Disney’s Frankenweenie

For those of you who are Tim Burton fans, you will know that this idea was once a live action short of the same name (the internets!!) back in 1985 that never caught the eye of any production studios. I personally did not know this when I first saw the trailer for the movie while attending some grossly overpriced 3D movie, that I personally should have just seen in regular 2D. Also, as one may or may not know, the Tim Burton style of transferring an idea to the big screen is one of a dark and quite interesting delivery, especially his animated films. As far as animated flicks go, this style stays true to its predecessors, with eerie almost frightening atmosphere (for smaller children), and twig-like characters flopping around.

The story revolves around Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan), a child genius without many friends in the world. In fact the only friend that he has is his dog Sparky, with whom he could never see being without. The fact that Victor is so reclusive, it is easy to see why he has nary a friend in the world. This raises some red flags from his parents, Edward (Martin Short) and Susan (Catherine O’Hara), who try and think of some ways to get their son to be more active and well, like all other smaller boys. With that being said, they enlist him to play baseball, in which while watching the film, you know right away that his passion or really his coordination for anything athletic is just going to be horrendous. This venture to get their son involved eventually turns into the worst thing that could ever happen to young Victor. While playing ball one day, Victor cracks one out of the park, which causes the eager pup to chase after it and retrieve it. While chasing, poor Sparky is suddenly hit by a car and killed. After the initial stage of grieving, Victor suddenly becomes motivated to try and reanimate Sparky. Upon finally achieving this, Victor is reunited with his slobbering best friend. This of course leads to some complications of course. After one of Victors’ classmates finds out the reincarnation of Sparky, he is forced to show his buddy the truth. This in turn creates a town full of deceased pets and some major problems for Victor and Edgar (his buddy).

Video

If there could be a near to perfect picture quality, this movie might set the bar for it. The 1080p is crystal clear. The lines are well defined, and there really are no artifacts to be found. The characters are super clear down to the detail of their clothing. If one thing really sticks out in this movie, its the video. 5/5

Audio

So the video was pretty darn good. So one would think that the audio has to be on the same level right? Well ding ding, you are correct. Disney throws in a stunning 7.1 DTS-HD Master. The channels are well distributed. The voices are crisp and clear, and never over powering. During the storm scenes, you can sit back and listen to the rain and thunder as if one was happening outside at that very instant. All viewers in the room will be pleasantly treated to one of the best sounds for an animated flick that I had ever been witnessed to in the comfort of my own house. 5/5

Special Features/Extras

4 Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack

*All New Original Short: “Captain Sparky vs The Flying Saucers”: A brand new short film featuring Victor and his pup Sparky’s home movie
*Minitures in Motion: Brining ‘Frankenweenie’ to Life:This little feature gives the views a comprehensive tour of the London set that includes never before seen footage showcasing the group of artists that worked on the film. A nice look into the creation of the stop-motion process.
*“Frankenweenie” Touring Exhibit:This piece is basically an art show put on by the team to give the viewer a nice look at the detail of the characters as well as the passion that went into creating this film.
*“Frankenweenie” Original Live Action Short:The original live short created in the 80’s by Mr. Burton
*Music Video:A video of the track “Pet Sematary” performed by the band Plain White T’s.
3.5/4

When I first saw this preview, which I by the end of my movie going experiences before the film came out I had seen over 20 times (sheesh), I did not know what to expect. My first impression was, “oh great another Tim Burton film with a weird touch and some slinky characters bouncing around as they traveled around the screen”, well maybe I was too quick to judge. This movie is very similar to all of the Burton creations, but I think is more along the lines of Corpse Bride. It definitely had that eerie factor which at sometimes could make you be like “man should I let my child watch this?”, but in all actuality it wasn’t that bad. Overall I enjoyed this film for what it brought to the table. It was a cute premise of a boy and dog relationship, which being a pup owner myself, can relate. So go ahead and check it out. 4/5