Frankenweenie

It took Tim Burton nine years (since Big Fish) to make a film that I can't fault at all. Well... Maybe it’s that I don't want to criticize him, but it ends up the same. Frankenweenie is definitely a much more successful animated film than Corpse Bride, but unlike Alice, the collaboration with Disney didn't affect it that much... And above all, it's a wonderful homage to the monster horror movies I love so much. Even the lately bland Danny Elfman was a surprise. (25/01/2013)

Frankenweenie is visually fantastic. The visages of the figures perfectly reflect their nature. But, as has been the case with Tim Burton lately, the film doesn’t have heart. Although the film deals with subject matter from the director’s childhood and early days as a filmmaker, it does not reach the quality of Ed Wood or the charm of Edward Scissorhands. (04/12/2012)

I felt like Tim Burton has made this movie to film something he’d wanted to do for a really long time. An animated movie in his exact style of directing about pets and also about what it means to the kids and their parents when one such pet dies. Everybody’s been through that, including me. And maybe that’s why I’ve related to this (non)fairytale so much. And I must say that the ending was beautifully thought-provoking. (11/12/2013)

Tim Burton: a return to his roots. Tim Burton: puppets again. Corpse Bride was fine, and The Nightmare Before Christmas has become a legend, but the original Frankenweenie along with Vincent form the absolute core of who Burton the artist is. That's why it's good that the stitched pet has the opportunity to remind us of all this. It's nice, it's cute, and it's a bit sterile and predictable, but if you've also watched something from The World of Stainboy series, it's absolutely perfect. (07/01/2013)

I'm going to repeat myself a lot, but Frankenweenie is just your typical Tim Burton. I didn't like this film as much as Corpse Bride, but it definitely impressed me more than Dark Shadows from the same year. The touching story of a boy and a dog-like pet that even death couldn't separate isn't complicated at all, but it's nice precisely because of its simplicity. The black-and-white visuals perfectly underscore the somber tone, which is what I love about Burton's films. The film is full of references to Burton's films and others, and if it weren't for the overly sentimental ending, it would be nearly perfect. In short, a film that has that typical Burtonian charm that I love to be swept up in. (13/03/2014)