Frankenweenie

If anywhere there was a braver ending needed, it's here. Kids could have learned that life is but fleeting, we all suffer heartbreak sooner or later, say goodbye to the ones we love... This is an important lesson indeed. But, no. In the interest of a few mums and dads having to tolerate some waterworks on the way home from the cinema, Burton decides to go for what is essentially a cop out. Rather cowardly, if you ask me.

The whole film has the feel of an old B movie (but is set in the present day) as it is shot entirely in black and white and contains more than one horror reference. Spookiness pervades the atmosphere, as Danny Elfman's Gothic score meanders in the background like a funeral march. Poor Victor loses his dog, and his mourning and subsequent resurrection of his pet carries real emotion weight.

This doesn't last though, as the plot stretches to Victor's classmates experimenting on other deceased creatures, turning them into freaks of nature that invade the town. This is an arresting spectacle, but a betrayal of what transpired before... turning the movie from a personal tale about a boy and his half-dead canine, into an OTT monster movie. It feels like a different film, and not one that matched up to the poignant first half.

Not for one minute would I suggest I could tell Mr Burton how to do his job. But I think less action, and more storytelling would have improved the final reel no end... As well as a more courageous conclusion. Oh well, everyone's a critic (Most don't enunciate their thoughts as well as I do, though)... ;) 6/10

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After 26 years of the short movie, Tim Burton brings us a movie with his name written all over it. Creative and original, Frankeweenie illustrates its writer's original roots.

The concept is fascinating. Most of the characters are based on iconic horror movie characters, like Frankenstein and Van Helsing. In addition, the movie is set in black and white, trying to capture the old look of horror movies. And yes, I don't think this film is suitable for children, more like teenagers and adults, containing some scenes that may disturb children.

It's the story of Victor Frankenstein (voiced by Charlie Tahan), who, after losing his beloved dog Sparky, tries to revive him using lightning. The experiment is a success, but no one should know about what happened. Things start to get messed up when Edgar (voiced by Atticus Shaffer) discovers Sparky.

The animation is great. Tim Burton brings us a stop-motion masterpiece, paying attention to every detail from the movie's beginning to its end. The decent overall voice performance does the job just fine, giving us spooky character, Atticus Shaffer's voice gave me the chills. Tim Burton's fine job and the voice actors' performance give us the horror atmosphere necessary for the movie.

Burton is always highly imaginative and creative, but he's somehow missing something. Don't get me wrong, the movie's great, but something would've made it better. Frankenweenie will entertain a good percentage of its watchers, making it a must see 2012 movie.

It's inevitable to compare Frankenweenie to ParaNorman due to both being 2012 stop motion animated films centered around Halloween. I would say Frankenweenie is the lesser of the two, but not by too much. The story is heartfelt, the visuals are distinctive, and there's a peculiar charm to it. This seemed like a passion project for Burton and it shows. There's a lot of love and care put into this film, but it's classic Burton in that it's often weird, idiosyncratic, and grim. Frankenweenie is a fun homage to old school horror movies and should be a welcome return to form for fans of Tim Burton.

Judged as a comedy, Frankenweenie isn't really that great. The humor is rarely more than mild. But the movie actually did a pretty good job with the story, which is well paced and has moments of genuine - if mild - suspense.

It's also - and this is to be expected from any Tim Burton movie - really good looking, with stylish black and white animation and a cast of creepy looking kids.

As someone familiar with the original movies, I appreciate the way it pays tribute to its source material. It is also wonderfully imaginative, most notably in the first resuscitation scene.

One criticism; even by the standards of kids cartoons or old horror movies, this thing makes zero sense. The lack of any sort of logic is, however, so in-your-face that I accept it as purposeful and thus just accept that this is a movie that's not supposed to make any sense.

Tim Burton hasn't been making any of his original ideas since 2005. His recent films are adaptations that most of them are not outstanding nor creative like his own stories. Tim Burton's returns to his original roots with this. Frankenweenie is based on a short he made decades ago. He remade it into a full length animated feature film with sheer campiness. It's great when it goes there but when it tries to be emotional, it works in a short while but it is more interested to its craziness and the storyline doesn't know where to go. The director may return to his style but he still has his old flaws.

The concept is fascinating. It sounds like it's going to be a heartwarming family fun film. It obviously tries to capture the old horror movies with black and white. Most of the characters are based on iconic horror movie characters. Tim Burton is always highly imaginative but somehow he's lacking something. In family films, he creates a charming innovation but he couldn't bring enough depth to it. There are things that could have been interesting. This is about a kid who brings his beloved pet back to life. There could have been more genuine cherishing moments of Victor and resurrected Sparky. There are times like that but it immediately skims to the comedy. The storyline doesn't quite know what to do until it hits to the big climax.

The voice performances were good. Martin Landau's is probably the best among them who gratifies and delights his character with his campy accent that reminds you of his role in Ed Wood. The stop-motion animation is simply majestic. The black and white effect makes it a lot more fascinating. The character and monster designs are magnificent. It's wonderful enough as a Tim Burton animated film.

Frankenweenie suffers with the same problem of Edward Scissorhands. Don't get me wrong, Edward Scissorhands is a beautiful film but there is a little depth to its concept and serves an awkward climax leads to an underdeveloped romance. At least there's an endearing performance by Johnny Depp. Frankenweenie is fun but it's kind of empty in the end. It's not bad, it just could have been better. The darkness of the film could have been something affecting instead of an impaled cat. The sad parts seem contrived for the idea's sake. The film messes around the rest of the runtime. I guess the throwbacks and the filmmaking are the only merits of the film. Fans of Tim Burton's dark and crazy vision would enjoy. Since we don't see a lot of stop-motion animation these days, I guess that what makes this appealing. To think about the story, still not satisfying.