Vulture spoke with Tim Burton to learn about Frankenweenie and its chances at winning an Oscar this year, his balance between films that are critical successes and box office hits, his broken arm, and more:
Do all the nominations and awards help make up for the film's less-than-blockbuster box -office performance?
It's really nice, especially for a film like that. Everybody works really hard for something like this, especially the people who work in a dark room for a couple of years. The thing about stop-motion is that it's such a slow, painful process — one frame at a time. The positive side is that it helps keep the medium alive. It's not high on to-do lists for studio execs to make stop-motion, let alone black-and-white stop-motion. There's still a bit of a stigma, so any sort of positive response is meaningful.
You would think after The Artist there would be less opposition to black-and-white — especially when it comes to films about Hollywood. Argo also got a lot of awards love partly because it's about Hollywood helping to save the world. And Frankenweenie celebrates classic horror films. Hollywood loves nothing more than celebrating itself.
That's true, now that you mention that. Even last year, films like Hugo did that. But I never really thought of that. It's certainly not my perception of the world. For me, it's just what inspires me, and those monster movies stay with you on some kind of level. Those early things are still inside of me. It was just fun to play around with words and themes and memories, because you don't get to do that on every project.
Loved the shout-out to Mary Shelley with the turtle's name, by the way.
[Chuckles.] My son's turtle was named Shelley. When you have a pet as a child, that's the first pure relationship you have. It's unconditional love. And it's your first experience with death as well, so it was an easy emotional connection to make to Frankenstein and monster movies. Those first relationships are very important. And to me, the Frankenstein story is about creating things, not the business of creating things.
But you still want it to be successful.
No one wants to feel like they weren't, unless they're doing some kind of weird art-house thing: "I hope nobody sees this film! And if they see the film, I'm selling out!" You hope for success, but it's a strange phenomenon. You have a movie that gets shitty, crappy, horrible reviews but makes a lot of money; you have a movie that gets good, decent reviews, but then no one goes to see it. I've been lucky, even if a film didn't do that well [at the box office], I end up meeting people who connected with it, and that evens the score.
How do you feel about the critics who say you should stop using Johnny Depp so much?
I'm in a no-win situation. Some say I use him too often, and then others say, "How come he's not in this one?" Whatever. I'm strangely used to that from the beginning.
I don't decide to make a film because of the actors first, even though there are a lot of people I love. I don't think I've ever gone, "Oh, I want to work with that person," and then specifically found a part with that person just to work with them. For Frankenweenie, I hadn't worked with Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, or Martin Landau in a long time, so that was great. But the project drew me to them because they're all so talented.
With Catherine, not since Beetlejuice. People want a sequel for that one.
Those were fun characters, but I'd have to see what the script was like and if it was worth doing — I can't just make it because it's one of the worst ten movies of the year! The first two films I did, Pee-wee's Big Adventure and Beetlejuice, made the ten-worst-movies-of-the-year lists. Then, years later, people said they were my best movies. What? So if those were my best, I'm in real trouble. [Laughs.] The point is, even if I wanted to analyze it, I'm not going to make everyone happy. It's easier when you're starting out and people don't really know what you are. But then you become a thing, and that's not really what you want. I never really targeted my films for kids. It's just what I like to make. But then people were saying The Nightmare Before Christmas was too scary for kids — too much singing, too scary. And then the kids loved it. So I've had conflicting information from the beginning.
How is The Nightmare Before Christmas too scary? It's no scarier than any fairy tale ...
Exactly. When you were a child, did you ever see Disney movies? There's some scary stuff in there. That's what made Disney movies to a large degree, but as people get older, they kind of forget that. There's a new generation looking at fairy tales now, and that's what monster movies were for me. I've always been interested in those kinds of stories, the ones that have been around for ages. When I go back and reread "Red Riding Hood," it's so bizarre, so weird, so fascinating, and we forget how strange they were, even if they've stayed in our consciousness for ages. Fairy tales are amazing, intense, psychological horror stories. But if you ask most adults, they immediately think it's all princesses and happy endings, and it's so not. Obviously.
Are you still thinking about doing Pinocchio next?
It's really hard to think about doing anything when I've got a throbbing pain in my shoulder! The painkillers are not that good here. The doctors are like, "Take two aspirin."
You're in London. Codeine is over-the-counter there!
Yeah, but it's a pretty weak form of codeine, probably. But you're right. I should do that. [Laughs.] I'm hoping the pain subsides soon, but it's like when you have a toothache, and it's hard to think, hard to do things, hard to focus on what's going on when it's throbbing away.
Once the pain subsides, then you can consider Pinocchio, or perhaps a Walt Disney biopic starring Ryan Gosling. Have you seen that poster?
The story at Cal Arts was that Walt was cryogenically frozen and somewhere in the basement. We used to spend Friday nights looking for him. So that's the story. Listen, I'm open to ideas at the moment!
