Please allow me to illustrate a point about Tim Burton’s career by presenting to you an analogy featuring the Irish Rock Band U2. Why U2? Both Burton and Bono are iconic figures in their perspective mediums that have been producing popular entertainment since the mid-80s. Besides, who doesn’t inevitably bring up “With or Without You” when talking about “Beetlejuice”? No one does? Alright, but bear with me.
Let’s say, hypothetically, that about ten years ago the boys in U2 decided to stop making up new songs so that they could focus on producing only covers. They do an album or two of standards, repurpose some Tom Waits songs, and release a deeply moving version of “Call Me Maybe”. People buy it all, of course, because it’s U2. Now suppose that after all that time avoiding anything original, U2 unveils a tribute album featuring only U2 songs and calls it “Joshua Tree”. That would be going too far, don’t you think?
“Frankenweenie” is Burton’s tribute album to himself. Burton on Burton. The core concept comes from a short film of the same name he made in 1984 right before landing the gig helming “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure”. By remaking his own material, the snake has begun to eat its own tail. The film takes place in a sterile version of suburbia right out of “Edward Scissorhands”. The character designs have been pulled from other Burton projects as well: Victor looks like the title character from another short film called “Vincent”. Sparky, the ill-fated dog looks much like the pooch from Tim’s ill-fated sitcom “Family Dog”. Here the bulging eyed kid known as Weird Girl bares close resemblance to Staring Girl found in Burton’s poetry book, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy. There is even a Batman kite flying in the sky at one point. All told in black and white stop-motion animation, of course.
Now, if you read reviews for a brief retelling of the plot, I will oblige you. “Frankenweenie” takes place in a town called New Holland. Young Victor (voiced by Charlie Tahan) is a bizarre little boy but luckily for him the entire place is populated by outcasts. Victor loves his dog. His dog dies and he brings him back to life much in the way Victor Von Frankenstein made his monster up in that castle. With lightening and many contraptions that spit electricity. See, even Burton’s old work was a reworked remake.
Some of the other kids in town learn about Victor’s experiments and decide to conduct their own. The entire town is then over run by zombie animals of various menace. Cute chaos follow.
The film looks amazing and to be fair, only Tim Burton could pull off a black and white, stop motion movie about a boy and his dead dog produced and presented by Disney. That is what infuriates me. I love the man’s sensibilities; he just keeps letting me down with the repetitive rehashing. Kids unfamiliar should be thrilled, though, as “Frankenweenie” will be an introduction to this weird world. The film does not have a very strong “moral to the story” though but maybe you don’t rely on cartoons to teach your children life lessons.
Tim Burton has spent the last decade focusing on remakes. Burton does Alice in Wonderland. Burton does Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Burton does Dark Shadows and nobody cares. The assumption is that his bag of tricks has run dry and “Frankenweenie” only goes on to fully support that. My purposed next feature: Edward Scissorhands starring Johnny Depp in pasty, pale make up. That will make millions.