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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
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| Frankenweenie (2012 film) | 1/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenweenie_(2012_film) | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:39:18.918163+00:00 | kb-cron |
Frankenweenie (also known as Tim Burton's Frankenweenie) is a 2012 American stop-motion animated Gothic comedy film directed by Tim Burton, written by John August, and featuring the voices of Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, and Winona Ryder. A co-production between Walt Disney Pictures and Tim Burton Productions, it is a feature-length remake of the 1984 short film. The film follows a boy named Victor Frankenstein who uses the power of electricity to resurrect his dead dog Sparky, but his peers discover what he has done and reanimate their own deceased pets and other creatures, resulting in mayhem. Frankenweenie initially began development in November 2005, with a script written by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott. In December 2007, Burton was asked to direct two 3D films for Disney, including a 2010 live-action adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. Filming began at 3 Mills Studios in July 2010. The tongue-in-cheek film contains numerous references to and parodies of Frankenstein and past film versions of it, other literary classics, various horror and science-fiction films, and other films which Burton has directed or produced. Frankenweenie premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 20, 2012, and was released in the United States on October 5, to generally positive reviews for its visuals and story. It was a moderate box office success, grossing $82 million against a $39 million budget. It won the Saturn Award for Best Animated Film, and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and an Annie Award for Best Animated Film.
== Plot == Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist and amateur filmmaker, lives with his parents, Susan and Edward, and his beloved bull terrier, Sparky, in the quiet town of New Holland. He does not interact much with his classmates, who include his somber next-door neighbor Elsa Van Helsing, the mischievous Edgar "E" Gore, the naive Bob, the pretentious Toshiaki, the sinister Nassor, and an eccentric "Weird Girl". Concerned with Victor’s isolation, Edward encourages him to take up baseball. When Victor hits a home run at his first game, Sparky chases the ball, but is struck and killed by a car, leaving Victor despondent. Inspired by his science teacher Mr. Rzykruski's demonstration of the effect of electricity on dead frogs, Victor digs up Sparky, brings him to a makeshift laboratory in his attic, and reanimates him with a bolt of lightning. Victor is elated by Sparky's revival, but keeps him hidden in the attic. While Victor is at school the next day, Sparky escapes the attic to chase the Weird Girl's cat, Mr. Whiskers, and explore the neighborhood. He is recognized by Edgar, who blackmails Victor into teaching him how to raise the dead. Together, the two resurrect a dead goldfish, which inexplicably becomes invisible. Edgar brags about the fish to his classmates, but the fish disappears when he tries to show it to a skeptical Nassor. Fearful of losing the upcoming science fair, Toshiaki and Bob create a jetpack from soda bottles, but their test ends with Bob falling off his roof and breaking his arm. The townsfolk blame Mr. Rzykruski for the incident, accusing him of negatively influencing their children. When Susan and Edward call upon Mr. Rzykruski to speak in his defense, he gives a tactlessly insulting and threatening speech which results in his dismissal, and the gym teacher replaces him. Before Mr. Rzykruski leaves the school, Victor learns from him that the differing outcomes of his experiment were influenced by his emotional attachment. Edgar accidentally reveals Victor's role in reviving the fish and Sparky to Toshiaki, Nassor, and Bob, inspiring them to conduct their own reanimation experiments. Victor's parents are shocked to discover Sparky in the attic, causing the dog to flee. Although upset by the gravity of Victor's actions, they set out with him to find Sparky. When the family leaves, Victor's classmates invade the lab and discover Victor's reanimation research. When they perform their experiments separately, their competitive sentiment turns each of their dead animals into a monster: Mr. Whiskers holds a dead bat while he is electrocuted, resulting in both animals being fused into a vampiric feline; a dead rat Edgar found in the garbage turns into a wererat; Nassor's mummified hamster Colossus comes back to life; Toshiaki's turtle Shelley is covered in Miracle-Gro and becomes a kaiju; and Bob's expired Sea-Monkeys grow into amphibious humanoids similar to Gremlins. The monsters converge on the town fair and wreak havoc. After finding Sparky at the town's pet cemetery, Victor is alerted to the monster attacks and goes to help his classmates: the Sea-Monkeys explode after eating salted popcorn, Colossus is stepped on by Shelley, and the wererat and Shelley both return to their original, deceased forms after getting electrocuted. During the chaos, Persephone, Elsa's pet poodle, is grabbed by Mr. Whiskers and carried to the town windmill, with Elsa and Victor giving pursuit. The townsfolk blame Sparky for Elsa's disappearance and chase him to the windmill, which Elsa's uncle accidentally ignites with his torch. Victor and Sparky enter the burning windmill and rescue Elsa and Persephone. However, Victor ends up being trapped inside. Sparky rescues Victor, only to be dragged back inside by Mr. Whiskers, who is fatally impaled by a flaming piece of wood just before the windmill collapses, killing Sparky again. The townsfolk, moved by Sparky's heroism, gather and revive Sparky with their car batteries. Persephone runs to Sparky and they touch noses, producing a spark.
== Voice cast ==