FrankenweenieMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 74 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
9 OK for kids 9+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    San Francisco Chronicle | Amy Biancolli

    It is pure, retro-cinematic joy. Read full review

  • 100
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    The movie, a simple yet immensely pleasurable tale of a little boy and his undead dog, is good enough on its own. If you know the back story, it's even better. Read full review

  • 91
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Frankenweenie is a cool little flipbook of historical Burtonian style. It even brings back old friends, including "Beetlejuice's" Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara. Read full review

  • 88
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Getting creeped out has never seemed this totally cool. Read full review

  • 88
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Frankenweenie is a love story between a boy and his dog. It is also a beautifully crafted homage to classic horror films, a study of grief and a commentary on the mysteries of science and those who narrow-mindedly fear its advances. Read full review

  • 85
    Movieline |

    It's probably too early to peg Frankenweenie as Burton's comeback vehicle, but it's certainly the director's best movie in twenty years. Read full review

  • 80
    New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman

    Burton's extraordinary powers of imagination are in dazzling bloom, from the gorgeous stop-motion animation to the goofy, homemade horror movies the children direct. Read full review

  • 70
    NPR |

    The picture is frustrating not because it's bad, but because of how almost-good it is. Read full review

  • 50
    Philadelphia Inquirer | David Hiltbrand

    It's not so much a miscalculation of his audience by Burton as it is a disregard. What lingers after Frankenweenie, far more than its stunning technique, is a sad suggestion of solipsism. Read full review

  • 50
    The Hollywood Reporter | Todd McCarthy

    It is nonetheless imaginative in a highly familiar and ultimately tedious way. Read full review

View more reviews for Frankenweenie on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 9+ Burton's creepy young Frankenstein is perfect for tweens.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Tim Burton's black-and-white, stop-motion animated film Frankenweenie is the feature-length version of a short he made early in his career. Like most of Burton's films, Frankenweenie's tone is dark and creepy and will likely scare kids who are sensitive to the macabre. On the other hand, this tale of a very young Frankenstein who reanimates his beloved pet dog is a great introduction to the horror genre for older kids and tweens who are ready for some scares -- like when a group of kids reanimates various pets that go wild (one ends up as big as Godzilla) and terrorize the town. Pets die in the movie, and the resulting grief is depicted realistically.
  • Families can talk about the Frankenweenie's scare factor. Are the frightening scenes too much for little kids, or are they funnier than they are scary? Who do you think they're intended to appeal to?
  • Do you think kids will get the movie's references to horror movie characters? Why do you think Tim Burton's signature style is so dark?
  • Would the movie have the same impact if Sparky was a different kind of pet? What's the appeal of dog movies?
The good stuff
  • message true3 Positive messages: Science and scientific thought are encouraged, but it's also important to have the right motivation behind a scientific project -- i.e. intention and purpose matter. Victor reveals himself to be a brave and loving friend. Grief over a pet's death is depicted in a realistic manner. Parents support their son, even though they don't fully understand why he made certain decisions.
  • rolemodels true3 Positive role models: Mr. Rzykruski is a brilliant science teacher who encourages independent thought, study, and observations and helps Victor see the value in working wholeheartedly toward a dream. Victor is sensitive, loving, and smart. He's willing to stop at nothing to help bring his best friend, Sparky, back to life. And later he's brave enough to help save Elsa. 
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: The movie has a generally dark and frightening tone, augmented by the often-suspenseful music. Most of Victor's classmates are creepy looking, especially the tall and freaky sounding Nassor and the "children of the corn" lookalike with her cat that makes prophetic, letter-shaped poop. Several scary sequences, including an invisible reanimated fish that bites and the entire last part of the movie, when reanimated pets, giant sea monkeys, a mummified creature, and a Godzilla-like turtle terrorize New Holland and its townsfolk. Pets die, and other pets turn into monsters that smash and destroy.
  • sex false1 Sexy stuff: Parents hug, a mother reads a romance novel, and Sparky flirts with the neighbor's dog, Persephone. Victor and Elsa are sweet in a flirtatious way.
  • language false1 Language: Mild insults: "stupid," "crazy," "no friends."
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false0 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue
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Frankenweenie Featured Trailers + Video Clips

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Exclusive Features

Interview Tim Burton Talks 'Frankenweenie' The iconic director chats about what it was like to finally make the movie that almost killed his career. Winona Ryder Talks About Her Telepathic Connection with Tim Burton We sat down with Winona Ryder at Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX to talk about what it was like to work with Burton again and how things have changed since Edward Scissorhands.