Frankenweenie
With “Frankenweenie,” it feels as though Tim Burton is finally bringing to a close a decade of remakes and re-imaginings where the most significant movies he produced were a beautiful father-son story (“Big Fish”), and a bold cinematic version of a classic musical (“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”). This is ironic, because “Frankenweenie” itself is adapted (and remade) from a famous, live-action short from 1984, and sounded as though Burton had genuinely lost interest in the personal filmmaking that made him a visionary back in the ’80s and ’90s.
Thankfully, “Frankenweenie” emerges not just as a delightful, stop-motion fantasy of love of genre and the craft of animation (where Burton got his start), but also as the most personal film the director has made since 1994’s “Ed Wood.” In young Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan), the boy who brings his beloved dog, Sparky, back to life after being hit by a car, we can easily imagine a young Burton, marching to the beat of his own drum as he preoccupies himself with odd stories and monster movies that will eventually lead him to Disney, then a place on the Hollywood A-list with his idiosyncratic storytelling and vision. Yes, “Frankenweenie” devolves into a parody of those monster movies by the end, but its heart is always with the relationship between Victor and Sparky.
The script is by Burton favorite screenwriter John August (“Big Fish,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”), who clearly shares a fascination with the director for offbeat, suburban life that brings to mind the pastels and conformity of “Edward Scissorhands.” This time, they take us deep under the surface of New Holland, a typical, ’70s American town that feels just a bit different than what we might remember. (And if you’re wondering about the name, New Holland, don’t worry. It’ll make sense in the end.) At first glance, it seems odd that Victor wouldn’t have any friends, since his fellow classmates all seem rather unique themselves (especially Edgar, who looks suspiciously like Igor from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Weird Girl, whose cat is an unusual feline in its own right), but with his love of science and making short movies starring Sparky, we understand why Victor stands out in the crowd. His parents (Martin Short and Catherine O’Hara), though appreciative of his individuality, want him to fit in, so he takes up baseball, and it is when he hits a home run that Sparky chases into the road that tragedy strikes. However, his science teacher (Martin Landau) gives him an idea to how Sparky can live again. But will there be consequences with bringing the dead, even if it’s just a child’s pet, back to life?
As much as the film excels through the beautifully-designed stop-motion figures, and their eeire movements; Danny Elfman’s lovely score (not necessarily one of his best, but a strong effort); and the evocative art direction and black-and-white cinematography, which brings to mind the films of Ed Wood, in the end, it’s Burton’s affection for Victor and Sparky’s story, that love between a child and their pet that feels like the greatest thing in the world at times, that elevates “Frankenweenie” to the upper ranks of the director’s work. The sly pokes at “normal” society (in this film, how outraged people get at the science teacher) that have disappeared over the years from Burton’s films are now back for their second film in a row (after this summer’s flawed, but underrated, “Dark Shadows”). And the bliss Burton felt at paying homage to ’50s sci-fi and horror in “Ed Wood” is back with a vengeance in the final part of “Frankenweenie,” where other children in the neighborhood try to bring back their OWN deceased pets…with slightly more dangerous results. When it all comes to a close, however, it’s all about Victor and Sparky, and their bond is the beating heart of one of the year’s most subversively-entertaining treats, courtesy of one of cinema’s most devious tricksters, hopefully primed for more personal, poignant triumphs like this one.
