Comic-Con 2012 Movies: Frankenweenie

Frankenweenie, about a boy bringing his dog back to life, took the stage first for Disney's Comic-Con showing. The panel included Allison Abbate (producer), Don Hahn (executive producer), Atticus Shaffer (voice of Edgar), and director Tim Burton.

The panel kicked off with a new trailer for the film. Those in attendance described this promo as if it’s one for a retro B-movie. Katey Rich of Cinema Blend says that “it's like something Ed Wood would love, and is probably the best bit of marketing I've seen for a Tim Burton movie in years.”


Burton then discussed his time as a Disney animator, citing how he “was terrible at animation” as his reason for utilizing stop-motion. For the short on which this film is based, he drew inspiration from the death of his own dog and how he coped with it.

Another clip of Frankenweenie – one set in a classroom – was also introduced. Burton says that he based the schoolchildren on kids he remembers from his own childhood. Another clip showcases the hero of the film as he’s working on projects in a lab.

Q&A time brought with it lots of obvious Burton fans, and by obvious, I mean people dressed like various characters from his films. Hey, if you’re going to dress like characters from the filmography of just one director, Burton’s probably the way to go. One of these cosplayers, dressed like the Mad Hatter from 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, claims Colleen Atwood – costume designer and Burton regular – as his idol. Another question involved the PG rating of Beetlejuice despite a use of a certain four-letter word that begins with the letter “f” (Shhh: the MPAA might hear you).