Lennox Frankenweenie

Both Adaptions of the Tale

Tim Burton's Frankenweenie is the story of Victor Frankenstein and his best friend and dog, Sparky. Sparky dies tragically before young Victor's eyes, breaking the boy's heart. victor realizes through demonstration in his class that electricity can reanimate the dead. Victor gathers all the electronics in his house, digs up Sparky's corpse and proceeds to successfully bring his pet back to life. Victor then attempts to keep Sparky a secret, but he fails and notices that Sparky is not accepted and viewed as a monster. Once it is realized that Sparky is kind, it is too late and Sparky is already dead once again. Out of remorse, the towns people attempt to bring Sparky back to life and succeed.

This is the basic plot of both Frankenweenie films. In 1984, the original film was released in black and white, and the film starred human actors, as well as a real dog. In this film specifically, we watch a real young boy witness the death of his dog caused by his own negligence; Victor throws Sparky's ball further and further out until Sparky is hit by a car. We later see a depressed Victor doodleling in class and his nonchalant teacher explaining  electricity's effect on muscles. We later see a real human boy, Victor, dig up his dog's corpse and successfully bring it back to life. Now, we'll stop right here.

In the 2012 version of the film, stop motion puppets are used to tell the story of Victor Frankenstein and his dog, Sparky. In this film, the events leading up to Sparky's death are a little different. Victor is portrayed as a child who only loves his dog and science. Victor wishes to participate in the science fair and his father makes him make a deal; Victor can participate in the science fair if he joins his school's baseball team. Victor is not as bad at baseball as he thought; he practically hits a home run. The flying ball leads to Sparky running into the street after it, and dying right before Victor's eyes. I will stop this here.

Seeing these scenes played out by a real actor is quite disturbing. In the 1984 version of the film, we see a young boy practically rob a grave. That is not normal and to a child, it may appear all too real. With animation, the child somehow understands that the story is "make-believe." It's a puppet dramatically acting out the scene, not a real, human boy. Without the special effects the 2012 version of Frankenweenie, the story is pretty short and straight to the point in 1984: Dog dies, boy brings it back to life, dog dies again, everyone works together to bring it back to life. This all happens in the 2012 version, but the effects allowed the story to be stretched out more. We get to see Victor's personality and his ability to think quickly and save the towns people from the revived creatures.

Stop motion animation allowed the story to be accepted into the imagination and viewed as a less mature film.

(I am terribly sorry for this being submitted late)

Lennox Sweeny Todd

Sweeny and Eleanor

In Sweeny Todd, Todd and Mrs. Lovett are at the bottom of the food chain. They have no say, no power, no anything. Sweeny Todd wants revenge for the years he had been locked away and his lovely wife and daughter taken from him. Mrs. Lovett wants money and Todd. They agree to help each other get the power they desire. Todd begins to murder the poor nobodies of London and Mrs. Lovett begins to grind down their bodies and use the meat for her meat pies which are consumed by everyone of London. Mrs. Lovett uses the little people to get themselves to the top.  

 

It's a dog eat dog world out there, and Mrs. Lovett takes advantage of it. She doesn't have a care in the world as she grinds up the corpses. She feeds it to people as if she is doing nothing wrong. It's how she is getting by. It is not until the end do we realize how selfish she really is. We see that she knows that Todd's wife is still alive, but she wants the man and the property all to herself. She lets Todd kill his own wife in cold blood. Mrs. Lovett did what anyone with the right opportunity would do. 

 

Sweeny Todd was unjustly put in prison for something that he did not do. He is angry and bitter when he gets back to London, but deep down, he wishes to come home to a wife and child. When Mrs. Lovett tells him the story, all Todd wants more than anything is revenge. The men with power chewed him up and spit him out to get what they wanted, and Todd delightfully returned the favor. While he can't get to the judge, he takes the lives of innocent men in cold blood.

