Review of Frankenweenie (2012) by Walter M — 07 Feb 2014

"Frankenweenie" starts with Victor showing his parents his latest epic film starring his dog Sparky. But as it turns out, Sparky is about his only friend. Concerned, his father aims to change that by having Victor playing baseball. All goes well at first as Victor gets a hit in his first at bat, until tragedy strikes. And then Victor shows that he was actually paying attention in science class by putting some of that knowledge to practical use...

I'm not saying that Tim Burton should not have extended his animated short "Frankenweenie" to feature length, as the bond between boy and dog is eternal. But as you could tell from some of his other films, Burton has not matured as a filmmaker over the years, and it definitely shows here, especially in his reliance on gross out humor. That's not to mention the lack of logic. For example, we are told that Victor is a weird kid but compared to the grotesques inhabiting his neighborhood, he is remarkably well-adjusted. And then the movie changes the rules relatively late in the game only to reference classic horror movies, but sadly without paying homage to Boris Karloff.