Frankenweenie

Tim Burton ran out of ideas a long time ago--and I gave up on going to see his movies shortly after.  One approach that often works when one is out of fresh ideas is to dig up an old one.  Which is exactly what Burton has done by remaking his 1984 live-action short that was so dark in tone it got him fired from Walt Disney studios back in his early career.  By resurrecting Frenkenweenie as a feature length stop-motion animation, he has made his best film in a long time.

Like Wes Anderson, Burton belongs making animated films, which are far better suited to his style and storytelling sensibilities than live action pictures.  This is the first animated film that Burton has directed solo (the previous four he produced or co-directed). It is the first that is not a musical (a wise choice) and the first film in ages that he has made without Johnny Depp (nothing against Depp, but his repeated appearance in Burton’s movies just makes them feel all the more drained of inspiration).

The puppet style of animation in the movie is a joy to watch, and the various odd-ball supporting characters are wonderfully inventive. Exaggerated characters and silly surrealism works well in animation without feeling two-dimensional or exhaustingly over-the-top. There is a lot pleasure in this feature--a welcome return to form for Burton.