Frankenweenie is a 1984 short film directed by Tim Burton and co-written by Burton with Leonard Ripps. It is both a parody and homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein based on Mary Shelley's novel of the same name. Burton later directed a feature-length stop-motion animated remake, released in 2012.
Plot[]
Sparky
Victor Frankenstein (played by Barret Oliver) is a young boy who creates movies starring his dog, Sparky (a Bull Terrier, whose name is a reference to the use of electricity in the film). After Sparky is hit by a car and killed, Victor learns at school about electrical impulses in muscles and is inspired to bring his pet back to life. He creates elaborate machines which bring down a bolt of lightning that revives the dog. Victor is pleased, but when the Frankensteins decide to introduce the revitalized Sparky to his neighbors, they become angry and terrified.
Sparky runs away, with Victor in pursuit. They find themselves at a local miniature golf course and hide in its flagship windmill. The Frankensteins' neighbors, now an angry mob, arrive on the scene, and when they attempt to use a cigarette lighter to try to see in the windmill, it is accidentally set on fire. Victor falls and is knocked out, but Sparky rescues him from the flames, only to be crushed by the windmill. The mob of neighbors, realizing their error, use their cars and jumper cables to "recharge" Sparky. He is revived, and all celebrate. Sparky falls in love with a poodle whose fur bears a strong resemblance to the hairdo of the Bride of Frankenstein and the film ends with Sparky's electricity making the words, "The End" and it becomes still.
Cast[]
- Barret Oliver as Victor Frankenstein
- Sparky as Sparky
- Shelley Duvall as Susan Frankenstein
- Daniel Stern as Ben Frankenstein
- Helen Boll as Mrs. Curtis
- Rusty James as Raymond
- Joseph Maher as Mr. Chambers
- Sofia Coppola as Anne Chambers
- Paul Bartel as Mr. Walsh
- Paul C. Scott as Mike Anderson
- Jason Hervey as Frank Dale
- Persephone as Persephone