Movie Review: Frankenweenie 3D 2012

We write alot about handmade food.

There is handmade pasta, handmade burgers, handmade oven pizzas, handmade oils… well now its about a handmade film.

It’s a film handmade for the season of carved pumpkins, Halloween. Why handmade you ask? Well, this Disney movie, Frankenweenie is a stop motion film with its scenes and characters completely handmade by Tim Burton’s production team of designers and animators.

What is stop motion? Its basically assembling many stills of minute movement to create animation. You can imagine the amount of work and number of people involved, to create Frankenweenie as 24 stills is required to make 1 second of footage, that is if you want to watch a smooth motion.

Young Victor Frankenstein re-animating his dog, Sparky

If you are too young to watch the original Frankenstein (or any of its newer versions) or too lazy to read the complex book by its original author, Mary Shelley, then catch Disney’s Frankenweenie!

Frankenweenie is about a boy and his dog. It is about the celebration of friendship and the yearning to keep this bond everlasting, even after death. It is also homage to the early black and white movie era when famous horror novels were first translated to the big screen to shock audiences and give them plenty of nightmares (and for Grease-haired boys to put their arms around their dates). Of course in this Disney flick, the dark horror theme has been severely toned down to fit a family-friendly fantasy movie.

Frankenweenie has its roots in a short live action film of the same name made by Burton in 1984 and another short stop motion movie called Vincent in 1982, also made by Burton. The movie’s outline resembles the famous tragedy of Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley in 1818, with its gothic theme and odd ball yet chilling characters. Adult movie goers from the Baby Boom Era to the Generation X will notice the influences from the old black and white horror plus some newer ones as iconic scenes and names have been cleverly written into the screenplay. Watch the movie to find out. Watch it in 3D for that different visual experience. It’s grossly entertaining!

Victor and Sparky together again

Frankenweenie unleashes its paws in Malaysian theaters on October 25, 2012.

Original Sypnopsis:
From creative genius Tim Burton (Alice in Wonderland, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride) comes “Frankenweenie,” a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous.

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