Tim Burton’s latest flick is a fun and heartwarming surprise.
Much better than his latest live action movies, Alice In Wonderland & Dark Shadows, the stop motion Frankenweenie has a lot of good things going for it.
Main character Victor Frankenstein is a genius outcast. He doesn’t have any friends besides his dog, Sparky. As Victor is playing with Sparky in a seemingly good day, the dog gets accidentally run over and killed. Victor uses his smart to revive his best friend just like in Mary Shelley’s classic tale. Neighborhood bullies get in on the act and accidentally revive all of the dead animals. Now Victor and Sparky must save their town from the undead.
Frankenweenie was first created by Burton as a short film in 94. The full length feature fleshes out the character development. I really liked Victor because I felt sorry for him. I just wanted him to be happy. But just like in real life, when everything is good, something unpredictable happens.
Video is presented in 1080P and the black & white movie looks phenomenal. The small details from the maquettes used for the movie can be clearly seen including Victor’s lab. It’s crystal clear but it still has the film look to it. I don’t like it when it movies look too digitalized on blu-ray so I totally enjoyed this transfer.
Audio is in lossless DTS-HD 7.1. Bass is deep and the surround is used wisely, not excessively. By using the surrounds conservatively, it adds more chills, especially in the final act.
Extras include a 25 minute featurette on stop animation, art concepts including sketches, the original short movie. The best extra is the stop animation feature as Burton and company go into detail how it’s used to make the movie. There’s also trailers, an extra super short adventure of Victor & Spark.
I thought Burton lost his touch with his latest action movies but this stop motion movie was a fun experience. While the extra could’ve included a commentary, the presentation is great. Recommended.
Grade: A-
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