As part of their Comic-Con panel, Disney unveiled a fun new trailer for Frankeweenie, which reveals more plot and is done in the entertaining style of a 1950s-type horror movie promo. It gives a great look at the stop motion film, and shows that while it may be in black and white, it has a beautiful style, as you’d expect from director Tim Burton. The movie will hit UK cinemas on October 17th.
New Frankenweenie Trailer Online
Stop-motion films always take a long time to make, but Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie is finally on its way, with an October 17th, 2012 release date set. Disney has released a new trailer for the movie, which as with previous promos, suggests it’s great fun. Here’s the synopsis: ‘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.’
Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie Character Shots Debut
A slew of new character images have debuted from Tim Burton’s upcoming Frankenweenie, which certainly keep with the idea of this being a loving riff on 1930s horror movies. We’ve got the pics below, along with the character descriptions.
First off here’s the synopsis: ‘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.’ It’s due in UK cinemas October 17th, 2012.
SPARKY – Sparky is a devoted and playful bull terrier whose sense of curiosity is matched only by his beloved owner, Victor. Sparky enjoys chasing after balls and being the star of Victor’s homemade movies. He exudes tons of energy and enthusiasm, which even his untimely death doesn’t diminish.
VICTOR (voiced by Charlie Tahan) – Victor Frankenstein is a clever and industrious 10-year-old boy who is inspired by science. He lives with his parents and dog, Sparky, in the town of New Holland. Victor 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.
MR. & MRS. FRANKENSTEIN (Voiced by Catherine O’Hara & Martin Short ) – Mr. Frankenstein is a travel agent, friendly and social, 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 would prefer his son be more social and encourages him to join the baseball team. Mr. Frankenstein has a playful and loving relationship with his wife, Victor’s mom.
Mrs. Frankenstein is a loving and supportive mother who encourages her son’s scientific pursuits, even when her kitchen appliances end up in his attic lab. She is an avid reader and loves to watch movies with her husband and enjoys the company of her family and her books.
ELSA VAN HELSING (voiced by Winona Ryder) – Elsa Van Helsing is a soulful and somber classmate of Victor. She lives next door to him 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 – Persephone is a perfectly groomed black poodle with an enormously large poof of hair on her head. She is curious and flirtatious with Sparky and fiercely loyal to Elsa, her owner. When Persephone and Sparky first meet in the backyard, the attraction is instantaneous and electrifying.
TOSHIAKI (voiced by 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.
BOB (voiced by Robert Capron) – Bob is a momma’s boy who is the brawn to Toshiaki’s brains. He is agreeable and never mean-spirited, but on the flip side 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.
BOB’S MOM (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, which she isn’t shy about sharing with the community. She dotes on her son Bob and believes her actions, though often misguided, are in his best interest.
Dark Shadows (Cinema)
Starring: Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloe Moretz, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp
Director: Tim Burton
Running Time: 113 mins
Certificate: 12A
Release Date: May 11th, 2012
Director: Tim Burton
Running Time: 113 mins
Certificate: 12A
Release Date: May 11th, 2012
Dark Shadows has always been a somewhat problematic proposition for a film conversion, especially as it’s been brought to the screen by people who are obviously in love with the original US soap opera that ran between 1966 and 1971. The show ran for over 1,000 episodes and featured a vast array of characters and all sorts of different supernatural shenanigans. Those then needed to be distilled down to a single movie that’ll work for a generation who’ve never seen the show.
It’s a challenge that Dark Shadows only partially succeeds in, with the whole thing having the whiff of being filled things Johnny Depp and Tim Burton wanted to include, but which might have been better to have dispensed with. [Read more…]
Tim Burton Plans Seth Grahame-Smith’s Stop Motion Night of the Living
It would appear Tim Burton has pulled someone else into his inner sanctum alongside the likes of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter – Seth Grahame-Smith. The Pride & Prejudice & Zombies author wrote the screenplay for Burton’s upcoming Dark Shadows, and Burton is a producer on the adaptation of Graham Smith’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
Now it appears Grahame Smith is writing a stop motion movie for Burton, called Night Of The Living. Not a huge amount is known about the movie, as the only info about it comes from a single answer in an interview Grahame Smith gave to THR.
He says, “Night of the Living is an idea I have had around for years that I’m doing with Tim Burton. When we were shooting Dark Shadows last year I worked up the nerve to tell Tim about it because I always thought it would make a good movie. When I saw what he had done with Frankweenie and Corpse Bride, it always struck me as a great idea for that form. I’m writing it at Warner Bros. for him (as a stop-motion monster movie).”
There’s no info on the plot or when the film might go into production.
Listen To Danny Elfman’s Score For Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is just a few weeks away, but if you’re interested in Danny Elfman’s score for the film, you’ll be extremely pleased to hear that not only is it now available, but you can listen to it online over at Warner Bros.’ Water Tower Music. While the ability to listen to the whole thing in one go seems a tad temperamental, even if you have trouble to that you can listen to 90 second cuts of individual tracks to give you a taste of the movie.
CLICK HERE to have a listen. Dark Shadows is released May 11th.
Two New Dark Shadows TV Spots
When the trailer for Dark Shadows arrived recently, it looked a lot of fun, but it was difficult to work out exactly what it was all about and what tone it was going for. Now two TV spots have shown up which give a slightly better look at the movie, giving us a feel for the humour and storyline. It certainly looks like it could be a lot of fun. The film’s out May 11th.
Nine Great New Dark Shadows Character Posters
It’s not too long now until Dark Shadows hits cinemas on May 11th. A trailer and a poster arrived a couple of days ago, and now nine rather cool character posters have debuted, which are incredibly brightly coloured to give it the late-60s/early-70s vibe the film is going for (which is the era the supernatural soap it’s based on aired on US TV).
In the film, Johnny Depp plays Barnabas Collins, who was turned into a vampire by a witch (Eva Green) in the 18th Century and then buried alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to old home, Collinwood Manor, to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Jonny Lee Miller, Jackie Earle Haley, Chloe Moretz and Gulliver McGrath also star.
Dark Shadows Trailer
It’s odd that it’s taken so long, but a trailer for Dark Shadows is finally here. Based on a 1960s supernatural US soap opera, the film reunites Tim Burton and Johnny Depp for a film that from this trailer looks like it’ll be deliberately silly but fun, and it seem like it’ll be the most Burton-looking movie we’ve seen in a while, with plenty of gothic flourishes. In the film, Johnny Depp plays Barnabas Collins, who was turned into a vampire by a witch in the 18th Century and then buried alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to old home, Collinwood Manor, to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Jonny Lee Miller, Jackie Earle Haley, Chloe Moretz and Gulliver McGrath also star. The film’s out May 11th.
First Dark Shadows Footage Online
As the Tim Burton & Johnny Depp collaboration Dark Shadows is due in cinemas on May 11th, you’d have thought we’d have seen more than a few images by now. However it appears Warner is planning on more of a blitz attack, hoping to penetrate the audience’s consciousness with a big campaign starting now and going on until the release. Now the first, very brief footage is online, which is part of a promo for Ellen, which we’ve embedded above. It’s incredibly short but still worth a look. It arrives ahead of the trailer, which STYD promises will be online tomorrow, March 15th. So watch out for that!
Here’s the lengthy synopsis: In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet–or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles. Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth’s ne’er-do-well brother, Roger Collins, (Jonny Lee Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloe Moretz); and Roger’s precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family, to caretaker Willie Loomis, played by Jackie Earle Haley, and David’s new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.