I fell in love with Tim Burton watching Big Fish, Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood. But after a few let downs (Alice In Wonderland was the worst of them all) and an impressive number of unoriginal remakes featuring the three Ds (Danny Elfman, Johnny Depp and Dark stuff), I started to lose interest. Tim Burton's strong style was slowly fading into monotony. When I watch the trailer of Frankenweenie, I saw something different, something that was well hidden in Alice in Wonderland; so I decided to give it a shot.
Frankenweenie tells the story of
Victor, a lonely boy that loses his dog and best friend Sparky in a
car accident. Not being able to accept his loss, Victor figures out a
way to bring him back to life. The film is a remake of Tim Burton's
homonymous short film from 1984. It has only a few changes that make
the moral of the story a little more complex and complete.
The design of the film, similar to most
of Tim Burton's works, is very original and meticulous, with
impressive results. While it had a sort of “home made” feel to
it, the movements of the characters and their expressions were
incredibly natural. It was decided to make the film black and white
to match the story, the design of the characters and their
personality. It also adds a slight Pleasantville feel to it,
as the film touches the theme of ignorance and prejudice. The
characters have the distinctive Tim Burton-style dark look. It
doesn't necessarily match the overall mood of the movie, as some
parts are quite humorous, but it works very well in the context
nevertheless.
Luckily I got to see the
Frankenweenie's exhibition at the BFI a few days before it was
over. The exhibition included original drawings by Tim Burton and
models from the set. I also got a creepy picture of me looking into
Victor's classroom from the door. The staff was very informative, and
they told me a few interesting facts about the making of the film. I
knew that making a stop motion film is a matter of great patience and
precision, but I only realise what amount of each is needed when I
visited the exhibition. It takes an animator a whole week to produce
5.8 minutes of animation, and it took the same amount of time to make
Victor's baseball costume.
Getting to see the exhibition and
learning more about the making of the film, really helped me to
appreciate Tim Burton's efforts, and made me really glad I decided to
give it a chance. Frankenweenie gives a lesson about
friendship in such an accomplished way that any audience can learn
from it. Victor was only able to bring back Sparky because he was
doing it for the right reason, love: that is something I hope to see
again in Tim Burton's future films.
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