Although it wasn't a box office smash, Frankenweenie has been a big hit with critics. It has been the best reviewed animated film of 2012, and has earned many nominations and wins already.
-Best Animated Feature
-Production Design in an Animated Feature Production: Rick Heinrichs
-Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production: Atticus Shaffer as "Edgar"
-Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production: Catherine O'Hara as "Weird Girl"
-Writing in an Animated Feature Production: John August
We will keep you posted on more developments soon!
Tim, this film was made in London, and you are an adopted Londoner. How do you feel about opening the London Film Festival?
Tim Burton: It's amazing. It is special because it was made here. It's strange because when we started the film there was no Olympic Stadium and by the time we finished it was done. It just shows you how long a film like this takes to make!
This is a film that you've come back to. You started this as a live action short film in 1984 and now you've come back almost 30 years later. What made you want to make this Frankenweenie?
Burton: Looking at some of the original drawings at some point Don had mentioned the idea of it. It was such a memory piece, the drawings and doing stop motion and black and white and 3D, and kind of thinking about other kids I remembered from school and weird teachers and parents it just became a real memory piece. The purity of stop motion and for me the idea of seeing black and white in 3D stop motion was an exciting prospect. Obviously be able to work with all these people that I've worked with in the past just made it more special.
What's everyone's memories of their first impressions of Tim Burton?
Allison Abate: I just thought he was so energetic and so fascinating and so young!
Martin Short: On Mars Attacks I was so thrilled to meet Tim. I'm such a fan of Tim's, but what I was really excited about after my experience on Mars Attacks was how unbelievably collaborative Tim is. He really wanted to know what you thought and you kind of felt free to put out anything in the atmosphere and he would hone and refine it. It was a really ideal working situation for an actor.
Catherine O'Hara: I was called to meet Tim for Beetlejuice. I flew to L.A. and was told to meet him at Warner Bros. Boulevard and that's where Warner Bros. Studio is but I looked it up in the L.A. map book and I found a Warner Bros. Boulevard in Anaheim and I drove and drove and drove and I thought, 'whoever this guy is he is so far outside of where show business is really happening I'm not sure I want to work with him.' I finally phoned somebody and found out that I was in the wrong place and then finally got back there about two hours late and there was a note on the door [saying], 'I'm really sorry I missed you.'
Don Hahn: It was an odd time at the studio [Disney] and I think they didn't know what to do with Tim and to their credit gave him some money to make shorts called Frankenweenie and Vincent. It's amazing because they never knew what to do with those shorts, never quite knew how to release them, and didn't want to put the Disney name on them. And to come around full circle now a few years later and be able to revisit that and have the studio support and celebrate what Tim's trying to do is really odd in a way but terrific. It's interesting how a guy who's 25 years old can make a film that's as smart and interesting as Frankenweenie can turn around again and revisit that years later.
Martin Landau: I remember seeing Beetlejuice and I was very taken with the film. I saw it with my daughter and we left the theatre and I said, 'my God who directed this? I'd like to work with whoever it is.' I had no idea who Tim Burton was at that time. And here we are! It was a joyous experience working with him on Ed Wood with Johnny and Tim. I found that half the time he never finished a sentence or I did. We'd rehearse and he'd come up and say, 'you know what...' and I'd say, 'yeah.' He created a playground for the actors and he still does that and good directors do that. It's a fun place to work with Tim Burton and anytime he'd ask me to do something I would drop what I was doing, including my pants!
Legend has it you were fired by Disney, Tim. Are you surprised that your outlook is now considered part of the mainstream?
Burton: It wasn't like The Apprentice, 'you're fired!' It was a bit more Disney-friendly, 'here, let Goofy and Minnie show you out.' [Laughs] There's an exit with little cherubs on it, a magic forest door!
Short: [adopts Mickey Mouse voice] 'You're fired!'
Burton: It was a strange period in the company's history and it's obviously changed over the years. It's a whole different place. It was a low point for animation not just for Disney but for everything nothing was really going on. But at the same time I got the opportunity to do the films [Frankenweenie & Vincent shorts] so even though they weren't released the opportunity to do them was really great so I've always been grateful to them for giving me the chance to do it. [In terms of being considered mainstream now] I'm not so sure that's true.
What has it been like working with your heroes such as Martin Landau and Vincent Price?
Burton: It's so inspirational. When I talk to Martin and hear him talk about Alfred Hitchcock, or being on Space 1999 - I told him I had a Space 1999 lunchbox - you learn so much from people like him and it's just a joy. You love making films, meeting these people is why you like making movies. In terms of Catherine and Martin here, I've been a fan of theirs forever that's why I said 'guys do as many characters, do like three characters. It wasn't that we didn't want to pay other actors! It was because they're so great and interesting, it made it part of the creative process. They're coming in and doing things like a weird demon possession. Working with people that I've worked with in the past made it very special for me.
