Year: 1984
Country: U.S.
Subgenre: Short Film (Featurette)/Mad Scientist/Horror For Kids
Runtime: 29 minutes
Director: Tim Burton
Once upon a time (now a LONG time ago) this was one of Tim Burton's most famous films for kids/family. Long before it was made into an animated feature film, Burton's original Frankendog film was a rather infamous little affair. Disney fired Burton for "wasting" company time and resources and accused him of making a film that was too scary for it's target young audience and all-round inappropriate. The film made it out into the wild here and there (this was at the beginning of the home video "revolution"), and was a pretty sought after pirated film (back when pirated stuff like this came from eastern Europe). Of course, about a decade later and after Burton became a household name, Disney officially released it. It is a highly recommended little movie however, and no shoddy short horror "spec." It is beautifully crafted, very endearing and will seriously make grown men cry. No sloughing on cast either. A young boy named Victor Frankenstein (Barret Oliver) brings his dog back to life in a kid's retelling of the Frankenstein story. Mom and dad...Susan and Ben Frankenstein are played by Shelley Duvall and Daniel Stern respectively; a young Sofia Coppola rounds out the recognizable cast. It is shot in black and white and sports very clever special effects. Personally, I like this version better than the 2012 animated feature. It's worth noting that Burton is back in the news recently saying that he's had it with Disney.
