Just Saw Frankenweenie

[Hoosier37]

and I absolutely loved it. The stop motion is amazing, the story and visuals are vintage Tim Burton, and the homages to various classic horror and monster movies made it all even more fun.

I will say I took my 10 year old DD, who has a soft spot for animals anyway, and she did cry at one part. She also jumped once or twice but it wasn't too scary for her. Overall she liked the movie, but did feel that one part was very sad.

I think it is more a movie for adults than children, but at the same time there were a lot of younger children in the theater and they did fine, although from the amount of noise I don't think it held their interest.

 

[HLAuburn]

Did you see it in 3D? I'm taking the kids tomorrow and I'm debating whether or not to pay an extra $3.50 each for 3D.

Thanks!

 

[Hoosier37]

Did you see it in 3D? I'm taking the kids tomorrow and I'm debating whether or not to pay an extra $3.50 each for 3D.

Thanks!

We did, because that was all that was available at the time we wanted to go. And I have to say, it was beautiful - not gimmicky and jumping out at the audience, just added depth. I haven't seen it in 2D so I don't know how it compares, but it was very nice in 3D. $3.50 extra is a lot, though - our local theater charges $1.50 more for the 3D movies.

 

[perdidobay]

I and my DH saw it yesterday in 2-D, we just loved it (we are both in our mid fifties). I thought the voice casting was great, love Martin Short and thought he was great as the Dad, but every time I heard Elsa speak I pictured Winona Ryder as Lydia from Beetlejuice in my head- she was still great though. I thought Martin Landau's "scenes" from the movie as MR Ryzkruski were awesome!
We looked at each other when he came onscreen and mouthed "Vincent Price!"

The 4:30 pm showing was almost empty although it was cold and raining here, there was a group of ten year old girls that had attended a birthday party in the party room at the theater and then came in and sat in two rows sectioned off for them. I thought, oh no, they are going to be loud and rowdy, but they and the other kids in the theater sat almost perfectly silent except for a few gasps and laughter at the funny scenes.
I admit to crying when Sparky dies, I have lost several dogs I loved over the years and have two now I love to pieces (hey,when your kids grow up and move away and you've been a stay at home mom most all your life these dogs become your additional kids).
I hope it does well, I thought it was Tim Burton at his best since Big Fish.

 

[BorkBorkBork]

We just got back from taking our just-turned-3 DD. The "Jack Movie" (Nightmare before Xmas) has been one of her favorites for a while so she likes creepy and we just watched the live-action Frankenweenie short yesterday so she'd be familiar. She did great at it although she was scared the most at Victor's neighbor. There were several other families with young kids and we heard a couple of screams and "Mommy!"s but I thought it was awesome. Love all the old monster movie references, the Weird Girl etc. I can't wait to own it!

 

[HLAuburn]

Just saw it today in 3D and I thought it was good! My 3 year old and 8 year old loved it, but nothing really scares either of them. Our "upcharge" for 3D was $3.50 each, but I'm not sure it was really worth it - there weren't a lot of effects to really bring out the 3D.

It really reminded me a lot of Coraline (which we love). I thought there were some pretty funny parts, but I was the only one in the theater laughing! Come on, how could you not laugh about Mr. Whiskers?!

 

[Hoosier37]

I laughed several times and was the only one in the theater who did, I guess I was getting the references to the old classics that others were missing. Although a woman sitting somewhere in front of us laughed very loudly when Colossus first came on screen. That scene was funny, but not THAT funny.

 

[FloraFauna]

I saw it with my husband on Saturday night. I loved it!!

Sparky is just adorable!!

We both laughed when the neighbor was introduced. His name is Mr. Burgermeister. I guess Tim Burton is a fan of the Christmas special "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", because the character looked just like the grouchy Burgermeister Meisterburger from this film!! He is also very cranky like him.

Very good movie and I would love to own when it comes out on DVD.

