Biggs and Frankenweenie

By | Published Sunday, April 28, 2013

From Collider.com

Last week, the students of The World of Tim Burton seminar kicked back to Frankenweenie. The animation is a remake of the director’s first short film created in 1984. That same year, Disney decided not to collaborate with animator Tim Burton because they considered his live action short to be too dark and too frightening for children. I disagree with this statement because at the core of the movie, one can see that is simply a tale of a boy and his dog. A lonely and misunderstood child loses the one thing that is important to him, his canine friend. The dog was a faithful companion to the child, and he was also the comical star of the boy’s home movies. But now that the dog is gone is sufficiently tear-jerking. The young scientist’s stitching and attaching together of parts of his dog after it has been dead proves to be heartfelt and touching rather than dark and scary. Burton went back to the drawing board, and he decided to reprise the short using a new medium, stop-motion; he also expanded the short in to a full-length film, adding in an hour of silly drama and incident. It was not until 2012 that the franchise united with the gothic director to produce his stop-motion-animated, black-and-white, 3D film Frankenweenie.
 


In the movie, the director channels the classic tale of Mary Shelley’s Frankestein by putting an elementary spin on it with Victor Frankenstein. Victor is a young, alienated student who is an avid lover of film-making and the subject of science. His partner in crime is his hyperactive canine friend Sparky. Early in the movie, Sparky is hit by a car and killed after he went chasing after a baseball into traffic. Inspired by his wicked yet passionate science teacher, Victor becomes a mad scientist, and he works diligently to bring his friend back to life. The stitched-up Sparky rises from the grave, and this miracle then inspires Victor’s classmates to do the same with figures of their past. This chaos turns the little suburban town into the perfect setting of an old-time horror movie.

From IGN.com
The difference between the 1984 version and 2012 version is that the early work features live action while the latter is in stop-motion animation. The advantage of using live actors is the audience can sense the level of realism, and the actions are more convincing; however, this proves to be a disadvantage for animation in that it causes a slight disconnection from the audience to the characters because the audience reminds itself that the movie is just an animation. The disadvantage with live action is that the viewers form certain images in their minds about what the characters will look like and how they will act. But once they see the movie, they are often dissatisfied that the characters do not take after the thoughts formed in their heads; an automatic disconnection is present there. An advantage with stop-motion animation is that there are no limits to the action. The characters will not interfere with the preconceived notations formed with live action movies.

To conclude, Frankenweenie was a great remake of the live action short from 1984. The touching tale depicted relationship drama about the love between a boy and his dog. It is a brilliant creation in that the emotional range is wide. It is very gloomy in some parts, but the humor overshadows the darkness; the sympathy does so as well. Victor’s longing for Sparky is heartfelt. After witnessing that, he does not seem like a strange and crazy scientist; he is just boy who misses his best friend.

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Biggs and Sweeney

By | Published Friday, April 19, 2013

From dvdbeaver.com
Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd is a gothic era musical that manages to allow viewers to experience an unusually morbid delight concerning cannibalism. Burton manages to take this morally revolting topic and turns it into something musical lovers will enjoy. Perhaps it is the fact that the characters ease into songs about eating their follow Londoners that distracts the viewers from the underlying message, but it could also be the fact that we sympathize with Todd due to the loss he has experienced in the last fifteen years. Sweeney Todd returns from his fifteen year exile in hopes of reuniting with is wife and daughter, but finds that all hope is lost in the hell-hole that is London. He becomes extremely dark and desires revenge on Judge Turpin, the man who wrongly exiled him so many years ago. Todd decides to get revenge on Turpin by luring him into his barbershop and murdering him by slitting Judge Turpin's throat. However, soon after he has embodied his new, vengeful persona, Mrs. Lovett intervenes and proposes a new, radical idea to Todd: cannibalism. Of course she puts it much more eloquently, and eventually Todd agrees and sets out on his murderous rampage, simultaneously creating business for Mrs. Lovett's meat pie shop. It might be partly due to the fact that the pair is dancing as they sing, or the quite comical dishes they create while looking that the people of London, that enable the viewers to not focus as much on the cannibalism, and more on the absurdity of the ideas in the song. "A charity towards the world my pet" Todd gracefully sings as he and Mrs. Lovett justify their actions for promoting cannibalism to their unsuspecting guests. It is their absolute confidence in their decision that enables the viewers to forget, however momentarily, that they are, in fact, promoting eating their fellow Londoners. Another thing that makes the murders and cannibalism so acceptable is the fact that the characters that are murdered have absolutely no attachment to the lead characters-- they are merely pawns in the storyline. It is not until Sweeney accidentally murders his wife that viewers are brought back to the reality of the true nature behind murder. Burton uses these subtleties in order to convince the audience of the justifications for cannibalism and why it really is not such a bad thing.

