It was inevitable in a series of Frankenstein reviews that at some point we’d come across the name of Tim Burton. And today that happens! For Tim Burton had the bright idea of transferring the Frankenstein story to a boy and his dog. In 1984 he released a short (29 minute) live action, black and white film titled Frankenweenie. But then, almost two decades later, he re-made that same film as a full-length animated movie. And, as thoughtful, deep thinkers, we have to ask ourselves: Why??!
Normally it goes the other direction–an animated film gets the bigger-budget, live-action treatment. Like The Flintstones. Or Scooby Doo. Or Dick Tracy.
But here we have a filmmaker who makes a live-action movie, and then decides, “hey, maybe this would be better with drawings of people instead of actual people!”
In my opinion, there’s really no reason to watch the animated version. So the focus here will be on the live-action original, although I’ll point out a few aspects of the newer movie…mainly just so I can criticize it.
The Plot: Suburban kid (Victor Frankenstein) has a dog (Sparky) who is his best (and perhaps only) friend. Sadly, Sparky gets struck by a car and dies. Victor is distraught, but the next day his science teacher demonstrates how electricity can be used to get a dead frog moving again. (See where this is going?)
So Victor gets some books on creating life, secretly builds a laboratory in his attic, and goes to a very gothic-looking cemetery and digs up Sparky. He takes the dog’s body home and secretly reanimates it. It works, and Victor tries keeping his restored dog hidden in his room. But Sparky gets out and terrorizes the neighbors, and his parents figure out what has happened.
And here’s where the two versions of the movie depart. Let’s start with the 1984 live-action original: Victor’s parents (played by Shelley Duvall and Daniel Stern) are totally cool with the fact that their son has dug up and reanimated his dead dog. And they want to make sure everyone else is cool with it to. So, to quell the neighborhood uproar about a crazed monster dog on the loose, they decide to invite all the neighbors over to introduce them to the new Sparky. But after everyone arrives, there’s the predictable disaster when at the moment they are presenting Sparky he jumps out of Vincent’s arms, knocks over a lamp, and gets the whole room in an uproar.
Sparky escapes and goes to hide at an abandoned miniature golf course in the windmill…which you’ll recall is where Karloff’s monster went in the 1931 Frankenstein. (Well, I mean the windmill, not a miniature golf course.) The neighbors follow him with flashlights, which of course bring to mind the villagers’ torches in the Karloff version. One neighbor tries to shine a light into the windmill with his lighter, and accidentally sets the the thing on fire. So, we now have a full-on spoof of the 1931 Universal film.
Sparky runs into the burning windmill and pulls Victor (who’d gone inside looking for him) to safety. Victor is saved, but Sparky dies from injuries sustained from the fire. The neighbors, witnessing Sparky’s bravery and Victor’s grief, have a change of heart and accept Sparky. They all band together and connect their car batteries together to create enough electricity for Victor to restore life to Sparky. It works, Sparky is revived, and kisses a poodle that has a “Bride of Frankenstein” white streak in its fur. The end.
The 2012 animated version incomprehensibly decides instead to have all Victor’s classmates discover his secret for creating life, and they all resurrect their own pets, which become monsters that terrorize the town. It feels like the last third of the movie is just nonstop chaos as these monster pets smash cars, attack people, and create havoc, all while Danny Elfman’s usual melody-less score screeches louder and louder. Finally Victor and his friends manage to subdue and/or kill all those monsters. But Sparky is dead, and we end with the car battery scene described above.
The Monster: Sparky is played by a bull terrier also named Sparky. For the movie, they gave him a bunch of stitches and electrodes on his neck, but he’s not scary. And he has the same, sweet disposition he had when he’d been just a normal, living dog.
This “monster” has no Angst, no murderous impulse, no issues at all. He’s just a happy pet dog. It becomes clear that the Frankenstein story loses all its interest when there’s no psychological or social problems with the creature. Plus, since Sparky is a dog, the story avoids all the metaphysical questions about souls.
The Atmosphere: Filmed in black and white, this movie seems to try to honor Universal’s classic Frankenstein movies with Boris Karloff. Frankenweenie employs numerous Frankenstein tropes, but sets them in a suburban kid’s world. For example, Victor’s “mad scientist laboratory” uses bicycle cranks, Christmas decorations, kitchen appliances, a kid’s phonograph, and other household items as components.
There are references to Mary Shelley, the Bride of Frankenstein, the electrical storms, grave robbing, angry villagers, and a number of other elements from prior Frankenstein portrayals.
The overall feel of this (live action) movie is sweet with gentle humor. The actors’ performances are a little cartoonish in a way that reminds me of Pee Wee’s Playhouse. But the overall effect is a charming, if not intellectually demanding, film. Kind of like an after-school special.
General Comments: I think it should be clear that I prefer the original, live-action version of this movie to its animated remake. What’s more, I can’t understand why Tim Burton felt that this new version was even necessary. It’s as though Disney decided that the brains of 21st-century kids had become so softened by incessant video game playing that they would only watch a movie with the same basic sensibilities: animated graphics, lots of violence and action, the simplest of plots, and a sneering contempt for suburbia. Do yourself a favor and watch the original. It’s worth 29 minutes of your time.
FRANKELLANEOUS:
Loyal reader Chris F. brought to our attention this awesome, short clip about cereal monsters. You have to see it to believe it. It’s totally worth another 4 minutes of your time:
Also, Ron P. offered this trivia question: In what Grateful Dead song are Mary Shelley and Frankenstein acknowledged? The answer will appear tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow: We will review The Frankenstein Theory. It’s available on YouTube.
Chasing Phantoms 