Frankenweenie

Vastly superior to its animated remake. Tim Burton, I've discovered, is best taken in small doses.

A charming little homage to Frankenstein. It's a simple kids movie but it's enjoyable, well paced and sincere.

An original Burton, showing what was to come as a filmmaker.

I think I like this better than the stop motion remake. It's creepier and reminiscent of older horror films with an ambiguous ending. Fav scene: creeping up on sister.

Nice little short, slightly better than the remake. The highlight for me was seeing and recognizing most of the actors. I found the dog to be super cute as well.

There is nothing quite like the relationship between a boy and his reanimated dog. It's a tale as old as time.

In this early effort, Tim Burton already displays his trademark gothic kitsch; outsider/outcast characters conveying morals pandering to the lowest common denominator. Almost every movie he will ever make from here on is basically a remake of Frankenweenie - not exclusive to his 2012 Frankenweenie remake. This is probably more enjoyable to watch if you're relatively new to Burton's work.

I'm not a big fan of Burton. This stuff ages badly, and is only good for kids.

I absolutely love it. It's my favorite short.

In this adaptation of Frankenstein, we are able to see the blueprints for what would become the Tim Burton esthetic. Young Victors' use of the mundane around his suburban home to create his science experiment to bring his beloved dog back to life is similar to many of the machines Pee-Wee has in his house in that film. We can also see the juxtaposition of death with the grotesquery of suburban life that Burton is know for throughout this film. The story itself is cute and endlessly watchable.

Mediocre. There's a good film in here, trying to get out, but I think the short running time and a few bad scenes are holding it back.

You definitely get a sense of what Burton's style is developing into. Thankfully he didn't know about Johnny Depp at this point. Its mediocre, but not at all bad.

Didn't resonate with me nearly as much as the full length animated film did, which vastly improves on everything, but still worth a watch if you're interested in early Burton.

Fond childhood memories. Used to catch this on TV as a kid....wow.

Nobody really cares, Tim...

Rules

Still my favorite Tim Burton film. Possibly the epitome of his "weird/cool for 12-year-olds" style

As a kid, I would beg my dad to rent this one for me, over and over again. I love this film. Cute little short, and it's only now that I find out that it was directed by Tim Burton. That makes sense.

A young Burton shows his visual flare and dry humor with this short retelling of Frankenstein, replacing the famed monster with an adorable pooch.

First he gets to ride a luck dragon, then he resurrects his dog.

Seen it, enjoy it. It's Tim Burton's aesthetics plain and simple. No bullshit visuality, no bullshit actinc, just a good story and a director conducting it.

Just to see early Tim Burton work is satisfying.....well, as long as you like Tim Burton movies. And, sadly, this film is devoid of Johnny Depp.

Excellent.

Merely Ok fare for kids...Burton did much better with Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

I'm a bit of a Tim Burton fangirl, but this was completely forgettable and derivative.

Even this 30-minute original seems 10-15mins too long, which goes to explain why the 2012 remake is packed out with fillers. That animated version is better mind, with the years passed not being too kind to this low-budget 1984 B&W attempt. You can see Burton's vision throughout in both the writing and direction, although the acting is woeful (or woefully directed/edited) and overall it feels like a student film.

Sit. Good boy. Roll over. Good boy. Play dead. Good boy.

Burton shows his talent in potential here.