Frankenweenie

For the last few years, Tim Burton has been getting a bad rap for the movies he made. All of his movies since Big Fish (sans Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street) have been dubbed fluorescence crazy, uncreative and more driven by style than story. Some people wondered: will he make a comeback?

Thankfully, he has with his new movie Frankenweenie. Burton goes back to his creepy roots to make this both thoroughly entertaining and refreshing from his last few misfires. (Frakenweenie, by the way, is a remake of his 1984 short film.)

Much like Edward Scissorhands, Frankenweenie depicts a not-so-ideal life within picture perfect suburbia. The reason? There is something amiss with one of the families. They're hiding something that might reek havoc upon them. But does it?

Another charming aspect of Frankenweenie is the many homages and references to the classic horror movies Burton likely grew up with. Like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride, the homages are a nice touch for the adults. (But then again, the movie is ideal for both kids and adults.)

I'm not going to lie. The dark fairy tale element in some of Burton's movies is why I love his work in the first place. Not only does Frankenweenie display that element gloriously (as well as a great score by Danny Elfman), it also restored my faith in him. Please, Mr. Burton, make your future projects as great as this.

My Rating: ****1/2