The trailer for Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie suggests to me that big fans of 90s Tim Burton might get a chance to experience a little bit of that magic again. That may end up being the case purely because the constraints of a black & white stop-motion film might have tamped down Burton’s more retarded contemporary instincts a bit. The styling is obviously pure distilled Burton wheelhouse, but when it’s rooted in something physical (rather than smeared onto humans with shitty CGI) and is geared to pay tribute to classic hammer films and the like, I’m willing to be a bit more optimistic. But only a bit.
The trailer is certainly cute, and features voice-work from Martin Landau, Winona Ryder, Tom Kenny, Martin Short, and Catherine O’Hara.
Unlike Nightmare Before Christmas, Burton has actually directed this film rather than just produced. Let us hope the result isn’t nearly as listless as Corpse Bride. The film hits on October 5th, 2012 which is thankfully after the Coraline group’s (likely superior) ParaNorman August 17th release, so it won’t steal that film’s creepy stop-motion thunder.
Can you stomach even more classically-styled Burton work at this point? Any chewer fingers crossed out there?
See it in HD at Yahoo.
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9 comments
The last Burton film to get me really excited was Sleepy Hollow. That’s a loooooooooooong time ago now.
I still feel that Burton’s got the power to deliver again, but it’s been a looong time since Big Fish…
That said, when it comes to stop motion you’ve usually got good odds. It seems like pretty much every film of that medium is entirely enjoyable (when it’s not outright amazing). Of course, I say that not yet having watched Corpse Bride, so what do I know.
Also, Henry Selick isn’t doing ParaNorman; that’s being done by other members of the Coraline team (and the guy who did Flushed Away). Still high hopes for it, the teaser is pretty slick.
Good eye on Paranorman, thanks!
Wow…showcasing Burton as the “director of Alice in Wonderland” All the other films in his resume, and they use “Alice in Wonderland”. Now that’s proof positive studio executives don’t care about word-of-mouth, only the final box office intake.
What is wrong with showcasing “Director of Alice in Wonderland?” They are marketing a movie here. Burton hasn’t had a major hit in years, and like it or not, Alice in Wonderland was a massive success that crossed over into a broad audience, bigger than anything Burton has done since Batman. OF COURSE they’re going to mention that.
I don’t like defending the suits, but they run a business based on ticket sales. They’re not concerned with pandering to fans of Burton’s early films because come on, they know the fanboys will buy tickets to see this regardless.
Your logic would be airtight, except for one conversation that two average joes would inevitably share after seeing the title ALICE IN WONDERLAND flashed in the trailer:
“Hey, didn’t we see that retarded ALICE movie back in ’10?”
“Yeah, dude. It sucked major ass.”
“The hell with that B.S., I’m skipping FRANKENWEENIE.”
“Ditto.”
…because even morons can learn. Eventually.
“They’re not concerned with pandering to fans of Burton’s early films”
This is feature length version of Frankenweenie – that’s exactly what they’re doing numbnuts.
For those curious, Henry Selick is currently directing a different stop-motion project for Disney. I believe it’s tentatively scheduled for 2013.
Tim Burton is pandering to his fans, dickweed. The studio is pandering to 13 year old girls who love Johnny Depp and saw Alice.
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