Frankenweenie 2012 Directed by Tim Burton/Frankenstein The Play

Frankenweenie

I saw this movie at the theater with my grandson in 2012.  It’s a parody of the 1931 film Frankenstein based on Mary Shelley’s book done in black and white (loved that blast from the past feeling).  It’s not a musical and it was filmed in stop-motion, a clever realistic effect.

Here the boy is Victor and the dog that he loses is named Sparky (I think Ygor might have been a fun name).  Victor revives Sparky with electricity but is then blackmailed by the friends into revealing how they could do the same with their deceased pets and other “creatures”.  This leads to chaos!!

The only reason I liked this version is due to the many references it makes to the original.  It’s fun just to watch for those clever inferences!

Take a look at the trailer to see if it peeks your interest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1yR-gEldC4

Enjoy…..or not 🙂

”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””’

Frankenstein the Play    San Bernardino, Cali 2014

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeuAKpKtnzQ

I went to see this play in San Bernardino at an old theater.  It started off slow but really picked up.  One of the best parts was how they portrayed the marriage of Victor and Elizabeth.  For a full review see my blog post from Feb. 2014!

Time to Update the Frankie List–What’s Coming Next You Ask?

PLEASE CHECK OUT THE FRANKENSTEIN MOSTLY MOVIE LIST BELOW:

Note:  * starred movies have been posted

and

Frankie = Frankenstein (the name is just too long)

Posted in chronological order so that we can see the progression (or NOT, –time will tell)

1. Frankenstein 1931 *
2. Bride of Frankenstein 1935 *
3. Son of Frankenstein 1039  *
4. Ghost of Frankie 1942 *
5. Frankie Meets the Wolf Man 1943 *
6. House of Frankenstein 1944
7. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankie 1948
8. Curse of Frankie 1957
9. Revenge of Frankie 1958
10. Evil of Frankie 1964
11. Frankie Created Woman 1967
12. Frankie, The True Story 1973
13. Young Frankenstein (a Mel Brooks comedy) 1974
14. Frankenhooker 1990 (now I can’t wait to see what this is about)
15. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein with Robert De Niro 1994 (this one’s a GREAT one)
16. Hallmarks’s Frankenstein Mini-Series 2003
17. Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein Book Series  Volumes 1 – 5
18. Frankenstein 2004 (a movie made from Koontz’s book series that he was NOT happy about)
19. Frankenweenie 2012 (Tim Burton)
20. I, Frankenstein 2014 (what a dud!)
21. Frankenstein the Play 2014 (in San Bernardino, CA)

And of COURSE I already blogged Mary Shelley’s original book, Frankenstein.  It was a slow tough beginning thanks to her husband, but once Mary got into it, it was good!  Remember, that’s the REAL story and I’m interested to see how close or how far the movies divert from the book.

There were many many more Frankenstein movies made throughout the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s but most are too poorly done for even ME to bother watching.  I picked the ones that seemed the most interesting.  We’ll see if I was right in my choices!  See if you agree with me or not~join me won’t you?  Or as the Monster sometimes said, “GRRRRRRRR!”

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein–The Play

On February 16, 2014 I had the pleasure of attending the play with a friend!  Thanks for inviting me friend!  You see, she knows that I am obsessed with all things Frankenstein.  The following you tube video is not from the actual play that we saw, but it is very similar.  Take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY85IzWexWo

The play was at the California Theatre of the Performing Arts in San Bernardino, CA and I must say it started off great with Victor Frankenstein’s monster standing in a box with simulated electrical currents exploding his body system.  Soon he fell to the floor and there is where it became very s-l-o-w.  “The Monster” squirmed around moaning and groaning for a good 15 minutes which was 10 minutes longer than he should have.  Finally, he staggered into a standing position only to fall again…sigh…here we go again.  Once he made it up to a standing position and could hold it, the play picked up, little by little.  After the intermission,  it really improved and had me hooked.  

As The Monster stumbled around, he ran into 2 British men at a campfire.  They chased him off and yelled, “Piss off!”  Here is where the play began injecting humor.  His first words were, “Piss off!”  There were other very humorous moments sprinkled throughout the play.  Excellent!

The Monster learned to talk by becoming friends with a blind man but when his family found him in the house, they beat him.  This was the plight of the Monster; he was ugly and people hated him.  The Monster actually had feelings and just wanted to be loved and accepted like everyone else.  He sought out Victor Frankenstein who was the one who built him and brought him to his miserable life.  So, he wanted Victor to make him a mate, like him, and then he promised he would go and live in the snowy wilderness and never bother anyone again.  But…Victor did not want to build another who might kill again so The Monster killed his little brother William by snapping his neck.  Victor was heartbroken for he was to blame.  Due to the tragedy, he decided to make The Monster a mate, did so, then victor sliced her throat, killing her, which killed all The Monster’s dreams.  Victor would later pay dearly.   Time passes…

Victor married his life long love Elizabeth.  I loved the way they portrayed the wedding by having a few characters walk down the theater aisle, scattering flower petals and singing a wedding song.  But as the Frankenstein story goes, Elizabeth was in harms way.  The Monster got into their room and since Victor refused to grant him his wish, he slashed Elizabeth’s throat with a knife.  Victor was broken.

In the end, The Monster took Victor to trudge in the snow for they would be miserable together and that is where the play ended.  This is not the way that Mary Shelley’s book ends.  More about that next time…

Moral of the story?  Everyone needs someone…

The California Performing Arts theater is one of those beautiful old ornate theaters.  It’s small but wonderful and I love going there.

Until next time…