Frankenweenie 3D

2012 | 87 minutes | Rated PG

Divorce yourself from the knowledge that this is a Tim Burton film, and the fact that the eminently likable Martin Short and Catherine O’Hara provide voices, and you might discover that Frankenweenie isn’t anything special. Updated from Burton’s 1984 lo-hi live-action short film as a stop-motion 3-D cartoon, Frankenweenie is a retelling of the Frankenstein story with cuddlier characters—a boy scientist and his dog. But the stop-motion is really subpar; there isn’t much style to speak of; and the story doesn’t need the animated treatment to be effective. In fact, it could be argued that this would be a far more relatable movie if Burton had just made it as a live-action film, living somewhere between his original and the Addams Family movies, maybe. By Colin Boyd

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Dead on Arrival

Tim Burton shows he is in need of reanimation himself with 'Frankenweenie' »

Official Site: disney.go.com/frankenweenie
Director: Tim Burton
Producer: Tim Burton, Allison Abbate and Don Hahn
Cast: Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, Winona Ryder, Robert Capron, Conchata Ferrell, James Liao and Tom Kenny