
Once upon a time there was a director named Tim Burton. And once upon a time before he reached fame through
The Nightmare Before Christmas he directed a little short called "Frankenweenie." It was about a young boy named Victor who brings his dog Sparky back to life after he gets hit by a car. It's a cute little short that is one giant nod to the 1931, Frankenstein movie.
Fast forward 25 years later, after
Nightmare Before Christmas,
Beetlejuice,
Corpse Bride,
Edward Scissorhands,
Sweeney Todd and many others (including his upcoming
Alice in Wonderland) have made him a household name and Burton's at it again - remaking one of his earliest shorts. But, there's a twist. This time, not only will
Frankenweenie be a full length feature film, it will be done with stop-motion animation as Burton is well known for.
I'm a bit on the fence about how I feel about a director remaking something he's already done. On the one hand, as a general rule, remakes suck. We all know this to be true. But, I can't think of any remakes where the original director AND creator was remaking something he'd already done. This, in my mind, somehow excuses it since it seems to me Burton had always wanted to make
Frankenweenie as stop-motion animation, but due to budget and time restrictions was unable to do so the first time around.
For those that are wondering, the film is of course being produced by Disney and will be in black and white. It currently has a 2012 release date set, and quite frankly, I'm a little bit excited.