Martin and Catherine, you played three different characters and acted opposite each other which is unusual for animated films - what was that experience like?
Short: The parents Catherine and I did together which I thought was very smart but I think that Tim really had a very specific idea of what he wanted for those characters, very intimate and very real so by doing it together it was easy to achieve that. The other two characters that I did were just experiments that Tim and I would go on. Where you just kind of start with blank sheet but then you land in a Lionel Barrymore meets President Ronald Regan [place]. And then I'd say to Tim, 'what if he smoked 4 packs of cigarettes a day and just quit about two months ago?' That pre-emphysema sound.
Burton: I think we even talked about a constipated Raymond Burr.
O'Hara: I think it was smart on Tim's part, it cut down the amount of times he had to say, 'um... why don't you say it like a human being would say it?' I was so happy when I saw their scenes, they are so beautiful and private and the way they stay back, it's so discreet how we shoot this family. I'm so proud to be their voices.
Short: Tim's always respectful. He would just say, 'go with your instinct and then divide by 7.' Animation is usually in colour but you have chosen to film this in black and white. The black and white was a crucial element. It's something that is hard to put into words but for me it made it more emotional and the idea of seeing black and white and also the 3D element, to me just helps support the work that the people who worked on the film did. You look at these puppets and you see the reality and tactile nature of it. Every little prop and everything is handmade and drawn, the black and white and the 3D process really shows you all the work that the artist put into it. To me the black and white really shows off their work very well.
There's an exhibition opening in London. Could you tell us about The Art of Frankenweenie?
Abate: One of the exciting things Disney did for us was to realise how beautiful the artwork is and how special every prop is. We have a travelling show and it's an exhibition of three sets from the movie and puppets, to represent three little moments from the film in real life. It's at the BFI Southbank next week. There's also something called, 'At the Desk of Tim Burton.'
Burton: Yeah but the desk is a bit too clean. There's no used tissues or empty beer bottles!
Hollywood tries to reproduce what is successful, did you have any problems with Frankenweenie in terms of the tone and the style, presenting that when the Pixar films and style is so popular?
Burton: from my point of view I feel like all forms of animation survive. I remember a few years ago after Pixar took off and computer animation took off that they said that they weren't going to make any more hand drawn movies which I thought, 'oh that's really unfortunate.' Thankfully they changed that and I hope it's the same for stop motion, I think it's a beautiful art form and you just hope that all forms of animation can flourish.
How much would you say Frankenweenie is a tribute to horror films and how do you open that up to children who haven't seen those kinds of films yet?
Burton: It's an interesting point because obviously a lot of references are based on, for me, a love of those movies but we thought very hard throughout the film that we didn't want to make it reference dependent. That's why we tried to shoot it and make it feel like one of those movies so you can feel what those movies look like even if you didn't know the references. We just felt like you should be able to enjoy the movie without having to know exactly every reference. It was always something in the back of my mind to make it more of a feeling of those films so that people that didn't know those exact references would still enjoy the film.
Martin your character looks like Vincent Price but doesn't sound like him - was that a very deliberate decision on your part?
Landau: Well one of the things about this I was floored by was Tim sent me a picture of Mr Rzykruski - it's like an eye chart this name! The wonderful about it is behavior, when I'm acting it's part of everything. In this instance I had a picture of this character but I relinquish the behavior to the animators. When I saw the film I was dumbfounded because if I'd been on camera I would've played it exactly the same way and my mouth was agape actually because I was shocked. I knew the character looked a little bit like Vincent and I little bit like I did earlier in life but I saw him as a completely singular person and a wonderful teacher and not a very diplomatic person. I think that when I read it I also felt that he probably lasted two months in any school he taught in! Have a conversation with your student's parents and you call them stupid or simple. I don't think Vincent would've played it the way I did, I think it would've been a different thing but I think there's a physicality there's no question. I always felt too that Tim was attracted to Ed Wood in a sense because of Ed Wood's connection to Bela [Lugosi] and his appreciation of Vincent Price's work - which I loved as a kid as well, as a young actor I would always go out of my way to watch a Vincent Price movie.
Burton: Most good animators try to get the actor in there. Don, this iteration of Frankenweenie began with you in a strange way because you went to Tim with the idea.
Hahn: Yeah I did. It wasn't a big leap. All I did was go to Tim's office and say, 'look you made this really great story years ago, there's got to be more.' And there was more. I think just the Frankenstein mythology and be able to go back into some of the ideas that were turning around in Tim's head for probably years and all I had to do was mention the name and I think he took off running. We had great collaborators, that's the other thing about working with Tim that I love is that he surrounds himself with people he trusts and lets them do their work.
Danny Elfman's score in Frankenweenie is fantastic. How important was it for you work with him on the film?
