Frankenweenie (1984 film)

Frankenweenie
Promotional poster
Directed by	Tim Burton
Produced by	Julie Hickson Rick Heinrichs
Screenplay by	Lenny Ripps
Story by	Tim Burton
Starring	Shelley Duvall Daniel Stern Barret Oliver
Music by	David Newman Michael Convertino
Cinematography	Thomas E. Ackerman
Editing by	Ernest Milano
Studio	Walt Disney Pictures
Distributed by	Buena Vista Distribution
Release dates	December 14, 1984
Running time	30 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	US$1,000,000

Frankenweenie is a 1984 Tim Burton-directed short film produced with Buena Vista Distribution 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 novel of the same name. Burton also directed a feature-length 2012 remake.^[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 play on the use of electricity in the film). After Sparky is hit by a car, 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. While Victor is pleased, his neighbors are terrified by the animal, and when the Frankensteins decide to introduce the revitalized Sparky to them 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 later falls in love with a poodle whose fur bears a strong resemblance to the hairdo of the Bride of Frankenstein.

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 (credited as Domino) as Anne Chambers
• Jason Hervey as Frank Dale
• Paul C. Scott as Mike Anderson
• Helen Boll as Mrs. Curtis
• Sparky as Sparky: Victor's dog. He dies and gets revided by Victor.
• Rusty James as Raymond

Releases

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

Controversy

Burton was fired by Disney after the film was completed; the studio felt the film was not suitable for the target young audiences.^[5] It had been scheduled to be released cinematically in the U.S. before a re-release of Pinocchio on December 21, 1984, but was shelved. It did, however, play in UK cinemas in 1985 in front of Touchstone Films' Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend. After the mainstream success of Burton's features Beetlejuice; Pee-wee's Big Adventure; Edward Scissorhands and Batman, the film was given a home video release in 1992.^[6] It is currently available as an extra, along with Vincent, on The Nightmare Before Christmas DVD; Blu-ray; and UMD for PSP.

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

• Frankenweenie at the Internet Movie Database
• Frankenweenie at the TCM Movie Database

v t e Tim Burton Filmography Frequent collaborators Unproduced projects Directorial works Feature films Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) Beetlejuice (1988) Batman (1989) Edward Scissorhands (1990) Batman Returns (1992) Ed Wood (1994) Mars Attacks! (1996) Sleepy Hollow (1999) Planet of the Apes (2001) Big Fish (2003) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) Corpse Bride (2005) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) Alice in Wonderland (2010) Dark Shadows (2012) Frankenweenie (2012) Big Eyes (2014) Short films The Island of Doctor Agor (1971) Stalk of the Celery Monster (1979) Hansel and Gretel (1982) Vincent (1982) Frankenweenie (1984) Stainboy (2000) Music videos "Bones" "Here with Me" Produced only The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) Cabin Boy (1994) Batman Forever (1995) James and the Giant Peach (1996) 9 (2009) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) Books The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories (1997) Television series Beetlejuice (1989–1992) Family Dog (1993)