The third in a triumvirate of late summer/early autumn
horror animations and the most hotly anticipated in my eyes, Frankenweenie is a feature length remake
of the short film that Director Tim Burton made while working for Disney that
got him fired twenty-eight years ago. Over a quarter of a century later and
with a back catalogue of hits under his belt, Disney invited Burton to remake his short for them. A homage
to early talkie Hollywood horror and filmed in black and white stop motion, Frankenweenie is the story of a young
boy called Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan) who loses his only childhood
friend, his dog Sparky. Whilst in science class and having seen a dead frog
have his legs manipulated by electricity, Victor gets the idea to try the same
thing with his deceased dog and is successful in reanimating Sparky. Although
he tries to keep it a secret it isn’t long before other children from school
find out and blackmail Victor into helping them to do the same thing. The
results of their experiments though are much less successful and lead to a
horde of rampaging monsters that threaten the town.
Showing posts with label Tim Burton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tim Burton. Show all posts
Sunday 11 November 2012
Sunday 24 June 2012
Beetlejuice
"Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice"
A young couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) are driving
back from town one day when they crash their car and die. It takes them a while
to realise though as they end up back in their house but with a new family,
father (Jeffrey Jones), Step-mum (Catherine O’Hara) and Goth Daughter (Winona
Ryder) moving in. As they become aware of their death they try to haunt the
family in order to get them to leave but despite turning to the ‘Handbook for
the Recently Deceased’ for help, they are unable to be seen. Instead they turn
to a bio-exorcist called Betelgeuse, a crazed, perverted and unstable dead man
who agrees to help scare the family off.
Unbelievably I’d never seen this film before having confused
it in my head with Candyman, a film I
saw aged about seven which caused nightmares for months. I’m so glad I’ve
finally watched this bizarre comedy/horror. The film contains everything that
the best Tim Burton films do; odd characters and locations, unusual and
distinctive sets and darkly comic plotlines.
Sunday 13 May 2012
Dark Shadows
"Tell me, future dweller, what is the year?"
Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) is the son of a wealthy
English family who move to Maine , USA in the late
18th Century. After spurning the affections of servant/secret with,
Angelique (Eva Green) he falls in love with local girl Josette (Bella
Heathcote). Angelique, unable to bear seeing someone else with Barnabas, kills
his parents and Josette and turns Barnabas into a vampire. 200 years later it’s
1972 and Barnabas is unearthed from a coffin which the townsfolk placed him in
and attempts to reconnect with his living family and rebuild the great Collins
name.
Tim Burton appears to be on a bad run at the moment. His
last two films 9 and Alice in Wonderland were critical
failures though Alice
proved to be extremely popular at the box office. It is my feeling that Burton is currently
favouring style over substance and that is evident in his latest offering. Tim
Burton has no trouble creating beautifully odd looking sets, characters and
films but it is one thing to make a film that ‘looks Tim Burton’ and another to
make a film that is any good. The film has all the gothic grace of Tim Burton’s
finest and he manages to meld this with a 70s look which works quite well.
Details of both periods look great and work well together. The set dressing, clothes
and music are all spot on. Where the film falls down is in the plot.
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