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The Battle of the Bigs (Biggs and Big Fish)

By | Published Friday, April 12, 2013

From ScifiNow.com

Edward Bloom is a appealing storyteller who surrounds himself with the most interesting characters. These unique characters are interwoven in Edward's life in an intricate way. Edward has always been bigger than the small town in which he comes from; therefore his adventures come as no surprise to the audience. Though the stories seem eerie and somewhat unbelievable, it is important to recognize their importance to Edward Bloom's life and the man he has become. Edward's ability to tell stories with a great amount of detail enthralls the audience and enables them to forget the practical reality that his son, Will, firmly believes in. It is not until his father's last moments that Will is able to lose his grip on reality and fall into the fantasy world in which his father's life occurred. A scene that captures the relationship between Edward and the characters in his life occurs when Edward volunteers to rid his small town of a giant. Rather than yelling and trying to threaten the giant, Edward offers himself as a town sacrifice. The giant humorously flicks away Edward's tiny hand and agrees to leave Ashton with Edward. It is Edward's ability to talk himself and others through situations that enables them to be so comfortable around him. Edward is very confident in his abilities and has the unique ability to sell almost anything to people, including the giant. The scene in which Edward meets the old witch captures Edward's ability to relate to the "darker" characters he encounters throughout his life. He approaches the witch with the intent of looking into her glass eye to see how he will die; once he sees his death, I think his life began on a different, much more adventurous path. As he learned his "fate" as a young boy, Edward knows he has nothing to lose and therefore is not afraid to live life to the fullest and to pursue what it is he wants in life. Edward is not one to give up easily; he does not stop until he has received his desired outcome. His tenacity and confidence are two characteristics that I believe he learned as a young boy when he encountered the old witch. These characteristics continued to carry him throughout his life and enabled him to become the captivating story-telling father he is. He fully embodies what it means to make your own path and tells some fascinating stories along the way.

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Biggs and Sleepy Hollow

By | Published Friday, April 5, 2013



From Wallpapers.brothersoft.com
In Sleepy Hollow, Burton takes Washington Irving's fantasy story and turns it into a haunting murder mystery. There are three major character changes Burton makes to Irving's original story. The first major change Burton makes is making Ichabod Crane a constable rather than a schoolteacher. The second change Burton makes is to Katrina Van Tassel's character. In Irving's story she is a simple farm owner's daughter, and in Burton's version she dabbles in witchcraft in order to save those around her. The third change occurs when Burton brings the Headless Horseman to life. All three of these elements add different layers to Irving's original story. Burton makes use of Irving's story line, however he puts his own Burton twist on it. Irving's tale is built upon the folk tale of a headless horseman capturing people in the night, whereas Burton chooses to bring the Horseman to life- quite literally taking the lives of the citizens of Sleepy Hollow. Through bringing the Horseman to life, Burton creates the perfect atmosphere for a murder investigation, which is exactly the role for Burton's Ichabod. Katrina's witchcraft links her to Ichabod's past, as his own mother was murdered for witchcraft. Both witches served to protect their loved ones, whereas Katrina's stepmother uses witchcraft against the members of Sleepy Hollow. Washington Irving's tale ends in the mysterious disappearance of Ichabod Crane, leaving no hope for a positive future for either Ichabod or the townspeople. A final interesting plot twist Burton incorporates is that of the happy ending. Typically we do not see Burton films ending happily, however, Burton takes Irving's dreary ending and leaves viewers with a light hopeful feeling for Ichabod's future. These changes do not subtract from Irving's story, rather they all build upon it and allow the story to be seen in a new and possibly "scarier" light. Burton takes all of these changes and uses them to create a film that is both pleasing to the eyes as well as the viewer's sense of fairytale. He strikes the perfect balance between folk and nonfiction to bring Irving's story to a new level, while still maintaining respect for the story's original qualities.

