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I’m not usually a fan of animated movies… However…

There is a reason I have called this the ‘experience’ of Frankenweenie; this is no ordinary stop-motion production. The amazing team at Mackinnon and Saunders have taken Tim Burton’s illustrations and turned them into amazingly detailed, wonderfully crafted creations!

My girlfriend is a big fan of Disney movies, and being an illustrator, she has influenced my Saturday night movie choice. There was a time a movie needed explosions, cars, guns, killing, cheesy one-liners, and… colour!

The lack of any of the above led to me being slightly skeptical at the thought of a black and white animation in 3D. After seeing the movie I realised how important it was to not have any colour. It’s hard to explain the feeling of the movie without sounding boring, but I’ll give it a shot:

Some of the stop-motion models at the press-presentation. Image by Beth Wilson.

Because of the detail in the models, colour would have distracted you from all the beauty and effort that was put into them, although personally I think they should have called it ‘Greyscale’. The 3D aspect of the movie then carried on that emphasis of detail, really bringing out the characters’ personalities.

Another reason I haven’t called this article a ‘review’ is because I am terrible at writing movie reviews. Due to the fact that I get so engrossed in a movie, the way it’s made. How did they make that part? How on earth is he in mid-air when it’s a stop-motion production? You get the idea.

The story is of course, a brilliant take on the classic Frankenstein. It takes a great approach on tackling the world of horror! Lots of Tim Burton’s movies have been critiqued as creepy and weird. I disagree with these reviewers, as the story of the movie is not creepy or strange to me, it is a clear reality of a dream Tim Burton has created.

 

© Erik Selby

I attended the world premiere of Frankenweenie in London, along with our Sports Editor, Beth Wilson. We were fortunate enough to listen to Tim Burton’s witty answers in the press conference that followed; this allowed us to get a real feel of his involvement and dedication to the movie.

After the press conference we had a close up session with a few of the head honchos at Mackinnon and Saunders. I chatted with Ian Mackinnon, he let me hold Sparky; one of the models that was used in the actual film. It was surprisingly heavy, and had its very own miniature mechanics cleverly built in.

Thanks to Ian for letting me hold my favourite character, and thanks to Mr Burton for creating him!

 

So to conclude:

3D + Black and White works really well when showing off Tim Burton’s latest wonder.

I appreciate the time and effort put into a stop-motion production, more than I would have a few years ago.

My reviews still aren’t any better, as I failed to tell you about any of the specific characters.

You should definitely watch this movie, so you can fill in the gaps, see how the hours of dog research paid off for the animating team, and enjoy the wonderful voice acting skills of the well known cast.

© Erik Selby