Frankenweenie

1984 "A comic twist on a classic tail!"
7.2| 0h29m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 14 December 1984 Released
Producted By: Walt Disney Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

When young Victor's pet dog Sparky (who stars in Victor's home-made monster movies) is hit by a car, Victor decides to bring him back to life the only way he knows how. But when the bolt-necked "monster" wreaks havoc and terror in the hearts of Victor's neighbors, he has to convince them (and his parents) that despite his appearance, Sparky's still the good loyal friend he's always been.

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Reviews

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
adonis98-743-186503 A young boy sets out to revive his dead pet using the monstrous power of science. Frankenweenie is definitely a short that is quite interesting and pretty good for such an old film that was released in 1984, the acting was fine and pretty solid and i was suprised when i saw Shelley Duvall (The Shining) and Daniel Stern (Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York) as the little kid's parents it was definitely unexpected. Burton also works quite well with black and white and this film definitely needed something like that. The storyline was pretty sweet and interesting plus the music was very dark something out of Beetlejuice or Batman and fits well with the tone of the movie. (7.5/10)
GusF A short film directed by Tim Burton, this is absolutely sublime. It is a brilliant, touching film which both parodies and pays tribute to "Frankenstein", the 1931 film version in particular. It tells the story of a ten-year-old boy named Victor Frankenstein, based on Burton himself as he makes short films in his backyard, who is distraught by the death of his (very appropriately named) dog Sparky. Shortly afterwards, he learns that electricity can be used to stimulate muscles, which inspired Mary Shelley to write "Frankenstein" in the first place. He harnesses the power of lightning to revive Sparky, who soon comes to be misunderstood and feared by the Frankensteins' neighbours. The script by Lenny Ripps, based on an idea by Burton, is top notch.The use of black and white is extremely effective and Burton's direction is excellent. Barret Oliver, a prolific 1980s child actor best known for his roles in films such as "The NeverEnding Story", "D.A.R.Y.L." and "Cocoon", is pitch perfect as Victor, who manages to seem like a real boy in spite of the plot. Shelley Duvall and Daniel Stern are great as his supportive parents. Joseph Maher excels as the film's "antagonist" Mr Chambers while Roz Braverman is a laugh riot as Mrs. Epstein. It also features fairly small appearances by Stern's future "The Wonder Years" co-star Jason Hervey and Sofia Coppola, a making a rare appearance in something not directed by her father Francis Ford Coppola.Considering that I basically prefer dogs to people, I was a little apprehensive about watching this given the subject matter but I need not have worried as it is as heartwarming as it is macabre. It perfectly conveys how much a dog can mean to a person. I couldn't imagine life without my dog Freddie! It has already become both my favourite film about a dog and my favourite short film. Were it not for "Ed Wood", my 17th favourite film of all time, this would be my favourite feature or short film directed by Burton. My enthusiasm for it knows no bounds.
punishmentpark This is my old review:"After I saw Tim Burton's full feature 'Frankenweenie' (2012) I discovered that I'd not yet seen 'Frankenweenie' (1984). I didn't know it was 'real-life' as opposed to the animated 2012 version, but that doesn't have to be a problem. But even though this one has its charms, it wasn't all that great.The premise is a funny one, but the developments are rather lame, particularly when in the end those annoying neighbors have a sudden change of heart. Then there is the lead who plays Victor, he fails to earn my sympathy. Actually, there isn't any character that is sympathetic, which also has to do with the lame story and the fact that Burton doesn't seem to know what to do with this short story other than hauling in cliché after cliché - pretty much the only original thing here is the premise, but that is simply not enough.I can sense Burton's enthusiasm here and there though, like when the boy goes to work in the attic in order to spark Sparky back to life. But all in all, this makes for a world of difference with Burton's wonderful (animated) short that preceded this, 'Vincent' (1982), and of course with other, later feature length masterpieces.5 out of 10." -End of first review-I've seen it again recently, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere, settings and animations. Maybe the story and the characters are all a bit on the lame side, but I didn't find it to be that important this time around. Sheer Burton fun is my new conclusion.From 5 + 3 = 8 out of 10!
MARIO GAUCI This is another cult Tim Burton short – although at 29 minutes, live-action, and featuring the likes of Shelley Duvall, Daniel Stern and child actor Barret Oliver (from the same year's THE NEVER ENDING STORY), it is a considerably more ambitious effort.Again, it draws inspiration from classic horror cinema and, in fact, its variation on the Frankenstein theme made for a belated addition to my James Whale retrospective of some months back! Here we have an adorable dog (that is even made-up by its child owner to star in amateurish monster movies!) being run over by a car and killed. The boy cannot get over its loss but, suddenly, during chemistry class at school (presided over by an uncredited Paul Bartel!), he learns how dead things can be literally reanimated via electricity.So he goes to work in the family basement – while his oblivious parents think he is acting strangely as a way of coping with the dog's death – and creates a makeshift Frankenstein (incidentally, that is the boy's very surname and he is, of course, called Victor) lab, complete with mounting slab! Unearthing the dead pet from the nearby graveyard, the funeral set-piece is a veritable homage to the opening sequence from Whale's FRANKENSTEIN (1931), as is the fiery climax at the mill!Immediately after being revived, the dog (appropriately stitched-up, which however makes one wonder just how bad the afore-mentioned accident had been!) runs out into the streets again (the boy having fallen asleep from exhaustion) and, causing no end of havoc, terrifies the neighbors. These in turn, present themselves before the parents to give them a piece of their mind; the latter, naturally, are completely unaware of what has been going on but, even when Stern sees Oliver feeding the dog, he claims the neighbors were mistaken as he clearly needs time to process this astonishing fact! Eventually, the family decides to have the other people in the street meet the dog and verify for themselves that it is its old self. Predictably, however, their plans goes awry as the dog panics and, once more, goes on the lam, heading towards its resting-place (as if it did not want to keep on living unnaturally)! With the boy running after it and the whole neighborhood following in an uproar, we assist to the inevitable near-tragedy as the mill by the cemetery is accidentally set on fire with Oliver still inside. However, the dog springs into action to save its owner and dies again in the attempt; suddenly seen as a hero by the neighbors, the latter put their heads together to revitalize it once more through the combined electrical currents from their car batteries!Unlike his previous effort, VINCENT (1982), then, this comes with a happy ending; still, this was no cop-out as, in spite of the morbid subject matter, it is essentially an uplifting yarn about puppy love. Being a lifelong animal lover myself, I know exactly how the boy felt about the loss of a beloved pet: my large but quiet and friendly 11-year old dalmation called "Renoir" passed away only last year – right on the day that the World Cup final was held! Besides, a few years before it was lost to us for 3 whole weeks when someone inadvertently left a couple of doors in the house open and, until we found it again in the company of other stray dogs, we had already gotten ourselves another dog – easily the loveliest and liveliest we ever had but also needful of constant medical attention at first – so we dubbed it "Bresson"!