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| Frankenweenie! |
In
the revamped 2012 version of Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie,
boy loses dog, boy is sad, and then boy brings dog back to life with
electricity – twice. It’s the same story line of Burton’s earlier short film of
the same title, but now a full-length, stop motion film featuring several
Frankenstein-like creatures.
Both
the short and the full-length film feature the same story. Young Victor
Frankenstein loses his dog Sparky to a car collision. Victor becomes inspired
by his science teacher, then attempts to bring Sparky back to life in the
fashion that Dr. Frankenstein brought his monster to life. However, there are
some plot differences to note. In the full-length film, the Frankensteins are
afraid of Sparky, but allow Victor to keep him, while in the live short, the
Frankesteins are welcoming of Sparky and introduce him to the neighborhood.
Also in the full-length version, several monsters wreak havoc on the suburban
neighborhood rather than just Sparky.
Other
differences one may take note of between the two versions is the “outsider”status
of Victor and the feelings that we exhibit towards Victor and his relationship
with Sparky. In the live short, Victor is seen walking to school with friends
and socializing. However, in the animated film, Victor is alienated from
society, as can be seen with his standoffs against Edgar and Mr. Burgemeister,
and the way he shies away from the “Weird Girl.” Victor’s only companion in the
stop-motion picture is Sparky.
One
might also notice the lack of feeling that we may exhibit towards the
relationship between Victor and Sparky in the short film. In the short, Victor’s
relationship with Sparky is not well defined, as viewers only see Victor toss a
ball a few times with Sparky in the front yard, which ultimately leads to his
death. In the newest film, Victor’s relationship with Sparky is well defined as
we see them spend several moments in the beginning of the film together, and
Victor displays a truer sadness than the Victor of the short, as that Victor
talks openly with his friends about getting a new dog. In the animated version
viewers get a better sense of who Victor is, rather than being a generic person
chosen to play a role in a film, which is why viewers may feel greater sympathy
and be able to empathize with his situation (minus BatCat, Colossus, and giant
Shelly, of course). Because the animation allows for more freedom of action and
genuine responses that are not muddled with the personal experiences of human
actors, the animated film leaves us with watery eyes as the neighbors try their
best to revive Sparky with the use of car batteries.
Overall,
the animated version is, in my opinion, the better version to watch. Despite
the minor plot differences, the short features real actors that we can relate
to, while the animated version gives us
a character we can truly empathize with because viewers get a better sense of
who he is and how close his relationship with his dog is.
