“Omigod, it’s 3D and Black & White!” exclaimed nine-year old Andre Karlson, my Screenie-teenie guest for the VIP screening of
Tim Burton’s latest creation.
A refreshing look at an old favorite, this film-short turned full-length feature was collecting dust in Burton’s closet of circa 1984 skeletons. Like Corpse Bride and Nightmare Before Christmas, this story will attract teenie-weenies in a tale about a boy trying to resurrect his dead dog. Victor Frankenstein, loses his dog, Sparky, in a car accident, and decides to take it upon himself to bring the dog back to life. Or in the words of Victor’s parents “When you lose someone you love, they don’t leave, they stay in a special place in your heart,” to which Victor responds, “I don’t want him in my heart I want him here!” And by George, he’ll bring him back to life! Apparently Whiskers, a bug-eyed-hair-ball of a white cat has predicted to her owner that Sparky will die. And apparently Whiskers continues to be a nuisance and a favorite funny character to the theatre of laughing small fries, throughout the 128 minute film.
The science teacher who looks like a cross between Salvador Dali and Martin Landau (maybe because he is voiced by Martin Landau) explains that “Even after death the wiring remembers the muscles response to electricity” or some such comment of science experiment gone wrong. Before long, the entire community of children attempt to bring back their dead sea monkeys, hamsters, critters, you name it, and soon we have a full blown out Mars Attacks! Andre, my guest, said to me, “But you can’t kill an already dead dog!” Well, you can if you’re Tim Burton. This old gem of a film, now resurrected in 2012, shows us a spectrum of the many things to come in Burton’s world of spook. And for all the children of the world and in the audience who have lost a pet, or had divorced parents they wanted reunited, this premise alone will attract children into the idea of ‘power’ over circumstances, making the movie interesting, before turning tedious.
The message is something about mixing science – respecting the boundaries of life and death – not bringing them together for the wrong
reasons…or in other words “Don’t’ try this at home,” but as my guest, Andre tugged my sleeve and said, “This is too scary for anybody under the age of 8” all I kept thinking is that it lacks the Burton juice of Beetlejuice. 2 tiaras