Taglines: He’s Wild! He’s Funny! He’s Rechargeable!
Frankenweenie movie storyline. Victor Frankenstein (played by Barret Oliver) is a young boy who creates movies starring his dog, Sparky (a Bull Terrier, whose name is a play on 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. While Victor is pleased, his neighbors are terrified by the animal, and when the Frankensteins decide to introduce the revitalized Sparky to them 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.
Frankenweenie is a 1984 Tim Burton-directed short film produced by Walt Disney Pictures 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. It was filmed in 1983. 28 years later, Burton decided to work on a stop-motion 2012 remake of that film.
Frankenweenie (1984)
Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Shelley Duvall, Daniel Stern, Barret Oliver, Joseph Maher, Roz Braverman, Paul Bartel, Sofia Coppola, Jason Hervey
Screenplay by: Tim Burton, Leonard Ripps
Cinematography by: Thomas E. Ackerman
Film Editing by: Ernest Milano
Set Decoration by: Roger M. Shook
Art Direction by: John B. Mansbridge
Music by: Michael Convertino, David Newman
Distributed by: Buena Vista Distribution
Release Date: December 14, 1984
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