Barrybgb

Before the 2012 remake, there was the 1984 original short film. From Tim Burton comes a tale that puts a new spin on 'Frankenstein'. Young Victor Frankenstein (Barret Oliver) loves his dog. He makes home movies featuring his dog. When tragedy befalls, young Victor brings his dog back to life much to the shock of the neighborhood.



Trailer (This is the 2012 trailer re-cut for the 1984 film) :




Daniel Stern ("The Wonder Years", "Home Alone", "City Slickers") and Shelley Duvall ("The Shining", Roxanne", "Popeye") co-star as the parents. Jason Hervey ("The Wonder Years") and Sofia Coppola also-star.

Melis

I don't think I've seen it.

Barrybgb

Well, it was shelved by Disney. It was shown on The Disney Channel some time later and was included in the SE of "The Nightmare Before Christmas". It is also on the Blu-ray of the 2012 remake.

And yes, "tail" is meant to be spelled that way in the title. Lol.

Melis

Oh, I gotcha.

Barrybgb

Tim was fired by Disney after completing this. They said he was wasting company resources and they felt the film was not suitable for the target young audiences.

Barrybgb

Melis

I feel like that many times.

Barrybgb

Lol. Me too.

I like how it was filmed in black and white to give it that classic monster movie feel like the movie it is taking after, "Frankenstein".

Barrybgb

I watched this yesterday for the first time in years. It was fun.

You can watch it here (I couldn't find it without the short film "Vincent" before it. "Frankenweenie, which is only 30 minutes long, begins at 5:53.) -

Barrybgb

You really saw what Tim Burton's potential was in this short film. His taste and style was apparent from the get go. Even though it is only a half hour, it packs in all the Burton hallmarks. I wished this original version had been longer though.

Melis

I didn't know he was involved.

Barrybgb

Tim? Yeah. He was the director.

Barrybgb

The young boy in the movie was the grandson in the "Cocoon" movies. He was also Bastian in "The Neverending Story".

Melis

Cool connection

Barrybgb

Obviously, the homage here is to "Frankenstein", right down to the windmill from the ending of the original "Frankenstein" movie, something which Tim Burton re-created again in "Sleepy Hollow".