Burton: I've worked with him from the beginning of my career basically and on my first feature film, both didn't know what we're doing - we're still pretty much in the same boat! So I feel quite close to him. I always feel like he is another character in the film and helps to solidify the emotions of whatever's going on, because there's usually a mixture of things going on and he's always felt very good at sort of guiding as another character and setting the tone of what the film is.
Death seems to play a prominent role in your animations. What is your fascination with bringing characters back to life?
Burton: When I was a kid I always wanted to be a mad scientist, a regular scientist was no fun. It's not so much about bringing dead things back to life; I find that quite creepy actually. It's more about creating. Creation, making things, that's why I think I always loved the Frankenstein story because it's partially about creation and making things and that's what filmmaking is and that's what stop motion is and so for me that's the fun of it. That's why you like doing it; it's not so much about the business or box office or reviews it's about actually making something. I think that's why this was so special, it's with a smallish group of people, real artists and a more pure version of why you like making movies.
Frankenweenie had its big screening at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles this past Tuesday, September 24th. Here are a gallery of images from that red carpet event:
Tim Burton
Robert Capron, Tim Burton and Charlie Tahan
Charlie Tahan, Winona Ryder and Robert Capron
Atticus Shafer and Robert Capron
Charlie Tahan, Winona Ryder and Robert Capron
Martin Landau, Catherine O'Hara, Winona Ryder, Charlie Tahan, Martin Short
Tim Burton and Martin Landau
Tim Burton and Winona Ryder
Don Hahn
Don Hahn, Robert Capron, Martin Landau, Catherine O'Hara, Winona Ryder, Atticus Shaffer, Charlie Tahan, Martin Short, Allison Abbate, John August
A new Frankenweenie featurette, "The Story," has surfaced online. Cast and crew members Tim Burton, producers Allison Abbate and Don Hahn, production designer Rick Heinrichs, and voice actors Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Winona Ryder, and Martin Landau offer their insights into the new stop-motion animated fetaure.
"The European premiere of the stop-motion animation film will take place October 10th at the Odeon Leicester Square and will unspool simultaneously at the BFI London Imax and 30 screens across the U.K. in a first for the fest," says the Chicago Tribune.
Tim Burton, producer Allison Abbate, executive producer Don Hahn, and voice cast Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara and Martin Landau are all expected to attend.
“Funny, dark and whimsical, this gloriously crafted stop-motion 3D animation from Tim Burton – the reigning prince of outsiders – playfully turns the Frankenstein story on its bolted-on head. Frankenweenie is a perfect choice of opener – it’s a film that revels in the magic of movies from one of cinema’s great visionaries. Tim Burton has chosen London as his home city and hundreds of talented British craftspeople have contributed to this production. To host the European premiere, to present The Art of Frankenweenie Exhibition and to take our Opening Night out to 30 screens means we are making the festival even more accessible for film fans across the UK.”
Producer Allison Abbate adds:
“I am delighted that Frankenweenie, which was produced here in London at 3 Mills Studios, will be opening the 56th BFI London Film Festival. Living and working in the UK, I’ve been able to collaborate with some of the most talented artists in the industry including the puppet designers and fabricators from Manchester-based Mackinnon & Saunders. In the last nine years, I’ve attended the festival as both a filmmaker and guest, and I know how passionate and enthusiastic the audiences are, so I am thrilled to share the film’s European premiere with them.”
Colin Walsh, Managing Director, American Express UK adds:
“We’re thrilled to be further strengthening our partnership with the BFI and the Festival through our support for this year’s Opening Night Gala. In addition to Frankenweenie being a much anticipated film, what makes this year’s Opening Night so special is the opportunity for audiences across the country to experience the excitement of a West End premiere. That, coupled with the interactive exhibition giving people an insight behind the scenes of the film, is sure to make this a fantastic start to this year’s festival.”
Here are five new Frankenweenie character portraits and descriptions, courtesy of Empire Online. Click the images below to enlarge them:
Weird Girl (voiced by Catherine O'Hara) doesn’t fit in well with the other kids. She delivers ominous pronouncements in a monotone voice with an unnerving stare. Her constant companion is her fluffy white cat Mr. Whiskers, whose unblinking gaze matches her own. The other kids give them a wide berth—especially when Weird Girl rambles about Mr. Whiskers’ dreams.
Edgar “E” Gore (voiced by Atticus Shaffer) is a needy misfit who doesn’t have friends but is desperate to be Victor’s partner for the science fair. In his attempts to be accepted ‘E’ tends to mess things up and often fails to think before he speaks. Even though ‘E’ promises not to tell Victor’s secret, he accidentally spills the beans.
Mr. Burgemeister (voiced by Martin Short) is the Frankenstein’s next-door neighbor and Mayor of New Holland. A crotchety fuss-bucket, he is fanatical about his garden and can’t stand Sparky or anything else that threatens the perfection of his tulips. Mr. Burgemeister also asserts his authority over his niece Elsa Van Helsing by making her the reluctant star of his New Holland Dutch Day celebration.