 

Mrs. Lovett and Sweeny Todd were looked down upon, they were filled with jealousy and hatred that only mend with depriving others so that they may gain. Man devouring man. It happens every day, everywhere. We see at the end of the film, those stepped on others to get where they are don't get the luxury of a fairy tale ending. 

Lennox- Big Fish

Big Fish

Edward Bloom was a friendly guy. He was brave, too. When everyone in the town feared Karl because of his height, Edward went to talk to him. Just as Karl was literally too big to live in such a small town, so where Edward's ambitions. Edward related and connected to Karl on that level. Edward did not judge or shun Karl based on something that Karl could not change about himself. 

I guess one could say that Tim Burton judged his parents (his father), for something they couldn't change. Burton's parents did not push him away as the villagers attempted to push Karl away, Burton ran away; he left his problems behind like Will does when he is simply tired of hearing his father's stories. We see that Will comes to regret that as he watches his father on his death bed. That is how Edward and Will differ. Edward did not judge anyone based on their actions or their appearances, he found something in them that he could accept. 

The Twins, Jing and Ping, were two headed sisters; they were so close, they might as well have shared one body. When Edward met the twins he had been longing to get back to his wife. He wanted to get as close as he possibly could to her and the army was standing in his way. Jing and Ping listened to his story and I assume they couldn't imagine if they ever had to separate from one another. They understood Edward and Edward understood them. With the exchange of promises, the three of them worked together in order to leave that country. 

Burton had always been an outsider, in school and at home, he had no one to get close to until he reached adulthood and began to surround himself with weird  people like Ed Bloom did. Burton fought to get certain actors parts in his films because they were who he connected to. The leaving of his father and the coming of his son opened his life up just a bit more and allowed him to understand and accept more of what comes his way.

Lennox Sleepy Hollow

Ichabod, Katrina and Masbath

Washington Irving's Sleepy Hollow was interesting. We learn of a man who has plans to corrupt a small village of superstitious and bored people. Sleepy Hollow is a place filled with house wives who tell tales of headless horsemen and other things. Ichabod Crane, the teacher, wants money and land, and the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel has all of it. Brom Bones is terribly jealous of the awkward man and Katrina is not the least bit attracted to him. The duo manages to run the man off, and Ichabod becomes a politician. This does not sound like much of a fun movie.

I think it would be terribly difficult to make this into an interesting movie. People love drama, romance, comedy, horror and action. Tim Burton took Irving's characters and made them "new." Ichabod was no longer a superstitious, womanizing school teacher- Burton made Ichabod Crane an enlightened, justice seeking constable who puts business before pleasure. Brom Bones was still jealous, but he's too full of himself to be a hero. Katrina Van Tassel is still beautiful, but she seems to have a crush on Ichabod Crane. Burton also presents the superstition of the headless horseman by bringing him to life.

Burton is not just using the characters' names to enhance his own horror story, he's bringing Irving's story to life with new twist. Burton gives his three leads, Ichabod, Katrina, and Masbath tragic back stories and brighter futures. Burton gets rid of Brom Bones who came off a jealous jerk to Ichabod as he met Katrina. Burton introduces magic to the story which explains the existence of the terrifying headless horseman. The women, who were only superstitious house people in Irving's story, were powerful and feared for their knowledge of magic. Burton enhanced Irving's story and made it theater ready.

I personally prefer Burton's version of Sleepy Hollow because it has what your basic movie watcher wants. We have our bumbling hero, his beautiful love interest and his small side kick. Irving's tale was great, but it left me unsatisfied and yearning for more.

Lennox- Ed Wood

Ed Wood & Company 

 

Ed Wood was different. He was unique. His vision was his own and Tim Burton understood that. The actors selected for the Ed Wood film resembled Ed Wood’s own group of actors very well. In Gothic Fantasy, we learn that Tim Burton has always been a fan of Ed Wood’s film, and as a true fan of many things myself, I know what it is like to watch your fascination go down the drain because of choices made by an ignorant or uninterested director. Burton did what any fan would do and stuck to the truth as best he possibly could.

