13 Killer Stop-Mo Flicks - Part 06: A Modern Day Prometheus? 'Frankenweenie'
Where is the line between preserving original vision and meeting market demand? Can being seen to be 'too clever' alienate audiences, especially in the 'family/children's horror' sub genre? Inspired by the spooky season and conversations on LinkedIn with other film and animation professionals, I've been reflecting on feature-length stop motion films made in the 21st century that sit in the horror genre and why stop motion animation - like the archetypal killer in a slasher flick - keeps rising back up to entertain us again and again.
Before I get going on this article, let me just say that I think 'Frankenweenie' is a great movie! Shot in black and white, 'Frankenweenie' tells the comic tale of Victor, a young boy who doesn't fit in with the crowd and has a passion for all things scientific. When Victor's beloved dog Sparky passes away, the broken hearted Victor brings him back to life with experimental science, but also disastrous consequences...
"Frankenweenie is an energetic stop-motion horror movie spoof with lovingly crafted visuals and a heartfelt, oddball story." Critics Consensus, Rotten Tomatoes (Overall rating 88%)
Stop motion you say... Is it horror?
Yes, and perhaps a little more so than the previous films looked at in this series that sit in the 'children's/family horror' sub genre.? Like Aardman/DreamWorks' 'The Curse of the Were-Rabbit', 'Frankenweenie' is a fond, comic homage to Hollywood's golden age of horror, but the film tackles death and loss head on, which in terms of more complex themes, aligns it with films like LAIKA's 'Coraline'.
OK, how was it financed?
Released in 2012, 'Frankenweenie', was financed exclusively by Disney and the production story behind Frankenweenie is complex.? Originally produced in 1984 as a live-action short staring Shelley Duval, Disney shelved the project after production considering it too dark for kids and fired Burton 'for wasting company resources'.??
However, after signing a deal with Disney following on from his directorial success in live-action with rival Warner Bros and the sleeper hit success of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas', 'Frankenweenie' was resurrected; going back into development in 2007.
What was its impact?
On release, 'Frankenweenie' was met?with highly positive critical reviews for its artistry and vision.? In their 'Film of the Week' review in 2012, The British Film Institute described the film as:
"Tim Burton’s third animated feature resurrects both his own early student experiments and the black art of hand animation – and marks an electrifying return to form."
Even Roger Ebert gave 'Frankenweenie' three out of four stars, and despite describing it as "(not) one of Burton’s best", remarked on its "zealous energy", noting that "the whole story benefits from the absence of color, because this is a stark world without many soothing tones."
'Frankenweenie' also had all the other ingredients for success; a renowned director with established universe, technical innovation (first stop motion feature film to be released in?IMAX 3D, a perfect accompaniment to the film's retro 1950s style) and it was relatively cheap to make, costing?$39 million (IMDb).? In terms of foresight, 'Frankenweenie' seemingly had it all sewn up...
Yet, still it was a modest success at the box office, grossing?$81 million worldwide (IMDb).
It would be convenient to be able to attribute this to Disney, after all the company had been more than a little reluctant to get behind Burton's work in the past, plus newly appointed chairman of Walt Disney Studios, Alan Horn, had been busy axing an other stop motion production directed by Henry Slick in the run up to 'Frankenweenie's' release. Yet Disney seemingly did get behind the project:
"Despite speculation that Frankenweenie might have had something to do with Horn’s decision to pull the plug on the Selick movie, Disney fully backed Tim Burton’s black & white pet project. Frankenweenie was heavily marketed, including incorporating the movie into Halloween events in their theme parks, there were tons of Frankenweenie merchandise and Disney partnered with numerous corporations for additional advertising exposure — including Subway and Wonderful Pistachios."
So unfortunately the film just didn't seem to click with the movie-going public in 2012. Perhaps 'Frankenweenie's' over-emphasis on artistry was actually its downfall? Writing in 'The Guardian' in 2012, British journalist, David Cox, noted that with regards to the London Film Festival, " few kids' films get to open major international festivals", stating that 'Frankenweenie' was "one dose too many of Tim Burton's goth whimsy" and that "preferring stop-motion animation is an affectation of the digital-disdaining classes" - Eeeeek!
So was Mr Cox the harbinger of doom when it comes to the production of stop motion features in the 21st century? Of course not! Successive, successful stop-motion features have been made post 2012. But like all movies, regardless of how they're made, there are cycles of what's hot and what's not. And yes, there are also expectations of genre to consider in the context of commercial production. Interestingly, 'Frankenweenie' was Disney's last theatrically released horror film for seven years, until 2019’s 'Ready or Not' (via Searchlight Pictures) which maybe says a lot about the wider context at the time.
Is it a scream? Should I watch?
Yes absolutely. If you're a fan of animation, classic horror and enjoy gentle humour with a dash of bittersweet, 'Frankenweenie' is for you. It is available to stream in the UK on Disney+, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV.
"13 Killer Stop-Mo Flicks" is a series of short articles published in the run up to Halloween 2024 that look at 13 stop motion feature-length films made in the 21st century - how they were financed, what impact they had, and why I think, despite all odds, stop motion will keep coming back to thrill audiences.
Director - Mangostone Ltd -
4 个月I worked on this briefly, carving the hills for the graveyard set at 3 Mills Studios. I was lucky enough to meet the great man himself when he came to visit the set.... "nice hills" was all I got but that was enough ??????