''Frankenweenie'' is a 1984 American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

featurette In the American film industry, a featurette is a kind of film that is shorter than a full-length feature, but longer than a short film. The term may refer to either of two types of content: a shorter film or a companion film. Medium-length film ...

directed by

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

and written by him and Leonard Ripps. It is both a parody of, and homage to, the 1931 film ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

'' based on

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Burton later directed a feature-length stop-motion animated remake, released in 2012.

Plot

Victor Frankenstein is a young boy who creates movies starring his pet Bull Terrier Sparky. After Sparky is hit by a car and killed, Victor learns at school about electrical impulses in muscles and is inspired to bring his pet back to life. He creates elaborate machines in his attic which brings down a bolt of lightning that revives the dog. Victor is pleased, but one day Sparky sneaks out of the house and frightens the Frankensteins' neighbors. Although they do not get a clear look at Sparky, they determine that some sort of creature is dwelling in the Frankenstein home and grow suspicious of the family. Victor's parents discover the revived Sparky, and eventually decide to introduce him to the neighbors in order to quell their suspicions and rumors. However, the arranged introduction ends in chaos as the neighbors recognize Sparky as the creature and fly into a panic. Sparky runs away, with Victor in pursuit. They find themselves at an abandoned

miniature golf Miniature golf (also known as minigolf, putt-putt, crazy golf, and by #Nomenclature, several other names) is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest ...

course and hide in its flagship

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

. The Frankensteins' neighbors, now an angry mob, arrive on the scene, and when they attempt to use a cigarette lighter to try to see into the windmill, it is accidentally set on fire. Victor falls and is knocked out, but Sparky rescues him from the flames, only to be crushed by the burning windmill. The neighbors, realizing their error, use their cars and jumper cables to "recharge" Sparky. He is revived, and all celebrate. Sparky falls in love with a poodle whose fur bears a strong resemblance to the hairdo of the Bride of Frankenstein.

Cast

* Barret Oliver as Victor Frankenstein, a young boy expert in science who is sad after his dog's death. *

Shelley Duvall Shelley Alexis Duvall (July 7, 1949 – July 11, 2024) was an American actress and producer. She is known for her distinctive screen presence, her portrayals of eccentric characters, and her later productions in children's programming. Her acco ...

as Susan Frankenstein, Victor's mother. * Daniel Stern as Ben Frankenstein, Victor's father. * Joseph Maher as Mr. Chambers * Roz Braverman as Mrs. Epstein *

Paul Bartel Paul Bartel (August 6, 1938 – May 13, 2000) was an American actor, writer and director. He was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy ''Eating Raoul'', which he co-wrote, starred in and directed. Bartel appeared in over 90 movies an ...

as Mr. Walsh *

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola ( , ; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola, won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Lion, and a Can ...

as Anne Chambers * Jason Hervey as Frank Dale * Paul C. Scott as Mike Anderson * Helen Boll as Mrs. Curtis * Rusty James as Raymond * Sparky as Himself: Victor's dog. He dies and gets reanimated by Victor.

Home media

This short was included in the Special Edition, Collector's Edition, and Blu-ray 3D releases of ''

The Nightmare Before Christmas ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (formerly known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop motion Animation, animated Gothic film, gothic musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick in his f ...

'' and on the Blu-ray release of its remake.

Controversy

Burton was fired by

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

after the film was completed, as the studio claimed that he had been wasting company resources and felt the film was not suitable for the targeted young audiences. The short was originally planned to be released alongside the summer re-release of ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

'', but its release was rescheduled with the Christmas re-release of ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

'' on December 21, 1984. Although the film was subsequently shelved, the film played in UK cinemas in 1985 in front of Touchstone Films' '' Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend''. Following the success of Burton's later films '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure'', ''

Beetlejuice ''Beetlejuice'' is a 1988 American Gothic film, gothic dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Michael McDowell (author), Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren based on a story by McDowell and Larry Wilson (sc ...

'', ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'', and ''

Edward Scissorhands ''Edward Scissorhands'' is a 1990 American gothic romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It was produced by Burton and Denise Di Novi, written by Caroline Thompson from a story by her and Burton, and starring Johnny Depp as the title ...

'', the film was given a home video release in 1992. It was released as an extra, along with ''

Vincent Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...

'', on ''

'' DVD,

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

and UMD, as well as the 2000 VHS.

Remake

Disney and Tim Burton produced a full-length remake using stop motion animation, which was released on October 5, 2012 in Disney Digital 3D and

IMAX 3D IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating, with ...

. The original film is included as a bonus feature on the Blu-ray home video release.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frankenweenie 1984 1984 films 1984 children's films 1984 comedy horror films 1984 fantasy films 1984 short films 1984 controversies in the United States 1980s science fiction comedy films 1980s science fiction horror films 1980s parody films American black-and-white films American fantasy films Films about dogs Films about pets Frankenstein films American horror short films Resurrection in film Walt Disney Pictures films Walt Disney Pictures short films Short films directed by Tim Burton Disney short films Films scored by Michael Convertino Films scored by David Newman (composer) Films set in the 1960s Films shot in Los Angeles 1980s English-language films 1980s American films Horror featurettes 1984 science fiction films English-language comedy horror films English-language science fiction horror films English-language science fiction comedy films English-language comedy-drama short films English-language fantasy films