'Frankenweenie': Yidio Review

If you’ve been debating about whether or not to see the new Tim Burton film, “Frankenweenie,” let me gently recommend it. Warning: mild spoilers ahead.

Based on a 1984 short black-and-white flick by the same name, Burton’s version maintains a lot of the same sentiment, while trying to fill in the storyline.

Burton’s version, which features the voice work of greats like Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, and Winona Ryder, combines the heartwarming with the ridiculous, under a great score by Danny Elfman. It also featured some really incredible animation.

When Sparky, young Victor’s only friend, is killed by a car, Victor manages to bring his best friend back to life with the aid of science (SCIENCE!). However, trying to keep the barking, happy corpse under wraps becomes something of an issue, and Sparky manages to escape and stir up the neighborhood.

The moments between Sparky and Victor are touching. Anyone who has ever lost a pet can sympathize with the relationship between the two—and when Sparky dies, it’s hard to keep your sniffles under wraps. A few laughs were had as well—the sheer weirdness of the strange girl and her fortune-telling cat brought chuckles from the audience.

The movie borders on the ridiculous, at times, as it veers away from the boy-and-his-dog storyline. The other kids in the neighborhood find out about the reanimation, and determine to bring back their own dead pets—not necessarily out of love, but to win the coveted science fair project. This storyline requires a serious suspension of disbelief (and not just because we all know kids don’t really give a hoot about science fairs), but if you can shake off the silliness of a Godzilla-esque dead turtle named Shelly, than you can enjoy it. The kids, at least, should get a kick out of the action, which came just in time as the fun started to fizzle.

There are a few jumpy moments, and the dark and creepy cemetery scene might make youngsters nervous, but overall the scary factor is relatively low. There are a few "ew" spots, but they border on funny more than gross.

So, while some of the movie had me shaking my head a little ruefully, the emotion was there, and a few tissues were made damp by the conclusion of the movie. The kids will like it, you’ll smile, and as long as you hit a matinee, it won’t be money wasted. I'm not generally a Tim Burton groupie, but this adorable movie managed to suck me in, and get me in the Halloween spirit.

I also went home and hugged my dog.

Have you seen "Frankenweenie" yet? What did you think?