(Don't forget to read my review of Nightmare Before Christmas on my other blog: mattmonstermovies.blogspot.com)
Frankenweenie:
This is both the first black and white film and first stop-motion film to be released in IMAX 3D. It is both an adaptation of Burton's 1984 short film, and a homage/parody of 1931's Frankenstein, among other horror films. A young boy, Victor Frankenstein, a filmmaker and science geek, loves his dog Sparky, So when a car accident kills his dog, Victor is very torn up about it. So, learning the science of using electrocution to re-animate limbs, he stitches together his dead dog, and brings him to life via a top-secret and elaborate attic experiment. He then tries to keep the dog a secret, but with Sparky's wild nature, many neighborhood kids find out about it, and, in order to win the school science fair, decide they must re-animate their pets as well. Meanwhile, Sparky befriends Persephone, the neighboring girl's dog. All these plotlines collide in a fun, but eerie climax. They really put effort into this movie. From making the Disney logo look ominous and imposing, to the impressive animation skills, to the countless monster movie references, (Gamora, Godzilla, The Mummy, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula, Son of Frankenstein, etc.), you know this was a heart-felt project Burton cared about very much. He is going back to his roots, after all. After this May's terrible adaptation Dark Shadows, I'm glad Burton made such a comeback. Charlie Tahan plays Victor, very convincingly, and very reminiscent of Burton himself. That lonely, friendless, weird kid who's nice, but just misunderstood. Catherine O'Hara plays multiple roles as Victor's mother, "Weird Girl" (a strange girl from Victor's school who is obsessed with her cat and his "psychic visions", among other things), and the gym teacher. Martin Short also has multiple roles as Victor's dad, Mr. Burgermeister (the mean mayor of New Holland, the fictional town in which the film takes place), and Nassor (a science genius who is fellow student Toshiaki's science partner, who is an enemy of Victor, and has an appearance similar to Frankenstein's monster and a voice similar to the most famous Frankenstein actor, Boris Karloff). James Hiroyuki Liao plays Toshiaki, an Asian science genius, a foe of Victor, and Nassor's friend. Winona Ryder plays Elsa Van Helsing, Victor's neighbor and love interest, and Mr. Burgermeister's niece. Martin Landau (Ed Wood) plays Mr. Ryzkruski, the very intelligent but very eccentric new Russian science teacher, who acts of Victor's science mentor. Atticus Shaffer plays Edgar (E) Gore (reference to Igor), a hunchbacked child who is the first to know Sparky is alive. Tom Kenny (voice of Spongebob) plays several townsfolk in the film. The voice talent is vast, and all the characters are odd, but entertaining, in Burton's signature style. The visuals and animation are iconic and stylized, giving the film that Tim Burton charm. Definetly better than some of Burton's recent work, and almost as good as The Nightmare Before Christmas, if not better! 5/5 stars.
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Bonus! Hotel Transylvania:
Genndy Tartokovsky, creator of Dexter's Laboratory, Sym-Biotic Titan, Samurai Jack, Powerpuff Girls, and 2005's Star Wars: The Clone Wars, has now produced a new film, using 2D character designs, with 3D animation. It is the Hotel Transylvania, such a lovely place, such a lovely place... (only kidding)
The film is actually pretty funny and enjoyable, especially for the kind of kid's movies we usually see. The plot is that Dracula has built the Hotel Transylvania, a safe haven for monsters, who have been driven-out by humans, and a safe haven for his daughter, Mavis, who's mother was killed in a fire that humans caused. Suddenly, an average backpacker stumbles onto the place, and falls for Mavis. Dracula tries to keep the situation under control, as the monsters will completely go ape-shit if they find that a human has entered this supposedly "safe" castle. Adam Sandler actually gives a decent performance for once as Dracula. He plays the over-the-top funny man, the controlling father, the caring individual, and a menacing figure. Kevin James and Steve Buscemi appear as Frankenstein and Wayne the Wolfman, turning in funny performances as well. Fran Drescher and Molly Shannon co-star as their wives, Eunice and Wanda the Werewoman. Selena Gomez is Mavis (a role originally for Miley Cyrus), she does a good job as well. David Spade and Cee-Lo Green are the Invisible Man, and the obese Mummy. Jon Lovitz plays the French chef Quasimodo, and Luenell as Mavi's sassy shrunken head doorknob. Andy Samberg (The Lonely Island, SNL) plays Jonathan, the back-packing, dumb-ass "hip" guy who stumbles upon the castle. Rob Riggle (Upright Citizens Brigade, The Hangover, Step Bros, 21 Jump Street, Wilfred) voices a background character, the skeleton husband. Jackie and Sadie Sandler, Sandler's wife and daughter, voice Martha (Drac's dead wife) and young Mavis, respcetively. Chris Parnell plays The Fly, and Brian George is the living suit of armor who runs the security of the castle. Paul Brittain, Tom Kenny, Jim Wise, Jonny Solomon, and Craig Kellman voice the several heads of the Hydra. The humor in the film is quite effective, they limit the immature fart jokes to one, they have very great visual gags, and there is one, cleverly placed, and very subtle penis joke that's in the pool party scene. The animation is great, moving quickly and fluently, creating a very quick-paced and very cool film to watch. Overall, if you're looking for a Halloween movie that parents can enjoy almost as much as their kids, Hotel Transylvania is the film for you. 3.5/5 stars.
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