In New Holland, the boy Victor Frankenstien is a bright but outcast student without any friend but his dog Sparky. When the newcomer science teacher Mr. Rzykruski challenges the students to participate in the science fair, Victor's father forces him to play baseball otherwise he would not sign the necessary authorization for his son.

During the game, Sparky chases the ball and is hit by a car. Victor recalls Mr. Rzykruski's class about the effects of electricity and successfully resuscitates Sparky using lightning. Victor hides Sparky in the attic but the weird Edgar sees the dog on the garden and blackmails Victor to learn how to bring the dead to life. Edgar does not keep the secret and soon Victor's envious schoolmates revive several creatures to win the science fair contest. When the town is invaded by the monsters, Victor and Sparky are the last chance to rescue the girl Elsa van Helsing from the claws of Mr. Whiskers.

"Frankenweenie" is another stop-motion animation by Tim Burton in black and white with a great tribute to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein with a happy ending. The story is actually an adorable tale of loyalty and friendship and it is delightful to see the frolic of Sparky. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Frankenweenie"

Tim Burton's career took off with his creation of the original film "Frankenweenie". It was a very cute and sweet short film—a homage to the horror films of yesteryear. Now, more than two decades later, Burton is back with a remake….of sorts. In fact, although the title is the same and the first half of the film is quite similar, it is much more a re-imagining of the original. The last portion, oddly, bore no resemblance to the original…and in this portion, the film became tedious. In fact, it was so bad I am shocked that it was Oscar-nominated—especially when better films (such as "ParaNorman") could have been nominated instead.

Like the first film, a boy's beloved dog is struck and killed by a car. And, the strange boy decides to revive it using Frankenstein-like contraptions that zap the carcass with electricity. This is much of the film. Then there is the new material—where several kids from school also decide to create their own undead creations in order to win a science fair. Unfortunately, the kids all end up creating monsters that terrorize, very briefly, the city. In the end, all is well….and I was thrilled that the film was finally over!

So why did I dislike the film? Well, it certainly wasn't the look of the film. Using stop-motion, they created a very imaginative black & white world that you have to like even if the plot itself is stale and the new material is simply awful. At least the art department deserves kudos. As far as the story goes, the biggest problem isn't that they changed the original story (I expected they would)—it's that the fun and comedy of the original film was non-existent and in its place was cliché-ridden and joyless romp. And, while I am not a huge fan of political correctness, I thought the way the Asian kid was portrayed was cheap and very stereotypical (his creation turned into Gamera—the Japanese monster who often battled the likes of Godzilla). Overall, apart from the artistry, I thoroughly disliked this film and STRONGLY recommend you see the original—which is very clever, fresh and fun. Or, see one of Tim Burton's good stop-motion films, like "A Nightmare Before Christmas" or "The Corpse Bride".

By the way, you might wonder why I even watched this film. Well, I was on a Disney cruise and the movie was free—so it isn't like I paid to see it. If I had, I am sure my score would have been lover than 4.

This 2012 film of Frankenweenie I don't think is as good as Edward Scissorhands(my personal favourite),Ed Wood, Beetlejuice, Batman and Big Fish. If Nightmare Before Christmas counts, I'd include that as well. Sleepy Hollow was also excellent, as was Sweeney Todd. As a matter of fact I was dithering whether to say that this was Burton's best since Sweeney Todd, but I felt Big Fish had more heart. And I consider the 1984 short film superior. This in mind, it is vastly superior to Planet of the Apes(his worst),Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland and Dark Shadows.

Frankenweenie(2012) is not quite perfect. The story wavers slightly in pace and focus when Victor's classmates plot to uncover his secret. That said, I was hugely impressed with it, one of my personal favourites of the year so far actually. The visuals are simply gorgeous. The black and white shadings fit with the Gothic atmosphere, and the deliberately grotesque characters are vivid in their design. The music score by Danny Elfman has this haunting undercurrent that Sleepy Hollow had as well as the sparkling beauty that made Edward Scissorhands so poignant. It is a very dynamic and atmospheric score indeed.

It is a very well-written film as well. It is wickedly funny, already improving on Dark Shadows with some very clever nods to Godzilla movies and other B-movie horror films. But Frankenweenie doesn't rely on manic humour, fart jokes or slapstick to make itself funny. The humour here is actually very subtle and deadpan. What is further special about Frankenweenie was its story. Having seen and loving to death the short film I knew what to expect, but I found the telling of this story to be fresh and just with as much heart. While there are funny moments that don't jar with the focus of the story and generally the film is full of energy, the film is often very poignant. The ending in particular has genuine pathos to it.

The characters are instantly engaging, oddball like with the best of Burton's films but engaging nonetheless. Aside from Sparky, the most memorable of them were Victor, Mr. Rzykruski- there is an intentional uncanny resemblance to Vincent Price- and the creepy girl with the cat. The voice work is really excellent, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short and Winona Ryder give wonderfully dry vocal performances but it was Martin Landau who stole the show, he was an inspired choice for Mr. Rzykruski, and he is deliciously eccentric yet does equally wonderfully in conveying the character's wisdom.

All in all, a really delightful film, not Burton's best or quite one of my favourites, but I do consider it his best film in the past decade or so. 9/10 Bethany Cox