Posts Tagged ‘ Tim Burton ’

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‘Disappointing’ may be the first word popping into your head after seeing Tim Burton’s latest animation film “Frankenweenie”,  ‘boring’ may be the second followed closely by the question: “What has happened to the Wizard of Odd and his usually interesting and surprising ideas?

Frankensweenie is a feature length remake of Burton’s 1984 short and tells the story of geeky outsider Victor Frankenstein (voiced by Charlie Tahan) and his only friend, his dog Sparky. When Sparky is run over by a car Victor uses is scientific nerdyness to bring him back to life, but the joy of having his friend back is soon overshadowed by the surprising events that follow.

When Victors classmate the unpopular and very odd looking Edgar ‘E” Gore (voiced by Atticus Shaffer) finds out about Sparkys revival he wants his very own un-dead playmate. One invisible fish later and a chain reaction of creature creating occurs. And like any good old-fashioned monster movie there is a damsel in distress, an unsuspected hero and a happy ending.

Frankensweenie is a beautifully produced film and the black and white cinematography is stunning, however the 3D effects feel unnecessary.  The characters are unmistakably Burtonesque and play homage to all the great horror classics but the storyline is weak and very safe, often a little dull.

This stop-animation is not really suitable for children as the humour is quite dark and the charming slapstick scenes and horror film references are too adult oriented.  Burton is not at his best with Frankensweenie, and no matter how big a feast for the eyes this animation may be it does not make up for the lacklustre plot.

Even Darker Shadows

Another film has arrived from the assembly line that is Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. Plastic wrapped and predictable, their latest offering is nothing for the record books. Dark Shadows, based on a long running U.S sitcom tells the story of Barnabas Collins, an 18th century vampire made by a jealous witch, adjusting to 1970’s life after numerous years under ground.

Set in the gothic, beautifully stunning world of Burton it starts out with all the promise of his former glory, see Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Ed Wood to name but a few, but falls flat very soon after. The problem with recent Burton endeavours seem to be a classic case of style over substance. The man has created a universe so instantly recognisable, an achievement but by the looks of things his downfall.

Early works had the heart of a great story to centre the films but with Dark Shadows it never quite gets there. Case in point, a love story between Depp’s character and a young nanny never seems to be built, it just kinda happens all a little too quickly. Too many sub plots and not enough development time makes for a film that seems half baked and thrown together. You get the feeling that a lot of stuff ended up on the cutting room floor.

But its not all doom and gloom, the costume work and set design is a treat for the eyes and you may even find yourself having a chuckle at some of the jokes, predictable they may be but funny all the same.

Depp as always is great in the character driven role but you can’t help but feel we have already been there before. Having worked together  now for a massive run of eight films its like watching two guys flog a dead horse.  Burton needs to step back, take stock of his recent works and find a fresh approach. This man has made some of the most iconic films of the last twenty years but also some of the most disappointing. Hopefully there is still some gold left in them there Burton/Depp mountains.