Ed Wood’s films were as unique as himself. Those poorly shot scenes are viewed as great works of art in the eyes of fans. If those fans were to view Burton’s biopic and see those scenes had been drastically for the entertainment of the audience, there would be a fit to throw. Burton’s job as a fan and a director were to make this biography as believable as possible. His job was to make us think that we were watching Ed Wood live his life, not to be entertained by his life story.

The scenes from Plan 9 from Outer Space were shot perfectly by Burton. It was as if Burton had literally taken the scenes directly from the original film. This had to be very pleasing to the eyes of fans and it had to have made them think they were actually watching Ed Wood direct this movie.  

This is why. Burton did not change or fabricate the work of Wood. He preserved it. It was Ed Wood’s work, not his. A painter would not paint the Mona Lisa with alterations and try to sell it to dedicated fans of Leonardo Da Vinci passing it off as parallel to the original. He has altered the originality that the fans fell in love with. Sure the extras are nice, but it is not the same thing. Tim Burton would be out of his mind to alter the art of Edward Wood Jr. and sell it to old fans and oncoming fans as a parallel work.

Lennox- The Girl With Many Eyes

The girl who had multiple eyes

A girl with many eyes. Why would someone choose to write about a phenomenon so strange? It was mentioned that she had a mouth as well, and she was indeed pretty. She enjoyed everything any socially normal girl would, but what does she and her many eyes represent? Having multiple eyes gives you multiple perspectives: sort of like security cameras. When many perspectives come together, you get one big view. Tim Burton was seen as strange, yet fascinating child. Maybe he was viewed as if he himself had multiple eyes, but it didn’t stop him from enjoying the normal pleasures in life.

A little girl may seem week, but maybe all of her perspectives made her stronger. Maybe all of her views of the world allowed her to be more open minded and accepting. I believe that Tim Burton has a very open mind. His art for Disney, as seen in Nightmare Before Christmas and Frankenweenie, was very different from the beautiful princesses and their handsome princes. He selected very different movies to work on; PeeWee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice and Batman were all very different, but Tim Burton managed to make them all his own through his unique perspective and style.

In the illustration the girl appears to be very strange compared to the boy observing her. He wears a dark striped shirt and has dark hair, but the girl who is the one who appears to physically be the strangest and the most different wears a pink frilly dress with cute pink shoes to go along with her blonde hair and green skin. I know we were told to not read too deep into the story but maybe their appearance was done very on purpose?  We would see the a boy in all dark colors with multiple eyes as very strange, and we would probably immediately relate him to Tim Burton’s alienation as a child. Maybe Tim Burton tried to avert our attention from making such an assumption.

Well I don’t know if I have made any sense with this, but this my blog for the week. Did anyone else think these stories were kind of depressing?

Lennox-Edward's Fairy Tale

Edward's enjoying some of that magical "lemonade"

Edward Scissorhands is very similar to a fairy tale. There’s romance, there’s tragedy, there’s a protagonist, there’s an antagonist and there’s a lesson to be learned, but poor Edward doesn't get your typical Disney fairy tale ending. The beginning of the film starts off with a grandmother telling her granddaughter what sounds like a magical story. Once we’re in the story we see our protagonist, Edward. Now others may disagree with me but Edward was very similar to the princess I grew up watching: Disney Princesses. Like Ariel, Cinderella, and Snow White, Edward loses a parent at an early age and is forced to try and understand the world alone. Edward is also misunderstood by the town’s people just as Cinderella is misunderstood by her step sisters and Ariel is misunderstood by her sisters. Now, I will stop comparing Edward to women. Edward is also similar to the beast in Beauty and the Beast; Edward is seen as a monster; Kim is the beauty; Kim’s boyfriend is Gaston. The sort-of fight seen was similar to the fight seen in Beauty and The Beast. The guy who thinks the Beast is most dangerous fights him and loses the fight and his life. Kim kissed Edward like Belle kissed the beast, but Edward did not miraculously turn into a man like the beast; he remained the same. I also found Edward to be similar to be similar to Peter Pan because he does not age, but the one he loves does. He also reminds me of Pinocchio due to the fact that he was created. Edward did not get the fairy tale ending like Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, The beast and Pinocchio. Edward ended up alone in his own little world. It is not revealed that Edward is too happy or too sad. He does create beautiful ice sculptures and causes it to snow a beautiful snow that Kim still enjoys in her old age. The lesson to be learned here is that people should not judge someone by their outside. Kim is hoping to pass this lesson on her young granddaughter. 