Mr. Rzykruski (voiced by Martin Landau) is the new science teacher at New Holland Elementary School. He has a thick, Eastern European accent and a unique way of explaining things. He connects with his students, but parents misunderstand his passionate teaching style. Mr. Rzykruski serves as a mentor and inspiration to Victor, teaching him that science can do both good and bad things and that if a scientist does not put his heart into his experiment, there could be disastrous consequences.
Nassor (voiced by Martin Short) is highly intelligent, serious and intense. He takes a darker, more doomsday view on life than the other kids in New Holland. Nassor is instantly sceptical of the rumours surrounding Victor’s experiments with electricity, but once convinced, is zealous in his attempts to obtain Victor’s secrets.
Empire Online and Disney have released eight brand-new character banners and descriptions profiling the cast of Frankenweenie. Click the images below to enlarge them (UPDATE: You can get extremely high resolution versions of these images in this link):
First up, there's Victor Frankenstein, voiced by Charlie Tahan. Here's what we learn about him:
"Victor Frankenstein is a clever, industrious 10-year-old. He lives with his parents and dog, Sparky, and immerses himself in making films and inventing in his attic workshop. When Sparky dies in a car accident, Victor uses scientific ingenuity to bring him back to life."
Next, Sparky himself:
"Sparky is a playful bull terrier whose sense of curiosity is matched only by his owner, Victor. Sparky enjoys chasing after balls and starring in Victor’s homemade movies. He exudes tons of energy and enthusiasm, which even his untimely death doesn’t diminish."
Victor's parents are voiced by Catherine O'Hara and Martin Short.
"Mr. Frankenstein is a travel agent, who likes to dispense roundabout advice to his son. He is proud of Victor’s accomplishments, but is concerned he doesn’t have any friends other than Sparky. He encourages him to join the baseball team. Mr. Frankenstein has a playful and loving relationship with his wife, Victor’s mom, who encourages her son’s scientific pursuits, even when her kitchen appliances end up in his attic lab."
Then Elsa Van Helsing, voiced by Winona Ryder
"Elsa Van Helsing is a soulful and somber classmate of Victor. She lives next door with her tyrant uncle, Mayor Burgemeister, who forces her to be this year’s “Little Dutch Girl” at the town’s celebration of Dutch Day. Elsa also has a beloved pet, her poodle Persephone, and truly empathizes with Victor when he loses Sparky."
Persephone is Elsa's dog.
"Persephone is a perfectly groomed black poodle. She is fiercely loyal to Elsa, her owner. When Persephone and Sparky first meet in the backyard, the attraction is instantaneous and electrifying."
Then there's Toshiaki (James Hiroyuki Liao)
"Toshiaki is over-achieving and mega-competitive. He delights in beating Victor at his own game and like a power-hungry mad scientist, Toshiaki will stop at nothing to win the top prize in the school’s science fair—even if it means stealing Victor’s ideas to do it."
Robert Capron is Bob.
"Bob is a momma’s boy, the brawn to Toshiaki’s brains. He is never mean-spirited, but he’s easily led and gullible. Bob follows Toshiaki everywhere, but is the first one to run to Victor for help when he gets in over his head."
And Bob's mum is voiced by Conchata Ferrell.
"Bob’s Mom is a plump, suburban housewife who is prone to panic and hysteria when things go awry. She has very simple, stereotypical views on life. She dotes on her son Bob and believes her actions, though often misguided, are in his best interest."
Shock Till You Drop spoke with Tim Burton to get a few words on the possibility of making a sequel to Beetlejuice. Here is a transcript of what Burton had to say:
"Seth [Grahame-Smith] is writing something, so we'll see. I love the character but I want to just kind of look at it from a fresh perspective and see what he comes up with. That's like one of my favorite characters I've ever dealt with. [Michael Keaton] is one of the first people I worked with who was so good at improv. That movie, I was very lucky to work with a lot of actors, like him and Catherine O'Hara, who were very good at improv, so that kind of set me on a whole new course. I would love to revisit that character at some point."
Collider spoke with Tim Burton for an in-depth discussion on his latest passion project, the stop-motion feature, Frankenweenie. The filmmaker discussed why he's working with some of his old collaborators on this project after many years (and why Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter aren't lending their voices), where the film is now in its production, dogs from his own childhood, why he is directing this animated film solo, and much more:
Question: Going from your original idea, when did you decide to turn your Frankenstein movie into a monster movie?
Tim Burton: Probably way back ‘cause I would always do little added things that went into a folder or file. When we did the short, we thought, “Without much trouble, this could go more into a feature.” It took a few years to do the Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein mix-up, which is something that pretty much came up, probably right after the short. The core was always that, and I wanted to keep the core. That’s the through-line of the story. We just tried to weave in the other stuff, as naturally as possible. One of the things that I was also interested about was going back to a bit more of the classroom and the kids, and the kids’ politics and the rivalry with kids and the experiments of kids. That world seemed like it worked with this House of Frankenstein motif. But, we tried to fold that in naturally, so that didn’t feel like two different stories. The original boy with his dog story is the root of it.
