When we sat down to watch Frankenweenie (for the second time ever) on Disney Plus, little did we know that there was a Frankenweenie short from 1984! Just when I thought Tim Burton came up with all these ideas on his own, I was wrong. A Frankenweenie story already existed, which really throws a wrench into the whole Tim Burton animated universe.
Now let’s talk about Frankenweenie. It is pretty clever to see a little boy, Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan), bring his beloved dog back to life after an accident. Victor suffers from all the same problems other children suffer. They express a passionate interest in a certain subject, and their parents refuse to allow them to enjoy it. They spend most of their time forcing other interests upon their kids, which then, in turn, causes some distance between family members.
Sparky is a science project gone right for once, and once the word is out, other kids want their pets back too. What is that old saying? Sometimes too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Well, Victor’s life is about to fall apart as dead animals come back to life and cause all kinds of chaos.
The movie has a lot of charm packed in, just like Sparky’s insides after reincarnation. The animation won’t be for everyone since it does appear mostly creepy from start to finish. The story stays true to the original Frankenstein drama, with a very climactic finale at a windmill! Misunderstood from the beginning, Sparky only wanted to be loved and show love; the little dog will be hailed as a hero by the credit hit.
We all know by 2012 that Tim Burton had provided us with The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride before ending the “trilogy” with Frankenweenie. I would consider this the weakest entry into his attempts at animated blockbusters. 4/10
Ten Stars or Less 