Frankenweenie 3D (Blu-ray Combo Pack) Directed by Tim Burton Studio: Disney Year: 2012 Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 1080p AVC codec Running Time: 87 minutes Rating: PG Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 English; DTS-HD HR 7.1 French; Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish Subtitles: SDH, French, Spanish
Region: A-B-C MSRP: $ 49.99
Release Date: January 8, 2013
Review Date: January 3, 2013
The Film
4/5 When his beloved dog Sparky gets hit by a car and is killed, Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan) is devastated until his new science teacher Mr. Rzykruski (Martin Landau) explains how electric charges can stimulate formerly dead muscle tissue. Victor quickly races home, digs up Sparky’s buried body, and rigs up an elaborate mechanism that will use a lightning storm to generate the power to reignite his pooch. When the experiment is a roaring success, Victor is beside himself with joy, but all of his attempts to keep his success a secret fail when his science project partner Edgar "E" Gore (Atticus Shaffer) gets the bright idea to use the process for their entry into the science fair. By shooting off his mouth to some other bullying classmates, the boys all decide to reanimate pets of their own but with disastrous consequences which threaten to destroy the town of New Holland where they live. The screenplay by John August which is based on the script for Burton’s earlier live action short written by Lenny Ripps is filled with fondly intended allusions to the horror films of old, both with the names of the characters (the main character, of course, and his neighbor Elsa Van Helsing voiced by Winona Ryder, for example) and to images from those movies (the lightning bolt streaks in a poodle’s ears, the creaky windmill where the film’s climax occurs beset by torch-carrying angry villagers), but it’s the deeply emotional core of the story – the love of Victor for his deceased dog and his joy as its resuscitation – that gives the movie its heart and soul, and almost anything that takes away from that tone, especially the ridiculous series of monsters that the classmates create (a turtle named Shelley who becomes a Godzilla-like creature; a cat-bat and a large rat and others are some of the monsters) and which wreak havoc on the town, adds minutes to the film’s running time but little to its entertainment value. Burton also directs a lovely series of segues as Victor mourns over the course of a day once Sparky has been lost to him that emphasizes the boy’s devastation at his loss. Sparky himself is the star of the show, an absolutely adorable creation both before and after death who has been brought to life by the talented stop motion animators in quite remarkable fashion. Frisky and playful which leads to some problems with his stitched-together persona, Sparky’s every appearance is cause for celebration. But the world of New Holland is likewise wonderfully realized and in 3D is even more immersive than Burton’s last stop motion experience with Corpse Bride. The voice work is mostly outstanding throughout. Martin Short plays Victor’s loving and gently supportive father, and Catherine O'Hara plays his mother (as well as a bored gym teacher who takes over the science class after the teacher is let go). They’re both welcome participants in Burton’s whimsical world. Charlie Tahan has Victor’s enthusiasm and his sorrow down in equal measure in a beautifully layered performance. Of course, Martin Landau steals all of his scenes as the middle-European accented Mr. Rzykruski whose scientific theories set the film’s fantasy into motion. As the shy, soft-spoken girl-next-door Elsa Van Helsing, Winona Ryder doesn’t do much to distinguish herself. Atticus Shaffer as the creepy “E” Gore and James Hiroyuki Liao as a competitive Japanese student make much stronger impressions.
Video Quality
5/5
3D implementation – 4/5
The film’s original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is faithfully delivered in a 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. Sharpness is so keen that the textures of the sets and of the clothes and hair of the puppets are palpable. The contrast is dialed in so expertly that the grayscale rendering is startlingly crisp with endlessly inky blacks, pure whites, and a dazzling overall picture. The film has been divided into 16 chapters. Though stop motion animation offers a great potential for exciting and intricate 3D, the animators here don’t make quite the optimal use of the medium. The depth of the images is impressive throughout making one feel that this is almost a real world these characters are inhabiting. With real puppets, props, and sets to work with and with no CGI-rendered objects or backgrounds, placing all of this on multiple planes results in dazzling visuals that 3D really exploits to the maximum. Sadly, there are only a few examples of forward projections: a couple of snouts that briefly edge forward, some electric sparks that fly around, and at one memorable moment a cat that springs right at the viewer. But opportunities for more of this aren’t seized consistently making for a less than perfect 3D score. There is no crosstalk to be seen in the 3D imagery.
Audio Quality
4.5/5 The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound mix is very effective. Excellent use is made of discrete sounds being placed in the fronts and rears, and Danny Elfman’s fanciful score receives a nice stereo placement in the front soundstage without exploiting it to the max in the rear channels. While bass effects are very good (the blasts of several electrical storms in the film, the thundering steps of Shelley as he terrorizes the town all make prominent use of the LFE channel), the mixers haven’t done all they could with those back surrounds. Dialogue has been beautifully recorded and has been placed in the center channel.
Special Features
3.5/5 Unless otherwise noted, all of the bonus features are in 1080p. The 3D disc contains 3D promo trailers for Oz: The Great and Powerful and Planes. The 2D Blu-ray disc contains the following bonus features: Captain Sparky Vs. the Flying Saucers is a 2 ½-minute home movie featuring Victor directing Sparky in a sci-fi adventure. (A similar home movie is contained in the main feature.) “Miniatures in Motion: Bringing Frankenweenie to Life” is a 23 ¼-minute featurette showing the various crafts necessary to do stop motion animation. Narrated by producer Allison Abbate and featuring comments from director Tim Burton, executive producer Don Hahn, and animation director Trey Thomas among others, we’re taken on a tour of the Three Mills animation studio in London where we look at the work of various departments that are bringing the story to life. “Frankenweenie Touring Exhibit” is a 4 ½-minute tour around the traveling exhibit at the 2012 Comic-Con, an exhibit that will travel the world showing how stop motion animation is achieved. It’s narrated by producer Allison Abbate. Tim Burton’s original 1984 live action short feature Frankenweenie is presented once again in 480i. It runs 30 minutes. While not in high definition, it does offer a convenient opportunity to compare and contrast the two versions of the story. “Pet Sematary” music video is performed by Plain White T’s and runs 4 minutes. The disc includes promo trailers for Oz: The Great and Powerful, Wreck-It Ralph, and The Muppet Movie. The third disc in the set is the DVD version of the movie. The fourth disc in the set is the digital copy of the film with instructions for installing on Mac and PC devices. These discs will be found stacked on spindles two deep inside the case.
In Conclusion
4/5 (not an average) Tim Burton’s whimsical and deeply emotional Frankenweenie is an enjoyable, typically eccentric animated feature true to the director’s previously experienced cinematic concoctions. While the 3D isn’t mind-blowing, it does offer a most effective entry into the offbeat world being portrayed in this dark fantasy. Recommended! Matt Hough Charlotte, NC