Lennox-The Joker? A Trickster?

The Joker

The Joker follows his own rules. He does not abide by the crime leaders, nor does he abide by the laws of Gotham City. He wants attention. He wants chaos. He wants Batman. That is his goal; to outshine and impress Batman. The joker cares of no one else in this process. He wants chaos in Gotham City just like the chaos floating through his mind. The joker only benefits psychologically, because he has the ability to drive others to the brink of insanity just as he has he was driven himself. He takes joy in what he does and does not fret when it comes to consequences. He feared death but died with a smile on his face. In comparison to the DC comic, the joker is more of a trickster because he does not die so easily. He terrorizes Gotham City again and again, to gain Batman’s attention. In fact, it has been said recently that the Joker has homosexual feelings for Batman. I believe I can see it in Tim Burton’s version of Batman. The Joker is overtly obsessed with causing problems. He gains a certain pleasure when he see that he is either feared or loved more than Batman. This makes him want to create more and more problems for Gotham. I do not believe that he is truly attracted to Vicky Vale, I believe that knowing he is taking something from Batman that means a lot to him, gives him a certain pleasure.  Of course you can argue that the Joker did not know that Bruce Wayne is Batman, but I believe that subconsciously he knew that the two were somehow related. However, I sort of disagree with Tim Burton's version of the Joker. I believe the Joker's history could be more detailed and his obsession more intense. He would then seem more like a trickster to me. Not to say that he was not a trickster, I just could not see it like I could with Betelgeuse. Maybe it was because Betelgeuse seemed to be more comical and the Joker seemed to be more serious.

Lennox- Bettlejuice: America's Denial of Death

Betelgeuse! Betelgeuse!! BETELGEUSE!!!

Death. It’s something that we sometimes hate thinking of. When we find out someone we’ve known has died, we can’t believe it. And once they’re gone from our lives, they’re gone. In Beetlejuice, the dead aren’t necessarily gone; they just go about as strange and unusual, blind to the ‘normal’ eye. When the Maitlands die, their death isn’t sad. We see no funeral. There are no grotesque bodies. There are no upset families or neighbors, except for Jane, who wanted to sell the house anyway. When the Maitlands die, we don’t really know that they are dead yet.

Throughout the entire film, the Maitlands actually seem quite fine and alive. They use their ghostly powers occasionally, but it’s really nothing too supernatural. At the end of the film, they seem perfectly alive and fine again. Barbara is hanging new wallpaper, Adam is still working on his model and they both seem to help Lydia with her studies just as normal family members or friends would. The film isn’t accepting that they or anyone else is dead. The film doesn’t let them move on. Their presence continues to linger.

In American, we burry our dead dressed and made up as if they were still alive. We touch and kiss their bodies as a final goodbye even if they’ve died days or weeks ago. We use funerals to celebrate their lives not mourn their deaths. In New Orleans, we have second lines (after parties) for the lost. We swear we’ll keep them alive in our hearts and memories. We refuse to accept the fact that they are gone. We try to keep them alive in as many senses as possible. It’s hard to think that someone whom you cared so deeply for is no longer around. So here, in America, we do what we must to try to keep people alive, just as Lydia prepared to marry Betelgeuse to keep the already dead Maitlands alive. 

We like to think that the loved ones we have lost have all gone to a better place where they will finally be free from their troubles. We like to ease the survivor’s guilt hanging over our shoulders. America tries to avoid the death of their own people as much as they possibly can.

We like to ease the survivors guilt hanging over our shoulders. America tries to avoid the death of their own people as much as they possibly can.