Frankenweenie Review - A Mom's Take

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From creative genius Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas”) comes “Frankenweenie,” a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous.

A stop-motion animated film, “Frankenweenie” will be filmed in black and white and rendered in 3D, which will elevate the classic style to a whole new experience.

Here are a few interesting facts about the movie…

When Tim Burton originally conceived the idea for “Frankenweenie,” he envisioned it as a full-length, stop-motion animated film. Due to budget constraints, he instead directed it as a live-action short, released in 1984.
“Frankenweenie” follows in the footsteps of Tim Burton’s other stop-motion animated films “Corpse Bride” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas”—both of which were nominated for Academy Awards®.
Over 200 puppets and sets were created for the film.
The voice cast includes four actors who worked with Burton on previous films: Winona Ryder (“Beetlejuice,” “Edward Scissorhands”), Catherine O’Hara (“Beetlejuice,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas”), Martin Short (“Mars Attacks!”) and Martin Landau (“Ed Wood,” Sleepy Hollow”).
Classic horror films inspired several of the character names.

Review – I was able to take two of my sons, ages 4 and 8, to Frankenweenie and we all thought this movie was fantastic! My 8-year-old almost didn’t go because it was in black and white. He was convinced that it would make the movie “boring” and that it would “bug him” the whole time. I finally talked him into to coming, and he was so thankful that I did! After about five minutes, he had completely forgotten it wasn’t in color! He was sucked in and didn’t even mention it once even though he had complained about it so many times before! My 4-year-old also loved Frankenweenie and kept his 3-D glasses on the whole time! He was a little scared towards the end, but still asked if we could see it again the second it was over. I thought this movie was absolutely brilliant! The stop-motion was so detailed, it made me feel like I was living in New Holland with all of the creepy characters! I had completely fallen in love with Sparky from the second the movie started. It was amazing how much of a personality he had even though he wasn’t real! This was the perfect movie to get us in the mood for Halloween and I can’t wait to take my other kids to see it!

You can find Frankenweenie on Facebook!

Frankenweenie hit theaters October 5th and is rated PG for for thematic elements, scary images and action. It is 87 minutes long.

Disclosure: I received 3 tickets to Frankenweenie in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any other manner. The opinions expressed above are my own and any claims should be verified on the sponsor’s site.