Director: Tim Burton
Writers: John August, Tim Burton,
Stars: Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau
When a lonely kid loses his best friend, he turns to Science to restore him and it works. Unfortunately, his fellow classmates go for bigger and better to compete in the school's annual Science Fair.
Frankenweenie is the rare modern-day cartoon filmed completely in black and white. There's something for audiences of all ages save for maybe the very young. Those of us who remember seeing 1950's and 1960's horror will recognize the tract neighborhoods and the the anti-authority themes from the times as well as some of the monsters. Fans of classic horror will also recognize a few names, too. Parents of today will see some of the issues regarding teaching science classes today. Younger kids are going to love the icky-gory monster film.
The animation is superb as you'd expect from Disney and Tim Burton. They've managed to create a whole new set of cool monsters from the re-animation technique too.
The film's not just scary, though. I sat there in the theater with tears in my eyes at several moments. I've known a couple of dogs and many cats I'd gladly "frankenpet." But, the Mom in this story is right. Once you've loved someone, they are in your heart forever.
There are a whole lot more very wise sayings in this film, but I'll leave this to you to find them. Frankenweenie is one film I will definitely add to my collection on Blu-Ray and I'll probably have it as a Halloween staple along with ParaNorman and Hotel Transylvania. This is definitely a good year to be a kid--or a kid at heart, on Halloween.
WARNING: Kids under seven will probably be frightened by some of the images. Bring them with care.
Rebecca McFarland Kyle, October 2012
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