Copyright /FILM
You know you've made it into the cultural zeitgeist when audiences can immediately clock that something came from you, as is the case with Tim Burton. The macabre filmmaker has built a career out of telling dark fantasy stories about outcasts, weirdos, and monsters that have become fixtures of their generation. But before the likes of "Beetlejuice," "Edward Scissorhands," and "Ed Wood," Burton got his start making short films that eventually caught the attention of Disney. It shouldn't come as a surprise that his first project for the Mouse House was the semi-autobiographical "Vincent," a six-minute stop-motion poem narrated by the Vincent Price about a young boy who gets lost in his abstract imagination. While Burton would eventually go to direct feature films like the live-action remakes of "Alice in Wonderland" and "Dumbo" for the studio further down the line, he once made a 30-minute short film that was considered so grim that it led to him being booted from the company. It's no wonder he has a fraught relationship with Disney. That short is 1984's "Frankenweenie," and it's the perfect Halloween treat to stream on Disney+. Co-written by Burton and Leonard Ripps, "Frankenweenie" transforms Mary Shelley's iconic sci-fi/horror novel "Frankenstein" into a strange coming-of-age tale. The short's protagonist, young Victor Frankenstein (Barret Oliver), loves to make home movie homages to B-movie creature features, with his Bull Terrier named Sparky playing the monster. An unfortunate car accident, however, leads to Sparky's death. So, after learning about reviving the central nervous system of dead things in his science class, Victor proceeds to resurrect his best pal by way of a lightning storm that would make James Whale proud. Before long, though, Sparky's presence causes trouble in their neighborhood. "Frankenweenie" remains an excellent example of gateway horror, and how the genre can reach out to younger audiences. Sometimes kids need that extra push to challenge them, but Disney didn't see it that way. The short was intended to precede the 1984 theatrical re-release of "Pinocchio," but was instead replaced by a Pluto cartoon. Burton was then fired from Disney, with the top brass claiming it was a waste of resources to make something so scary for the younglings. It wasn't until after Burton became a major success by directing "Beetlejuice" and "Batman" that "Frankenweenie" was made available on VHS, albeit in a censored version. The full short has since been restored in all its glory, and we know now that it was well worth pushing those boundaries. If it hadn't been for "Frankenweenie," Paul Reubens wouldn't have sought Burton out to direct "Pee Wee's Big Adventure." You can really see Burton's admiration for gothic expressionism flourish from the get go, as the suburban neighborhood in "Frankenweenie" is compellingly abstract. It features all the promise of a hungry talent who applied his macabre sensibilities to something funny, horrifying and touching. Not only does the short feature warm performances from Shelley Duvall and Daniel Stern as Victor's concerned yet loving parents, but it also features an early appearance from future filmmaker Sofia Coppola as one of Victor's classmates. In a full circle moment, Burton would later go on to direct a feature-length version of "Frankenweenie" in stop-motion. Unfortunately, for all its aesthetic bells and whistles, Burton's big screen expansion of "Frankenweenie" quickly loses sight of Victor's story for his thinly-written classmates and their creations. It's sweet, but it doesn't have its predecessor's macabre heart. "Frankenweenie" is currently streaming on Disney+.