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

I saw it over the weekend in Imax... DH & I took our DS 10 with us... he was nervous at first... before we actually saw it... maybe not used to the black and white...

But he loved it... I knew he would- he loves Nightmare and Corpse Bride ...

The kids from Victor's Science Class... too funny... and all of the references to other horror/sci fi films... obviously Frankenstein, but also Godzilla and Gremlins... those sea monkeys... simultaneously frightening and funny...

It was great... Need a copy when it comes out...

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

posted 2x by accident... know how to edit but not how to delete double message...

 

[Lucky626]

My girlfriend and I took our nieces to see it on Saturday and we all loved it! We saw it in 3D and I thought it definitely added to the movie. There's no in your face 3D moments but it added a very cool depth to the wonderful clay models and sets coupled with the black and white was a very visually awesome film.

The story itself was great and personally my favorite Tim Burton film. Anyone who has a pet should definitely see this one. We have a golden retriever and you can tell Burton is a dog lover because we saw so many of our dog's personality quirks and movements in Sparky. Our theater was packed and lots of kids and they all seemed like the enjoyed the film too. A lot of people even applauded at the end including us.

 

[KCmike]

First let me say that I love Tim Burton. Now with that being said I have to say that I was disappointed with it. Don't see it in 3D as it wasn't worth in my opinion. I thought Hotel Transylvania was much better. I am a die hard Disney/Pixar fan but I have to call it like I see it. If I were giving it a grade letter it would have to be a C+.

 

[Hoosier37]

We both laughed when the neighbor was introduced. His name is Mr. Burgermeister. I guess Tim Burton is a fan of the Christmas special "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", because the character looked just like the grouchy Burgermeister Meisterburger from this film!! He is also very cranky like him.

I caught that too - I guess that was Burton's homage to Rankin-Bass and their contribution to stop-motion animation...or maybe it was a subtle jab at them. I'm not sure which.

 

[IllinoisJones]

Frankenweenie is the wonderfully weird world of Burton I've come to appreciate. A semi horror film with tributes to classic and soon to be classic genres. Everything from Universal monster flicks to Gremlins is visited. I loved the use of black and white. The stop motion animation allows for realistic lighting and effective use of shadows. (I did not see this in 3D cause we have a little one who doesn't like to wear the indoor shades for long periods of time.) The odd, stylized era is a mixture of the early 1960s and today, reminiscent of Dix/Pix Incredibes. By far my favorite aspect of the film is Danny Elfman's heroic yet warm score. I highly recommend a listen. This next part can be copied and pasted for most of my Burton reviews. It’s a fun ride, but for me upon immediate viewing, I don’t completely dig the story. But his movies age well and one day I might have a different opinion. At times, Frankenweenie feel...s a little slow. We watch the title character, a dog in case you don’t know, roam about for a while with very little progression, and without spoiling, there’s a small part of me that wishes the whole thing would have gone in a different direction. I like Burton’s black and white suburban planet and the movie overall, but as of now anyway don’t love it. 2¾ Waggin’ Tales out of 5. CAUTION FOR PARENTS OF YOUNG KIDS!!! The 3rd act is very intense for little eyeballs. My 7 year old boy had a blast, however our 4 year old girl had major issues with it, for her. She’s a tough cookie, but was in her Mom’s lap with eyes covered. I think the PG rating could ultimately hurt the film. It borders PG-13 and parents are spreading this message. Other recent non/Disney kids horror films have tame reputations.

 

[IllinoisJones]

Rotten Tomatoes is giving the film some high praise but unfortunately the weekend gross was only $11 mil while Hotel Transylvania opened at $42 million a few weeks ago and is still pulling in strong numbers topping the 100 million mark. I think you’ll see Disney pull the plug quickly on marketing and throw everything it has at Wreck It Ralph. Remember, Nightmare didn’t really catch on till it was a couple of years old and now it’s a cult classic in the parks.