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Biggs and the Apes

By | Published Friday, March 22, 2013


From DBCOVERS
From DBCOVERS
Burton's Planet of the Apes pays homage to the original film of 1968. The makeup, messages, and setting suspend reality for the viewer in an extraordinary way. The world in which Davidson lands completely flips his own perception of the reality he knows. He crash-lands onto a planet where apes rule all and humans are reduced to mere slavery. There are a number of dualities created in this film that enable viewers to have a greater sense for symbolism and meaning within the film. The most obvious form of duality in the film is that of the battle of ruling species. The role of species is obviously a very prominent part of the film, but it is important to notice how it plays along with the ideas of slavery and civil liberties. Throughout the opening of the movie, Davidson is seen training Pericles to fly the space pod. There is an air of obvious superiority as Davidson can speak, Pericles cannot, and Davidson clearly controls the monkey by giving him commands and rewarding him with treats. However, we also notices that Pericles is treated with the same respect the humans are, even though he does sleep in a cage. It is recognized by the astronauts that Pericles and the other apes on board have intelligence, but they are still ruled over by the humans. Davidson is aware that he is the dominant species. It is important to note that, though the apes live in cages on the spacecraft, they are not whipped and treated as slaves, rather they are almost on the same level to the trained astronauts on board. The life Davidson lives on board the spacecraft is one of clear superiority to the apes, though as soon as he crashes onto a different Earth, his reality is flipped on its head. The other scene that brings species and slavery to our attention occurs when Davidson is captured on the "new" Earth where the apes rule over the humans. Again, his reality is turned upside down as the apes can speak and have taken control over the humans. He is taken to a human slave cell where apes come in and purchase humans to perform household chores. Though this is a more extreme version of what the humans were doing with the apes on the spacecraft, the planet where apes rule mirrors the situation. These two scenes give the viewers a perfect sense of how the two worlds are different from each other, but also how they are closely related. It is easy to be distracted by the fact that there are apes ruling over humans, but it is important to look beyond the surface plot twist and find the underlying commentary on slavery and human (or ape) rights.

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Biggs and 'dem Aliens

By | Published Friday, March 15, 2013

Mars Attacks! is a film that was inspired by the Topps Playing Cards of the ‘60s. Tim Burton takes some of these images and uses them in the film. Burton pays homage to Ed Wood's B-style films with Mars Attacks! Burton uses this movie as way to comment on America’s patriotism; this poke at America is a reason why the film was not a hit in this country. Burton takes the science fiction genre and turns it on its head, making commentaries on the American patriotism, as well as the genre itself. Films like Independence Day and Alien take alien invasion seriously. When watching Mars Attacks! you cannot help but laugh at the colorful Martians and the weird sounds that they make. 

From The Breathing Dead Blog
A scene that truly captures the way in which Burton satirizes military occurs when the Martians invade the President's situation room. General Decker attempts to stand up to the Martians in an exaggerated militaristic way. Rather than the Martians vaporizing him with one zap, the Martian ambassador uses a shrink ray to make General Decker appear nothing more than an ant. The Martian ambassador then goes on to stomp General Decker with his foot. His ego is flaunted, and Burton ironically turns him into a small man. This scene satirizes the military as it takes a man, who some might look up to or even follow orders from, and takes away all of his power, and he is defeated by the enemy.  

From Mile High Cinema
Another scene in which Burton satirizes military occurs when the two young brothers, Neville and Cedric, are taking a tour of the white house. The trained secret service men cannot properly protect the President against the Martians; the boys are able to obtain two guns and shoot at the Martians without fear. The most training the two boys have is from playing a Martian video game. This scene is comical because two young boys are simply using skills they have learned from a video game, and applying them to a real life situation in which even the adults were afraid of the power of the Martians. Mars Attacks! is a very funny B-movie that hopefully is more successful today in America than it was during its release.

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Biggs and Ed Wood

By | Published Friday, March 8, 2013

Johnny as the B-movie director.

Both Tim Burton and Ed Wood share a number of aspects as directors. Wood's originality conveyed an uneasy feeling with the other artists of that time because they did not understand it or him. That rejection to conformity inspired Burton, and his film Ed Wood greatly exemplifies the respect in which Burton gives off to Wood. Ed Wood refused to conform to Hollywood norms. The films he directed were of pitiful quality, according to the people of his time. But his films were of the quality and material that he loved. He found his work to be beautiful because he did not allow people to become a hindrance to his creativity. This is something that Tim Burton greatly respects about Wood. Burton found it very difficult to conform to the standards expected of him at Disney. Once he broke away from the Disney world, he was able to focus on his personal values as a director and animator. Another quality that allowed Burton to truly relate to Wood is the fact that Bela Lugosi was someone Wood both looked up to and took care of. Vincent Price is Burton's equivalent, though Price is much more of a mentor to Burton than Lugosi was to Wood. I think another thing that enables Burton to relate to Wood, was Wood's ability to use imagination and ingenuity to achieve the completion of his films. Burton is a director who relies on and appreciates the free creative process, and this is something that Wood completely embodied as a director. Burton truly embodies Wood's vision in his film by using scenes either directly from Wood's films, or creating sets and stages that resemble those Wood had access to. Johnny Depp also does a wonderful job of capturing the true nature of Wood's spontaneous and confident nature. Burton also shot the film in black and white, a very obvious homage to Wood's directing skills. Although Burton is a more widely accredited director, both men had struggles breaking into the volatile Hollywood scene. Both directors films receive harsh criticisms in their beginning stages, but today both are respected directors. I personally believe Tim Burton is the better director, but I respect the artistry that Ed Wood believed in.

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