Film #5 Frankenweenie (12.1.13)

#5 Frankenweenie

Didn't get round to watching this last year, there seemed to be so many animated movies in 2012, what with Hotel Trannie, BarryNormal, Snoorax and Ice Age 4: Incontinent Drip, to name but four of the worst ones, that when it finally came out I couldn't be arsed to go and see it.

But this morning thanks to the Saturday Morning Kid's club I did!

And what a lovely surprise it turned out to be. An animated horror film for kids that didn't suck and wasn't remotely shit (Actually, I kinda of enjoyed ParaNorman, just wasn't keen on the pat ending or the gloominess of the lead character). The great thing about Frankenweenie is that it's actually quite creepy!

I was very impressed with the darkness on display and not just the delightful black and white photography! The humour was very dark at times and to judge by the kid's reaction in the cinema so of it was quite scary. I loved the fact that it was packed full of glorious subtle homages to horror films and tropes. The film is well written and doesn't rely on the cheap, repetitive gags of the DreamWorks or Blue Sky variety. Here story was king and the humour was it's queen. For example, I loved the brilliant PTA meeting where a discussion about the science teacher is in reality, a thinly veiled piss-take of those said, same similar talks about creationism. The final monster showdown is fantastic and the Tim Burton gothic touches are fab. The stop-motion animation is an absolute treat and the film is filled with well designed characters.

I very much enjoyed this and my only beef was the ending, I was disappointed that it wasn't a more sombre ending, I can't say more without giving it away.

8/10