Film Review: Frankenweenie (2D) (P.G.) (U.S.A. 2012) (Director: Tim Burton), Wednesday 17.10.2012, 20:30, The Cameo Cinema, Screen One, Edinburgh

I was looking forward to this film due to liking the aesthetic quality of Tim Burton's previous stop-motion animation 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' (1993) and 'The Corpse Bride' (2005), and this did not disappoint. It is the tale of a boy called Victor reanimating his pet dog Sparky with electricity and love. Visually the look of the film and the animation was striking and quite beautiful in a Gothic sort-of-way that you would expect with it being a Burton production. There are elements of homage to Burton's previous films, his childhood and classic horror films, all of which I feel fit well into the film. The imposing physics teacher who inspires Victor's ventures is like a classic horror character in his facial detail and some of Victor's classmates have eyes that make them look like junkies, though details like this fit fine in this distorted world.

The Heath Robinson contraption used to reanimate 'Sparky' is reassuringly quirky and inventive. Victor's fellow classmates get wind of what Victor has managed to do and find their own ways of reanimating creatures, though due to their ventures not being fueled with love, like Victors, they go horribly wrong. Then the town is under attack prompting the necessary panic and rescue. Towards the end it looked as though Sparky may not make it after his efforts to rescue Victor. I had wanted Sparky to die, as don't think endings need to be overly happy. Though Victor had already learned that things don't last forever. Victor had proclaimed that he was okay with Sparky passing as he was alive in his heart, this is what then made me okay with Sparky living. The film is charming, I had a grin on my face for most of it. In terms of animated film, I cannot find fault.

Rating: 10/10.
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2012: Eight Flawless Films To Date In Order Of Release:
Magic Trip (Documentary)
Once Upon A Time In Anatolia (Turkish) 
Goodbye First Love (French)
The Dark Knight Rises
Searching For Sugar Man (Documentary) 
Anna Karenina
Tabu (Portuguese)
Frankenweenie