Latest movie brings laughs

After a series of mediocre films such as his latest “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” director Tim Burton has found his way back into the hearts of audiences with “Frankenweenie.”

The stop motion film is Burton’s revision of his original short movie from 1984, extending and delving further into the plot with more monsters and creepier characters.

By revisiting the past Burton does what he does best — find a way to make a dark, gothic theme loving and humorous.

“Frankenweenie” is a story about a boy, Victor Frankenstein, (voiced by Charlie Tahan) and his dog Sparky. It is a plot that has been used multiple times, but when put in the hands of Burton, the tale becomes twisted and grim.

The day after Sparky’s death, Victor sits in class as the camera pulls away from him, creating a distance from reality. After seeing his science teacher jolt a dead frog with electricity, Victor uses that technique to bring Sparky back to life.

By using electricity, in this case lightning, Victor waits after Sparky is struck and realizes there is no hope. Moments later however, Sparky’s tail wiggles and a sense of relief is brought back to those watching.

The film is in black and white which creates a dark, ominous tone, but the love of Victor’s parents and his relationship with Sparky is what makes the film relatable.

The bizarre characters of Victor’s classmates are enjoyable. The most disturbing character in the bunch is a little girl (voiced by Catherine O’ Hara) who constantly looks horrified with a wide eyed, zombie-like stare.

She carries around her cat who she claims dreams of people. Once it dreams of someone, the cat defecates in the shape of that person’s initial. The droppings are an omen, as something big will happen to the person the initial represents.

This character gauges the most reaction from the audience and viewers will find themselves disgusted and amused at the same time.

Another relatable theme of the story which Burton uses to touch his audience is the feeling of being alone.

Victor is somewhat of an odd character with no friends other than Sparky. He prefers to create monster movies and build things with kitchenware, unlike the other boys who play baseball.

His interest is science, but once his favorite science teacher is fired for “dangerous ideas of science,” he learns people are afraid of what they can’t comprehend.