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.

Stompgal_87 I first heard of this film when the 2012 stop-motion remake (also very good) was publicised. What surprised me the most was that I thought this film would be stop-motion when I first heard of it but it in fact live-action. Intrigued, I saw this on YouTube and it was better than I thought it would be, despite the part between Sparky's resurrection and the climax dragging on.First off, the black and white cinematography was a great nod to other black and white film versions of Mary Shelley's novel such as 1974's 'Young Frankenstein' for instance. The most entertaining thing about this film was spotting the scenes that were included in the stop-motion remake such as the beginning and the ending. The acting was generally well done and the dialogue was engaging if slightly clichéd in places. While the lightning effects may look cheap, I liked the musical score on the whole despite its repetition in parts and the piece accompanying Sparky's burial could have done with more poignancy. Other than that, the score was altogether chilling and emotive.Overall the live-action was the most surprising aspect for me and the pacing was somewhat uneven but this short was very entertaining all the same what with spotting the scenes that were remade in stop-motion form. 8/10.

elshikh4 This Tim Burton movie, produced by Disney while Burton's first career there as a conceptual artist, is the weakest movie by him I have seen to date. And notice well that that comes from someone who adores him !In his previous movie (Vincent) Burton advised us about accepting the uncommon ones as they could be exceptional, through a tale of a talented, not understood, kid. Being uncommon is a subject I'm convinced Burton has suffered from early in his life, especially in Disney, putting in mind his eccentric imagination and instant craze of the whole horror genre. Now with (Frankenweenie) he counties the trouble of his lead kid in (Vincent); where both refer to none other than Burton himself. It's about winning the appreciation of something dear and lovely that may seem ugly or horrific for others, which could equal a different talent or a superficially unpleasant person, or – simply – a moviemaker who's interested in such matters. The thing, here, is that Burton wanted to be himself and Disney's as well. And that's where the taste got mixed up.The movie is dark, with an idea of accepting the zombie (!). In the same time, it tries to allege a happy end where the entire refusing mob – of that zombie – turns into caring, loving and rescuing friends, actually with the "bride" of Frankenstein, sorry.. Frankenweenie, moment; it's a very happy end !I thought that Burton maybe would have preferred an end where the dog and the boy die, as long as that society expels them form its understanding or mercy. Or maybe the boy would be saved by the dog which got to die later as a martyr of sacrificing or a murdered of mala fides. However, he gave us that extremely smiling end to lose being a scary melancholic tale, while not being a colorful gay Disney movie either. This movie stood on the middle with no satisfaction or beautiful special taste.The direction isn't dazzling or interesting; the resurrection scene – which is the best scene – is just fair, and the steadicam's shots were done before in The Shining (1980). The images of the neighbors getting horrified by the zombie, absolutely innocent, dog were exaggerated and unbelievable. All the sets didn't harmonize with the huge very artistic pet cemetery's set. The sense of humor is totally lost (a spoof of Frankenstein my foot !), only a lame line about the mother's sister, which looks finally a bit misplaced. And the dog's make up as zombie is so primitive, silent movies primitive ! The music is the sole great factor, however of course not redeeming enough. I didn't wonder when I read that Burton was fired from Disney for "wasting" their resources on films like this. It has nothing to do with their known by heart goods. At any case, he would return to the same subject, accepting and appreciating the uncommon, many times throughout his next smarter years to an extent makes (Frankenweenie) a hasty rehearsal for (Edward Scissorhands) six years later.So it's, at best, a hasty rehearsal more than a movie. It belongs to Burton's world, but not as balanced or enjoyable as the rest of his works. And it couldn't gain being a raven or a pigeon, ending up as something in between, badly hybrid ! P.S : unlike many, including Burton himself, I don't see this movie as a short remake of Frankenstein aimed at children. I deem it a short dark remake of the decade's icon E.T, with the same suburban, friendship between a kid and uncommon creature, hateful grown-ups, sympathetic parents, chase to destroy the creature, that creature's power of goodness, and happy end with the long-wanted appreciation achieved.

Polaris_DiB For a fun and nostalgic look at the 1950s and its expressionistic horror themes, here's a slightly underground early short by Tim Burton called "Frankenweenie," a movie apparently that "wasted resources" from good ol' Walt Disney's estate. In other words, a pretty creative, fun, nostalgic film that really didn't have an audience until Burton became the household name he is and got a super devoted fan base of goth kiddies from around the globe."Frankenweenie", as the name implies, is a take off of Frankenstein involving a child's favorite, Fido-like dog, Sparky. Speaking of Fido, the movie is kind of a lot alike the later, 2007 movie "Fido" involving 50s decor and zombies: much is made out of the faux-McCarthy era imagery, where tight-knit neighbors look into each other's windows "Irma! Irma!" style and freak out enough over a zombie dog to almost burn a little kid and his playmate alive. Where the concept of a Frankenstein's monster as childhood best friend joke starts to drag, Tim Burton's love of making fun of suburbanite conformity takes over, and the two concepts run for a pretty decent 30 minute parody.Apparently, it was short films like this that got Burton fired from Disney. Personally, though, it seems to me more like Disney was doing Burton a favor in letting him go from its vastly unoriginal production company so that he could take his visions and make much bigger, grandiose Gothic productions. Burton, like so many idiosyncratic names in show business, is a success built both on talent and general good timing--nowadays, people don't trust a children's movie that doesn't have a little darkness in it, and movies like "Frankenweenie" are what many kids are raised on. If the rumored "Frankenweenie" remake is true, believe-you-me no one will blink any more than they did for "Wallace and Gromit in the Case of the Wererabbit." --PolarisDiB