Frankenweenie

Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie is a warm, funny family horror film that gets its boy and his dog right, then occasionally lets the surrounding monsters take up too much space. Its black-and-white stop-motion suits a story in which bringing back a beloved pet seems a reasonable response to losing him. There is enough affection here to make the experiment matter. We recommend it with one reservation: the film sometimes expects recognition of an old horror convention to do the work of a good scene.

Charlie Tahan voices Victor Frankenstein without making the boy’s attachment to Sparky feel like a speech about loving animals. We were surprised by how much we cared about the dog. The animators make his movements so expressive that the reanimation becomes something to worry about, even while we enjoy the ingenuity of the scene. John August’s screenplay is strongest when it stays close to Victor’s need to have Sparky back; the extra horror references keep interrupting it.

Peter Sorg’s monochrome cinematography gives the handmade figures weight and depth, with lighting that keeps their peculiar shapes readable in the dark. Rick Heinrichs’s production design rewards a look around the frame; the detail helps this strange community feel inhabited. The use of 3D works because the sets already seem to occupy real space. Much of the pleasure comes from examining the puppets and their surroundings, and the care spent on them remains visible even when the story becomes busy.

Catherine O’Hara and Martin Short give the supporting voices a welcome comic variety, each taking several roles without making the film feel like a display of impersonations. Martin Landau voices Mr. Rzykruski, another of the film’s agreeably peculiar presences. Yet too many of the people around Victor remain easier to identify by their appearance than by anything they want. The grotesque character designs are funny, but John August does not always give those characters enough to do beyond filling out the neighbourhood.

Chris Lebenzon and Mark Solomon’s editing keeps the animated movement clear, though the middle stretch has less urgency than the opening. The story starts to feel crowded without becoming much more surprising, and its detours put distance between us and Sparky. Danny Elfman’s score helps hold the comedy and unease together, giving the affection enough room to register. It is useful support through the changes between tenderness and creepiness, particularly when the story has too many supporting characters competing for attention.

As family horror, Frankenweenie gets something important right: a child’s attachment to an animal deserves to be taken seriously, even in a film full of odd faces. The PG certificate should not be mistaken for a guarantee that every small child will be comfortable with its scares or its interest in death. It runs 87 minutes, but the subject may need more discussion afterwards than its length suggests. For a family evening, check how everyone feels about a dog needing to be brought back from the dead.