Frankenweenie takes a very simple premise and drags it out to an awkward length.
Tim Burton’s works are almost universally hailed as creative, even outside the cult of fans who have grown up outside his works. Inside the fan culture that follows Tim Burton’s works religiously, there is no differentiation between his films; they are all met with the universal declaration that the latest work is a “creative masterpiece” or a work of “creative genius.” With Burton’s latest, Frankenweenie, it will be hard even for those within the bubble of his fandom to call it brilliant.
Frankenweenie is an awkward animated film that does not seem to know what it wants, precisely, to be. Unlike the Tim Burton animated musicals, Frankenweenie does seem to be attempting to tap clearly into the adult and young adult demographic, much like Coraline (reviewed here!) a few years back. But, beyond that, the film’s execution does not move toward the clearly horrific (despite the final act) and the animation makes it very hard for the adult viewer to take the horror seriously. Based (apparently) on an earlier short that Burton made thirty years ago, Frankenweenie barely makes it to full feature-length. As I have never seen the original Frankenweenie, this review is entirely for the new Tim Burton, full-length film.
Victor Frankenstein is a boy who has one real, true, friend in the world: his dog Sparky. They play together and Victor, an aspiring child filmmaker, uses his dog in his home movies. When Sparky is killed, Victor is traumatized and despondent. With his love of monster movies and classic horror movies, Victor comes to believe he can resurrect Sparky. As unlikely as it initially seems, Victor is successful and he is thrilled to have more time with his beloved dog.
Unfortunately, despite the miracle of science Victor has achieved and his desire to keep is quiet, soon many people know about Sparky’s miraculous resurrection. Other children are afraid of Sparky or want Victor to resurrect their pets. But as local fear grows, Victor finds his relationship stressed as Sparky flees and the town turns against them.
Frankenweenie, far more than being original or clever, is an animated Frankenstein where the “monster” is a dog instead of an amalgam of human flesh. As a result, the themes of alienation and loss in Frankenstein are not fully developed in Burton’s film. So, the eventual mob scene is more predictable than organic and Victor’s motivation is less audacious than it ought to have been. Dr. Frankenstein was a man of science and while Victor is clearly experiencing exceptional loss, Burton and writer John August never develop it enough to make his subsequent actions seem truly believable.
On the flipside, the ignorance of the townspeople is entirely developed and predictable. Burton’s Frankenweenie makes the passing attempt to develop the arguments of reason vs. emotion, science vs. religious faith well, but even there he is preaching to the choir. Mr. Rzykruski’s tirades against the idiocy of the locals are not going to wake the anti-scientists wake up and realize their folly. Still, the effort is appreciated by the open-minded viewers.
On the animation front, Frankenweenie is good, but the character designs are exactly what one might expect of Tim Burton following Corpse Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas. The black and white is fine, though the strange nostalgic quality looks somewhat ridiculous in crystal clear, digital projection. Frankenweenie’s faults are not in the effects.
Neither are the problems with the voice performances. Frankenweenie’s characters may be underdeveloped and walking through the motions of another story’s predestination for them, but the voice actors do fairly well by them. Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, and Martin Landau all use their voice talents to realistically emote, especially for concern and frustration. Charlie Tahan bears the brunt of the voicework and he does fine. He is a kid playing a kid and he does well, especially for portraying sadness.
Short and filled with the feeling of being uninspired, Frankenweenie is a mediocre, often pointlessly frenetic, reimagining of Frankenstein that never completely pops.
For other works directed by Tim Burton, please check out my reviews of:
Dark Shadows
Alice In Wonderland
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Corpse Bride
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
Big Fish
Batman Returns
Edward Scissorhands
Batman
4/10
For other film reviews, please check out my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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