On October 5th children everywhere can get the scare of a lifetime in theaters nationwide when Disney releases Frankenweenie. Directed by Tim Burton this movie is sure to be a favorite among tweens and parents alike.
I was invited to a screening of Frankenweenie earlier this week and I have to say it was not at all what I expected. While I am a Tim Burton fan, (movies like Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands) have always topped my favorites chart his Disney movies have never really impressed me. Yes, before you ask I have seen The Nightmare Before Christmas and I thought it was okay, but I'm not a huge fan. With that being said I just wasn't sure what to expect with this film.
After watching it I can say that it's a classic Burton styled film with plenty of darkness, a few scenes that will make you jump, and of course plenty of laughable moments. Overall I thought it was a cute film and I know my 10 year old son would love it. He, like his mom loves scary movies and Frankenweenie fits the bill.
The voice actors were comprised of Burton's film favorites and a few of mine as well. Catherine O'Hara (Beetlejuice & The Nightmare Before Christmas) plays Victor's mom, the gym teacher, and the weird girl, Winona Ryder (Beetlejuice& Edward Scissorhands) plays Elsa, and Martin Short (Mars Attacks) plays Edward Frankenstein, Mr. Bergemeister, Nassor, Dad, and Bob. I personally loved Charlie Thanan (I am Legend) as Victor, Robert Capron (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) as Bob, and of course Tom Kenney (SpongeBob) as the Fire Chief and Soldier. The voices matched the characters perfectly.
To be honest there are a few scenes that are much scarier than I had anticipated. I was sitting in the theater by a girl who had to have been about twelve and she left the movie before it ended in tears. I would strongly caution parents to consider this one with care before packing up the mini-van and heading to the theater. Due to some intense zombie-animal scenes this movie may prove disturbing for younger viewers and those especially sensitive to dark scary movies and animals.
From the title alone it's apparent that Victor will lose his dog, and I would presume anyone purchasing a ticket would know that, but there are other elements to the film that even I wasn't prepared for and the entire feeling of the film changed very quickly when the children bring other deceased pets back from the grave (yes, you can think Pet Cemetery here).
Frankenweenie is full of well-developed characters, amazing puppets and stop-motion filming techniques. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, because the story was well written and believable, but again my only concern is that children will come away frightened and have a bad theater experience (which is never fun when you throw down that kind of cash for a night out). The movie is rated PG so you may want to screen as much of it as possible before taking your children to see it.
You can read my in-depth Frankenweenie review (which contains spoilers) here.
To learn more about Frankenweenie check out the movies social media pages and website:
Frankenweenie Official Website / Frankenweenie on Twitter / Frankenweenie on Facebook
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