Wow. Frankenweenie opened soft. I’m not 100% sure why. I think it’s possible that Tim Burton has sort of run his course with audiences, but I expected a top 2 opening at least. Was it too dark in mood for kids and caretakers? Was it too far from Halloween? Was the black and white just too much for a modern audience? I have no idea. I will be going to see it Friday with my daughter. I’ll find out how good a movie it is. I wasn’t that excited to see it until that second trailer, which made it much more interesting. And for a dark themed film it seems much more fun than Paranorman, which looked great, but had a horrible, dishoveled story and an east coast location that felt nothing like an old, east coast haunted town.
Considering how many artists are still making a living basically reworking the Burton style and turning out projects with it, it seems odd that it resonated so badly with audiences.
I saw Frankenweenie this past weekend with my 10-year-old, and while I enjoyed it, he was unimpressed. He much preferred Hotel Transylvania, which had him laughing out loud throughout. My sense is that adults who enjoy Tim Burton will drag their kids to see this, but according to my son, the commercials don’t make it seem all that appealing to kids.
Lisa, thanks for sharing your POV. I have a feeling you are 100% right. That it’s more esoteric (in some weird way) and doesn’t connect with children. It’s been referred to as a Fanboy film and I guess that’s right. Although I don’t like the connotation that a ‘fanboy’ film can’t have wide success. The Avengers is ALL ABOUT being a Fanboy film, but obviously resonated with a broad audience. I think it may represent a project that feels like it was made by adults with adult sensibilities of what a kid would enjoy. My daughter loved Hotel Transylvania. Luckily she saw it with friends saving me the chore. I’m sure I’ll see it on demand or DVD. But I didn’t want to see it. I’m interested to know how much ‘snack stuff’ my daughter will need on Friday. The more bring she finds a film, the more snacks she needs to make it through it.
What did you think of Frankenweenie? It hasn’t opened in Australia yet, but my girls are really excited. Why didn’t you want to see Hotel Transylvania? I really enjoyed it – maybe my Transylvanian heritage made me particularly sympathetic.
I didn’t get to see it! We drove over to the theatre and the traffic was so bad we were 10 minutes late getting there. Then it turns out that the local schools had the day off, so the line was giant. (explains all the traffic I suppose) We could have made it if there had been no line. But we would have been at least 20 minutes late. And I like to choose good seats now that going to a movie costs like 22 bucks for two people. So we missed it. I hope to grab it this week. If it’s still around. As for my dislike of Hotel Transylvania, it certainly visually looks nice. Love the art. I wasn’t nuts about the voice actors they chose. And sometimes the studio animated features feel like overly wrought committee films. I agree I was unfair with my flippant remark. I know my daughter loved it and from trusted friends I have heard good things overall, except that the first 1/3 of the film was very, very slow moving. I’m sure I will seeing at home when it’s released. My daughter will make sure of that.