Directed by Tim Burton.
2012. Rated PG, 87 minutes.
Cast:
Charlie Tahan
Atticus Shaffer
James Hiroyuki Liao
Conchata Ferrell
Tom Kenny
Victor Frankenstein (Tahan) doesn't have many friends other than
Sparky, his dog. Victor’s father notices this and urges his son to get our
there with the other kids. Specifically, he gets the boy to participate in a
baseball game. Not wanting to be left out, Sparky chases the ball into the
street and is killed when hit by a car. Inspired by what he learned in science
class, Victor successfully resurrects the dog. Initially, this is unbeknownst
to anyone else. When word gets out, all the kids want to bring something back
to life in hopes of winning the upcoming science fair. Of course, things don’t
go as well for them as they did for Victor.
The journey director Tim Burton takes us on is one steeped
in nostalgia, paying homage to horror’s glorious past every step of the way.
While Victor himself is a rather typical looking Burton creation, the rest of
the kids look like classic monster movie characters. One kid resembles Igor,
another Frankenstein’s monster, and so on. The science teacher is a dead ringer
for the legendary Vincent Price. There are many instances we’ll note as
inspired by those old pictures and the entire thing is shown in a traditional
black and white.
Simply incorporating elements from great movies is not
enough to make this film any good. Fortunately, Burton tells us a wonderful
story. It functions as a tale about a boy and his dog and as a horror flick. In
true Burton fashion, the boy is a loner and a bit of an outcast. This is
displayed by a brilliant inversion of the way the director usually presents
things. In movies such as Edward Scissorhands, Batman, and
as recently as Dark Shadows, the protagonist is not only clearly
different from those around him, but to us, also. Whether it’s a physical
deformity, ghastly colored skin, or just running around in a costume, we saw
something strange about them. Here, the hero looks more like us than anyone
else in the movie. The other characters are the more gothic creations. Since
they are the majority, Victor still comes across as the oddball. However, like
other leads in the Burton canon, he’s an oddball by nature, not some stubborn
contrarianism. He also has a good heart. Misguided as it may have been, he
brought Sparky back to life out of love for the dog. He tries to stop others
from doing similar things because he knows there is great potential danger.
Victor is easy to root for.
Like the best of Burton, several genres convene seamlessly.
Dark comedy and horror blend into a deliciously macabre family flick. Whether
we’re laughing, noticing something lifted from an eighty year old movie or
staring slack-jawed at all the mayhem of the finale, it doesn’t detract from
the overall experience. It’s something the director was unsuccessful doing in
the aforementioned Dark Shadows. There, his switches in
mode are jarring and leave us wondering what we are supposed to be watching. In
Frankenweenie, it all goes down smoothly.
Good review Dell. While it definitely was a bit darker than it should have been, the movie still reminded me how great Tim Burton can be on all spectrums, especially when he seems to show a sort of love and care for the material. Haven't seen that from the guy in awhile and it has me somewhat hopeful for what he has in store for us next.
ReplyDeleteYou have the key, he seems to have great care for this material.
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