What is your personal relationship to this storyline, and where did this original idea come from?
Burton: I recalled that first relationship with a pet, where it’s that unconditional love. You walk out the door and when you walk back in, it’s like you’ve been gone for three years. And then, because animals usually don’t live that long, it’s also the first pure relationship and then first death that I experienced. That was a very powerful combination of the two. That’s where the story came from. It was the idea of never forgetting the emotional trauma of losing that kind of relationship, but easily relating it to the Frankenstein story, which is another love. It was easy to marry the two things without it seeming like a stretch.
Was there a specific dog that you were referring to?
Burton: Yeah, I had a dog.
How old were you?
Burton: It was around the time of about five to nine. That area. It wasn’t like having a goldfish. If I had been in love with my goldfish, then I might need some help. At least a dog is slightly different and has more going on, you hope.
In the past decade, you’ve worked a lot with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, but they’re not involved with this film. However, you do have Martin Landau, Martin Short and Catherine O’Hara doing voices, and you’ve worked with them before, but not for a while. Was that purposeful?
Burton: Yeah, there was a little something to that. This is such a personal thing that I wanted to do whatever I could to keep it personal. Always, the voices have to be right. With Martin [Short] and Catherine [O’Hara], they’re so good. That’s why I had them do three voices each. To me, there’s a great energy with that. And Winona [Ryder], I hadn’t seen for many years. Same with Martin [Landau]. Anything like that just makes it that much more personal.
Would you say that this is the most personal film you’ve ever done?
Burton: It’s probably close. It’s got all the elements stuffed in there. It’s probably close-ish. I don’t know.
You produced The Nightmare Before Christmas, you co-directed Corpse Bride, and now you’re all over Frankenweenie. How has this medium changed for you?
Burton: It hasn’t really changed, since the beginning of film. That’s the great thing about it. There’s a few little tools that help, but the great thing about this medium is that it really doesn’t change. For the people who like doing it, that’s the thing that they like about it. Technology has a few things to make it slightly easier to gauge and monitor, but for the most part, it doesn’t change.
Was it different to be a solo director this time?
Burton: No. We were always trying to do these things for a budget. I think, in the case of this, the whole goal was to just rein it in a little bit and not hire too many designers. We wanted to keep it more in-house, and as personal and handmade as we could.
Is it creatively invigorating for you to work on something wholly your own, instead of working from existing material?
Burton: Yes and no. With anything, you make it your own. Even if you’re doing something that the studio sends you, or something that’s based on a book or story, at the end of it all, you try to make whatever it is your own. This is based on my love of horror movies. Everything is based on something, in some way.
Are you hoping that younger audiences will want to explore the monsters that you’re paying tribute to in the film?
Burton: Yeah, I think so. It is interesting. With my own kids, because the world changes and there’s video games and things are so much faster, I wonder how kids think about these old movies, like Frankenstein, that are very slow. It’s very much not a rhythm of contemporary life. My kid is a product of the fast computer lifestyle, but if you put something like Frankenstein on, they still are into it because it’s like a weird dream. It’s quite fascinating to see how kids respond to anything, but especially with these old horror movies.
Was it fun to infuse the film with so many different references?
Burton: I always think that you should never do references just to do them. I just always try to have them, but if you don’t know them, it goes by and the story is the thing. It shouldn’t be a thing where you have to know what it is.
You could make a movie that looks like this in a computer, but it wouldn’t have that handmade quality and feel. Is there a degree of striving for imperfection, in that sense?
Burton: It is a good point. It’s an interesting point because technology can blur the lines. We had such good puppets on Corpse Bride that a lot of people thought Corpse Bride was computer done, which it is and it isn’t. Once you start blurring the lines, it gets into a problem. Each form has its great elements. There’s great computer animation, great drawn animation, and great every kind of animation. What you hope for is that, what you like about a certain form, you don’t lose that. We tried to let our budget limitations work for us. We had to shoot a lot of stuff on twos and a lot of it is kind of rough, but that’s what we love about it. You just go with it.
Would you like to make a more traditional animated film?
Burton: Well, to me, this is the most traditional you could possibly do.
Well, as far as hand-drawn, or something for Pixar?
Burton: No. Some things are best computer, some things are best [stop-motion], some things are best drawn. I think you just try to pick whatever the right project is. I always want to keep a hand in this ‘cause I love it as a medium, but you wouldn’t do any project with this. Some are more appropriate than others, I think.
What was it like to take your original drawings, which you hadn’t even necessarily intended for other people to ever see, and work with collaborators to make this film?
