This is my first ever blog, and I’ve always said to myself that when I do start it would be with, Tim Burton. What’s better is that it is also with one of my favourite books, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
There are many things about Frankenstein which make it a stand out piece of literature; its scientific, it critiques society, it reveals the concept of monstrosity. It does a lot, so it comes as no surprise that my little sister came home from school to tell me she was going to study it for her GCSE. This got me excited.
That was not the only thing which made this piece of literature crop up in my life. Tim Burton wanted to release his movie Frankenweenie after making a short film in 1984. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rcPe9sojpc There was going to be a motion picture Disney production which was released last year (2012.) This got me even more excited.
My last revival of the classic is the fact I just handed an assignment in, it was about monstrosity in the nineteenth century, which inevitably meant Frankenstein was going to feature. This urged me to write the blog.
When I first read the novel it is without a doubt that my love for the nativity of the monster/ creation/ deamon, was apparent. So I was pleased with the amalgamation of Frankenstein’s name with the creature or pet, Sparky. Frankenweenie. It was a good decision on Burton’s behalf because he creature is often referred to with the name of the maker. Don’t tell me that someone didn’t think the monster was called Frankenstein… Just me? I’ll take it because for me the real monster was the Victor.
But that is not the case at all with the film because Victor in Frankenweenie is lonely boy who found companionship with his dog. It is a story that could be any little boys and thats what makes this adaptation a delight to watch. The animated figure of Victor is typical to that of Burton’s other works, such as, Victor VanDorf. (A personal favourite)
The movie is in black and white, it was advertised in a very old fashion form of cinema, with the cheesy tense music, the large words which flash across the screen that look like goo. It really is a film which is a ‘blast from the past’ as my mother referred to it.
I basically wanted to state in my blog that, the film was a refreshing take on the classic, which has unconsciously for children brought to light what Mary Shelley did for the critical audience of 1818. There is nothing more delightful that making the youths of today interact with great works of literature even if it is incarnate through the vision of Tim Burton.
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