San Antonio Busy Kids

Let me first admit something outright… I am not the biggest Tim Burton fan. Although I enjoy some of his movies, it’s the dark styling of the characters and tone that doesn’t always mesh with my movie-going expectations. But there’s a time and place for everything, and Halloween seems the perfect time for the Tim Burton film Frankenweenie to hit theaters.

Disney’s Frankenweenie is a modern-day mash up of all your favorite old-timey monster movies set in a more kid-friendly universe. Through black-and-white clay-mation animation (which looks stellar in 3D and adds to the classic dark aesthetic of Tim Burton), the film re-imagines the story of Victor Frankenstein and his monster creation. Frankenweenie follows a young boy, Victor, and his trials with his best friend and dog, Sparky, in their town of New Holland which is conveniently known to have an unusual amount of lightening storms year-round. From the get-go you love Sparky, his playfulness and his sweet demeanor. He could be anyone’s best friend. But, tragedy soon strikes when a car accident means Victor must reluctantly say goodbye to his beloved Sparky. The scenes surrounding Sparky’s death are handled discretely in the film, which is good, but may cause some confusion for younger ones seeing the movie.

Victor is naturally sad, missing his only friend, though there are a variety of rag-tag kids in his class, including an Igor-like substitute, Edgar, who wants to be Victor’s friend and partner in the upcoming science fair. After the radical new Science teacher in school teaches the class about lightening and nerve reactions to electricity, Victor, who is known as being good at science, decides to try an experiment of his own.

“FRANKENWEENIE”
©2011 Disney Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.

Bringing Sparky back to life is a feat within itself, but it’s what happens after the pet’s re-animation that leads to the real fun and excitement in the movie. Imagine a pet cemetery, an invisible fish, and mutant animals back from the dead terrorizing the town and delighting the audience. The creatures and animals in the film are some of the most enjoyable aspects, adding a lot of humor while also creating some great moments that will make you jump.

Frankenweenie is a fun throw-back to those melodramatic horror films and Halloween classics, and offers a great kid-friendly option for Halloween movie fun. There are some monster moments and definitely some ‘don’t try this at home’ moments but overall the movie ends on a high note as the town and Victor’s family become united thanks to the adventures of Sparky, the Frankenweenie.

Get to know the characters and Frankenweenie-fy an afternoon of fun with games and more online. And don’t miss Frankenweenie in 3D in theaters Friday, October 5.