I know what you’re probably thinking…’Frankenweenie’ sounds like the title for a really sketchy, Halloween themed, -ahem- adult film, right? In reality, it is just one more family-friendly piece of brilliance from the mind of director Tim Burton.
One of Burton’s first projects, Frankenweenie is a black and white short film about young Vincent, whose dog Sparky dies after being hit by a car. Vincent is, of course, saddened by the death of his dear pet, but luckily, soon after, his science class is shown how to reanimate a dead frog with the use of a battery and some wires. Vincent digs up Sparky, and applies the principles learned in science class to bring Sparky back to life.
If you are fortunate enough to own the 2000 Special Edition DVD set of The Nightmare Before Christmas, then you’ll likely have seen Frankenweenie in the Bonus Features section. If you haven’t, or if you don’t have the DVD, I highly recommend checking out the short. It’s a half hour of typical Burton, featuring such talents as Shelley Duvall (a.k.a. the mom in The Shining) and a thirteen-year-old Sofia Coppola.
It has been 25 years since Tim Burton made Frankenweenie, but the ever-intriguing writer/director/producer has decided the time has come to revisit his early project. While the original Frankenweenie was a live-action short film, Burton’s vision for the update is a full-length stop-motion film. Producer Allison Abbate has shared that the possibility of Frankenweenie being filmed in 3D and/or black and white is also being discussed.
As with Corpse Bride, Burton’s most recent collaboration with Abbate, Frankenweenie will be filmed in London, taking about two years to complete, given the detail-demanding process of stop-motion animation.
In a film industry where CGI animation is quickly and thoroughly taking the place of old methods of animation, the idea of a new stop-motion film being made, particularly one that’s sure to ooze with Burtonesque genius, is a breath of fresh air that will anxiously be awaited.