Burton: Well, with just the nature of stop motion, things change. You can do a drawing, but then, when they start to make the puppet, that drawing doesn’t work. There’s a constant back-and-forth, in terms of what it comes out to be. That’s just a normal collaboration. It doesn’t feel that different from anything else, in a weird way. It just becomes a part of what it is and what the final outcome is.
Sparky bears a resemblance to the dog from Family Dog. Was that intentional, or was Family Dog based on original drawings you had done for Sparky?
Burton: No, it was probably based on the fact that all my drawings look the same. That’s probably true. That probably has more to do with it than anything. It’s like someone asking the guy who draws Charlie Brown, “Can you draw it differently? We like the character, but does his head have to be so round?”
The kids in the classroom all look and sound so vastly different. Do you intentionally work on them to make sure they look so different from each other?
Burton: Yeah. It’s always based on a sketch or drawing, so there’s a certain amount of things that are similarly in the design. The design is usually organic. It’s not like this was based on a book and we’re going to lovingly recreate every illustration. It starts that way, from the beginning.
How is directing stop-motion different from directing live-action, in terms of your own man hours? Are you there, all the time?
Burton: No, you wouldn’t want to be, and they wouldn’t want me there. That’s the thing. You get a few seconds a week. The great thing about it, for me, is that I can be working on a live-action film and be working on the crossover with this. I find it really stimulating and good. The good thing about animation is that you can affect it. If something is not working, then you just fix it. You usually can fix it before you even get there because you’ve got things more planned out and everything is there, so you know what you’re getting. The only other element you get, and usually it’s a good surprise, is when the animator animates it well. Usually it’s at least okay. Usually it’s good, but sometimes it’s not. It’s just like anything else.
Do you really have to put a lot of trust in the people you’re working with on the film?
Burton: Yeah, but no more than anything else. Live-action is different because it’s a quicker animal. With the stop-motion, you plan it. The element of surprise is not as much in there, as it is with live-action.
What was it like to direct this, nearly 30 years after the original short?
Burton: I’m not one of those people who is like, “Now the effects are better, so now we’re going to go back and update all of the effects.” I was grateful that the short was live-action because, if it had been animation, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into live-action. It was a very lucky break, in a way. Now, the animated version makes sense. And, I think there are enough new elements, and the stop-motion medium is a different medium. Even though it feels like something that’s personal, it definitely felt like something new. It didn’t feel like I was treading over old territory. It was a way to explore it in a different way.
What was it like to post-convert this to 3D?
Burton: Whether you shoot it [in 3D] or it’s a conversion, you need time. You can see bad 3D or a bad conversion, or good both. It’s just a question of spending the time with it. The great thing about something like this, and it was the same on Nightmare, is that it doesn’t get any clearer than this, in terms of what the sets were and the position and the distance. All the information is there to make the conversion the way it needs to be.
At any point in the casting, did you reach out to Daniel Stern or Shelley Duvall?
Burton: No, I didn’t, and not for any reason ‘cause they were great. There were certain elements that I thought were appropriate to do, as was, and then there were certain other elements that made it personal for other reasons, like working with Catherine [O’Hara], Martin [Short] and Winona [Ryder]. They weren’t on the original project, but it’s a similar thing in a different way.
This is a very busy time for you, with two movies coming out this year that you directed (Dark Shadows and Frankenweenie) and one that you produced (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). Have you started to look forward yet?
Burton: No. I think I should [take a break].
Was doing Frankenweenie any kind of a reaction to how difficult it was to doing the huge production for Alice in Wonderland?
Burton: Yeah. Well, first of all, I wouldn’t plan it where they all come out like this. That, I definitely wouldn’t plan. Frankenweenie has been in the works for a long, long period of time. The joy about that, though, is that it is smaller. You look at the shots and what you see is what you get, which is really nice. That’s what’s great about this medium. I can see why animators, as hard as it is, can get energized by it. They’re moving something, and then you see it come to life. It is kind of cool to have that energy.
How much more work do you still have on this?
Burton: I have editing, music and sound.
Did you always plan on directing this by yourself?
Burton: All by myself. I’m a big boy, now. No training wheels, nothing. No, these things happen quite organically. Each project is different. In the case of this, we wanted to make it a little bit more handmade, so we scaled back on everything. Another project would be different. Each one has its own energy. This one just felt right to make it like this. Less is more.
The Los Angeles Times provides a new still from Frankenweenie, and some words from the director of animation, stop-motion extraordinaire Trey Thomas. Thomas spoke of the difficulties and ambitions of working on this stop-motion film.
"You'd think black-and-white would be forgiving because it's just shades of gray. But it isn't. It shows every little flaw," said Thomas, speaking at his East London office about the movie's monochrome aesthetic.
The LA Times wrote, "About 200 puppets were crafted for the film — including 16 Sparkys (eight dead, eight alive), 14 Victors and new oddball creations called E (short for Edgar) and Weird Girl, both of which are voiced by longtime Burton collaborator Catherine O'Hara." For Thomas, his guiding philosophy was honoring Burton's love of classic 1930s monster movies. "What we're trying to create is Universal horror plus," he said.
