Review of Frankenweenie (2012) by General G — 16 Mar 2013

Frankenweenie was pure entertainment! I was engaged from beginning to end! Everything was on point in my book with this movie and had everything I want to see in a movie. Not to mention it is from Tim Burton!

First off, the animation, typical for a Tim Burton film but that's his stamp on most movies he does. His stop-motion animated movies are the best! It brings that darkness to his work when he makes them stop-motion. If anyone cannot go wrong with it, its Tim Burton. He is always right on the money when he chooses to go stop-motion.

Then the styling and design of the movie. Again, job well done because they went with black and white! The film is a twist on an old black and white movie anyway, so why not go with it being black and white. The designs of the characters and the environment went well with the black and white animation. They had the odd appearance and faces and bodies that was just right for this somewhat spooky feel of a movie. One main characters, Sparky, is proof of that, he was odd yet cute at the same time, perfect! Overall, the animation department really put in work with the styling and the design to really bring out the movie specific mood or genre. All those together and you got a really spooky feel of a movie and it came out really good.

Frankenweenie was a lot of things. It was funny, it was spooky and it was a little dramatic and romantic with the overall storyline. The story was just as good. I mean, I felt the emotion in the human main character, Victor, when he lost his dog Sparky and then when he went to great lengths to bring him back. We watched all this unfold before us just what kind of relationship they had and how much love he had for what was his best friend. So glad, Tim Burton didn't rush that either. It was just enough to show us how these two were inseparable. It had funny scenes too that really stood out. The Weird Girl was just hilarious in my opinion. Of course, it was spooky. I think it had its spooky moments with the designs, story and the animation. There were spooky scenes in there...not to say I was scared lol.

It was just none stop fun! The story with the perfect animation made up for a great combination. The story can relate to the animation. The animation relate to the design and the design related to the animation. The characters relate to the story. All of this put together was just beautiful! It really was fun and heartwarming. Like Frankenweenie, all sewn up for a perfect creation!

I'm glad there wasn't much music in Frankenweenie. I mean, if there were lots of it then it would have taken away from the black and white styling of the movie, right? Nothing but suspenseful and emotional music playing in the background at the right moments and scenes.

I really enjoy any Tim Burton's movie but this one is on the list with The Nightmare Before Christmas for me. It's always the animation that gets me. The mood and the style. The fun and laughter of it. A joy to watch over and over again! It was fun, clever, entertaining, daring, creative and exciting!