To celebrate the release of Frankenweenie on Blu-ray, available Jan. 8, ANDPOP and Disney are giving away five copies of the four-disc combo-pack.
A must-add to any Tim Burton collection, the hilarious 3D stop-motion animated film is filled with quirky characters and unexpected twists. The Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) includes tons of bonus material, including a behind-the-scenes look of how Burton brought Frankenweenie to life. Along with an all-new original short called “Captain Sparky vs The Flying Saucers,” you’ll get to see Burton’s original live-action short called Frankenweenie (1984).
Rules
It’s easy to enter! All you have to do is like our Facebook page fill out the contest form below before Jan. 22 at midnight. Don’t forget to read more about the film and watch the trailer after the jump.
*The contest is open to everyone in Canada, excluding Quebec.*
Sorry! We already picked our winners on Jan. 22 2013!
Plot Read more…
Charlie Tahan may only just be 15-years-old. But having worked with stars like Will Smith in I Am Legend and Natalie Portman in The Other Woman, the teen already boasts a very impressive résumé.
Most known as Zac Efron’s little brother in Charlie St. Cloud, Tahan now enters into his first voice role starring in Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie.
Chatting with andPOP, Tahan shared some of his experiences on set and talked more about his character, Victor Frankenstein.
Tim Burton is known to make some dark films. What makes Frankenweenie appealing to everyone?
Yeah, he makes some dark films but there is always more to his movies. Some people might think at first that Frankenweenie would be really dark too because it is sort of has themes about death, and monsters and stuff. But what it is really about… it is mostly a story about a boy and his dog, and how much they love each other. And that is appealing to almost everyone, kids and adults.
Bringing a corpse back to life is often (if not always) extremely creepy. But in Tim Burton’s new film Frankenweenie, resurrection is just as cute and endearing when it involves a boy and his everlasting love for his dog.
Plot
Set in the fictional town of New Holland, Victor Frankenstein (voiced by Charlie Tahan) is a bright and curious boy who doesn’t have many friends. Spending much of his time cooped up in the attic doing science experiments, the only companion he has is his beloved dog Sparky.
Together, the two are inseparable. So much so, that Victor’s caring parents (voiced by Martin Short and Catherine O’Hara) convince him to make friends and try different things.
Everything changes when Sparky dies unexpectedly after an accident. Trying to deal with his grief in science class, Victor is suddenly inspired when his eccentric teacher Mr. Rzykruski (Martin Landau) shows how a dead frog’s limbs still work when electrocuted. Motivated, Victor rushes back home to devise a plan to bring his dog back to life.
When the plan works and Sparky lives, Victor tries to keep his resurrected pet a secret. But when Sparky gets out, havoc breaks and it’s up to Victor to save the day.
Things I loved:
The characters
It just wouldn’t be a Tim Burton film without some quirky characters, and with their bulging eyes and oversized heads, these ones are especially so. Some favourites that come to mind are Victor’s classmates, Edgar (Atticus Shaffer) and Weird Girl (also voiced by Catherine O’Hara), who try to tamper with his scientific discovery.
Winona Ryder on the other hand, seems to play the sanest character on the bill as Elsa Van Helsing. She holds the most sympathy for Victor during his loss, but is way too distracted dealing with her tyrant uncle, who just so happens to be the town mayor (also voiced by Martin Short).
But the most interesting character in the movie is none other than science teacher Mr. Rzykruski. Sounding like a European Dracula, he steals the show, applying strange and unsettling teaching methods to his class.
The Special Effects
I’m not a big fan of 3D because I find it hardly ever works. But coupled with the film’s beautiful set designs and art direction, Frankenweenie is worth seeing in another dimension.
Despite being in black and white to pay homage to Old Hollywood, this film never ceases to amaze me. While it’s a stop-motion animation, at times the scenes are so real you can almost feel the sweat dripping from the characters’ faces.
I’ve never seen Tim Burton’s original 1984 short film Frankenweenie but it must be pretty good since Disney green lighted a remake. The film’s new trailer reminds me of the black and white stop motion animation he used in his classic films, spurring a lot of nostalgia for adults who watched it as kids.
Of course the “Franken” part of the name is an homage to the 1931 Frankenstein, which forms the basis of the story. But the “weenie” part is for the dog, Sparky. In Burton’s version, a boy named Victor loses his dog Sparky and uses the power of science to bring it back to life. Victor tries to hide his creation but the mischievous Sparky gets out and causes havoc in the town.
The movie looks like it has a lot of classic Tim Burton humour and it stars Winona Ryder and Martin Short. But we’ll have to wait until October 5 to see if it’s as good as the trailer.