Flickr user Steven Kuhn has uploaded an image from the Tim Burton exhibition at LACMA in Los Angeles. The photo shows two stop-motion puppets of two new characters in Frankenweenie, "Edgar" and "Weird Girl." Like the rest of the animated cast, both characters have been directly designed by Tim Burton. Catherine O'Hara (Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas) will provide the voices for both characters.
Walt Disney Studios has released an official synopsis and production notes of the forthcoming stop-motion film, Frankenweenie. Collider provides us with these details, which includes the majority of the voice-over cast, that the film will be shot in black and white and shown in 3D, and that the film has required the construction of over 200 puppets and sets.
Following is Disney's officially released information:
Genre: Comedy adventure Rating: TBD U.S. Release date: October 5, 2012 Voice Cast: Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer Director: Tim Burton Producers: Tim Burton, Allison Abbate Executive Producer: Don Hahn Screenplay by: John August Based on an original idea by: Tim Burton From creative genius Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland,” The Nightmare Before Christmas”) comes “Frankenweenie,” a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous. A stop-motion animated film, “Frankenweenie” will be filmed in black and white and rendered in 3D, which will elevate the classic style to a whole new experience. In Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie” young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences.
NOTES: • When Tim Burton originally conceived the idea for “Frankenweenie,” he envisioned it as a full-length, stop-motion animated film. Due to budget constraints, he instead directed it as a live-action short, released in 1984. • “Frankenweenie” follows in the footsteps of Tim Burton’s other stop-motion animated films “Corpse Bride” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas”—both of which were nominated for Academy Awards. • Over 200 puppets and sets were created for the film. • The voice cast includes four actors who worked with Burton on previous films: Winona Ryder (“Beetlejuice,” “Edward Scissorhands”), Catherine O’Hara (“Beetlejuice,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas”), Martin Short (“Mars Attacks!”) and Martin Landau (“Ed Wood,” Sleepy Hollow”). • Several of the character names—Victor, Elsa Van Helsing, Edgar “E” Gore and Mr. Burgermeister— were inspired by classic horror films.
Tim Burton revisits some of his old ideas and collaborators. Not only is he finally making a feature-length version of his live-action short, Frankenweenie (and stop-motion, no less!), 26 years later, but his cast consists of actors that he has previously worked with.
Deadline.com has announced that Winona Ryder (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands), Martin Landau (Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow), Catherine O'Hara (Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas), and Martin Short (Mars Attacks!) will be lending their voices to the animated film.
Ryder and Landau will play the characters of Elsa and Mr. Rzykruski, while O'Hara and Short will each play five supporting roles, including Victor's mom and dad.
Frankenweenie will be unleashed in theaters on March 9th, 2012.
In recognition of the new special collector's edition DVD release of The Nightmare Before Christmas, available next week, a few video clips are available online for your viewing.
ComingSoon.net has a video clip featuring footage of the voice actors behind the film. In it, Ken Page demonstrates his tremendous voice while playing the part of Oogie Boogie, and Danny Elfman and Catherine O'hara (who provided the voices for Sally and Lock) work together.
ShockTillYouDrop.com has three more videos to view. The first is a preview of Jack's Haunted Mansion Holiday Tour and the making of the Disney ride. The second clip, entitled "The Process," focuses on the methods of shooting and animating the film, as told by director Henry Selick and crew members. And the third clip is an animated excerpt of Tim Burton's original poem that inspired the film, narrated by cinema legend Christopher Lee.
The official poster for Beetlejuice. No cover art for the new DVD release is available yet.
Is a new special edition DVD of Tim Burton's classic Beetlejuice coming out this September?! Yes and no. This won't be the Beetlejuice 20th anniversary DVD release of your dreams, with behind-the-scenes featurettes galore and an audio commentary track or two, from the looks of it.
-"A-Ha" from Season One -"Skeletons in the Closet" from Season Two -"Spooky Boo-tique" from Season Two
The animated series.
The so-called "Beetlejuice (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)" will be released on standard DVD (for roughly $20) and high-definition Blu-Ray DVD ($35) in North America on September 16th, 2008.The Blu-Ray version will also include a sample CD of select tracks from the movie's score by Danny Elfman.
This upcoming DVD release is skimping on the extras for the most part. No confirmation on whether or not it will include the music-only audio track that the original, more primitive DVD release of Beetlejuice from 1998 featured (but most likely, there will not be).
Beetlejuice, released in 1988, was the second feature-length film directed by Burton. It stars Michael Keaton (Batman) in one of his craziest performances, as well as Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Robert Goulet in a brief cameo. Other Burton collaborators in the film include Catherine O'hara and Glenn Shadix (who were both in The Nightmare Before Christmas), Winona Ryder (Edward Scissorhands), and Jeffrey Jones (Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow), among others.
