Frankenweenie (1984 film)

Frankenweenie
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tim Burton
Screenplay by	Lenny Ripps
Story by	Tim Burton
Produced by	Julie Hickson Rick Heinrichs
Starring	Shelley Duvall Daniel Stern Barret Oliver
Cinematography	Thomas E. Ackerman
Edited by	Ernest Milano
Music by	Michael Convertino David Newman
Production company	Walt Disney Pictures
Distributed by	Buena Vista Distribution
Release date	December 14, 1984
Running time	29 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1 million
Box office	$11.4 million

Frankenweenie is a 1984 featurette directed by Tim Burton and co-written by Burton with Leonard Ripps. It is both a parody and homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Burton later directed a feature-length stop-motion animated remake, released in 2012.^[1]

Plot[]

Victor Frankenstein (played by Barret Oliver) is a young boy who creates movies starring his dog, Sparky (a Bull Terrier, whose name is a reference to the use of electricity in the film). After Sparky is hit by a car and killed, Victor learns at school about electrical impulses in muscles and is inspired to bring his pet back to life. He creates elaborate machines which bring down a bolt of lightning that revives the dog. Victor is pleased, but when the Frankensteins decide to introduce the revitalized Sparky to his neighbors, they become angry and terrified.

Sparky runs away, with Victor in pursuit. They find themselves at a local miniature golf course and hide in its flagship windmill. The Frankensteins' neighbors, now an angry mob, arrive on the scene, and when they attempt to use a cigarette lighter to try to see in the windmill, it is accidentally set on fire. Victor falls and is knocked out, but Sparky rescues him from the flames, only to be crushed by the windmill. The mob of neighbors, realizing their error, use their cars and jumper cables to "recharge" Sparky. He is revived, and all celebrate. Sparky falls in love with a poodle whose fur bears a strong resemblance to the hairdo of the Bride of Frankenstein and the film ends with Sparky's electricity making the words, "The End" and it becomes still.

Cast[]

• Barret Oliver as Victor Frankenstein: a young boy expert in science who is sad after his dog's death.
• Shelley Duvall as Susan Frankenstein: Victor's mother.
• Daniel Stern: as Ben Frankenstein: Victor's father.
• Joseph Maher as Mr. Chambers
• Roz Braverman as Mrs. Epstein
• Paul Bartel as Mr. Walsh
• Sofia Coppola as Anne Chambers
• Jason Hervey as Frank Dale
• Paul C. Scott as Mike Anderson
• Helen Boll as Mrs. Curtis
• Rusty James as Raymond
• Sparky as Himself: Victor's dog. He dies and gets reanimated by Victor.

Home media[]

This short was included in the Special Edition,^[2] Collector's Edition,^[2] and Blu-ray 3D^[3] releases of The Nightmare Before Christmas and on the Blu-ray release of its remake.^[4]

Controversy[]

Burton was fired by Disney after the film was completed, as the studio claimed that he had been wasting company resources and felt the film was not suitable for the targeted young audiences.^[5] The short was originally planned to be released alongside the summer re-release of The Jungle Book, but its release was rescheduled with the Christmas re-release of Pinocchio on December 21, 1984.^[6] Although the film was subsequently shelved, the film played in UK cinemas in 1985 in front of Touchstone Films' Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend. Following the success of Burton's later films Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, and Edward Scissorhands, the film was given a home video release in 1992. It was released as an extra, along with Vincent, on The Nightmare Before Christmas DVD, Blu-ray and UMDl.^[2]

Remake[]

Disney and Tim Burton produced a full-length remake using stop motion animation, which was released on October 5, 2012 in Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3D. The original film is included as a bonus feature on the Blu-ray home video release.

Notes[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Frankenweenie at IMDb
• Frankenweenie at the TCM Movie Database