Frankenweenie Reviews

The jokes are built almost entirely around references to old black and white horror movies.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Compared to the shorter and more to the point original, the expanded Frankenweenie is padded and less focused, meandering from a simple path of what was a clever parody/homage.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5

It's a benign abomination.

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Missing, however, are the authentic feelings of morbidity and alienation that once made Burton an interesting filmmaker.

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Actively frustrating and a tedious experience to endure.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5

The monster-movie component of "Frankenweenie" stomps all over the appeal of the original 30-minute version.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

Tim Burton's black-and-white, stop-motion expansion of his 1984 short about another young Frankenstein and his reanimated canine has initial charm but suffers from overkill in the final act.

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The film is diverting fun in fits and starts but can't quite achieve a coherent whole.

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Frankenweenie's biggest crime is that it's a comedy that isn't funny. There's no zip to the script, few jokes that stick in the mind.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5

Frankenweenie is the apotheosis of goth director Tim Burton's oeuvre: artistic yet sterile, incredibly meticulous and totally misbegotten.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4

Tim Burton's sense of playfulness feels forced throughout, and as the film progresses, any humor or inventiveness takes a backseat to tumultuous set pieces that reference Frankenstein.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4

Imaginative in a highly familiar and ultimately tedious way.

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Shows great difficulty proving its worth as a feature-length effort, working through elements of monster rampage and scientific debate that feel more like padding than a naturally dramatic extension of the original creation.

Full Review | Original Score: C

Burton apparently worked on this at night while directing Dark Shadows during the day. Both movies would have benefited greatly from his undivided attention.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5

What still eludes Burton is the ability to deepen the superficial allure of his visions.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Frankenweenie isn't terrible, but compared to other animation out there this year it does suggest Burton's time may have come and gone.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4

Irresponsible and insulting in the way that it takes great pains to, quite correctly, rail against messing with the natural order of things before hypocritically contradicting itself in the end.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4

Nothing about Frankenweenie the feature is offensively stale like some of Burton's recent work - it's always fun to look at, and has its share of good lines. It's just not that exciting a thing to recommend, either.

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[W]hile the results are underwhelming, it is one of the better directorial efforts from Burton in a while.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

... a padded short story that didn't require embellishment... looks very weak directly compared to the sheer brilliance of the similarly themed ParaNorman.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4.0