Frankenweenie started out as a short by then-Disney animator Tim Burton back in 1984. It was the story of a boy named Victor who brings his dead dog back to life. It was cute. It was morbid. It was sweet. It got Tim Burton fired from Disney.
Fast forward nearly three decades. Burton is now one of Hollywood's biggest directors with a smash hit in his recent past (Alice in Wonderland) and a not-so-smash flick this year (Dark Shadows). He's got more than enough juice in Hollywood to revisit his old project and remake and expand it on a big budget.
The result? Roughly the same story, but longer. It looks great--I don't think Burton has ever made a bad-looking film--and I appreciate that the resurrected dog, appropriately named Sparky--acts like a real dog rather than an animated movie dog. But the newer, longer Frankenweenie feels just that: Longer, not necessarily better.
I was hesitant about seeing this movie at all. It is, after all, the story of a beloved pet who dies and whose owner grieves deeply over his loss. When I saw the first preview for this back in April, I burst into tears--olivia had just been diagnosed with kidney failure, and I wasn't sure how much longer she would be around. Now that it's six months later and she's still around and doing pretty well, Seeing Frankenweenie wasn't that much of an issue at all.
If only it had been something more than a short stretched beyond reason.
1 comment:
I'm so happy that Boo Boo's cousin is not only still with us, but thriving. God and Olivia's great dad have given us all hope and joy.
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