Frankenweenie

Young Victor Frankenstein (voice by Charlie Tahan) applies elementary-school science and native genius to bring his dog back to life after it’s run over by a car—but keeping the secret opens a Pandora’s box of problems. Writer-director Tim Burton remakes his 1984 live-action short as a black-and-white stop-motion feature—literally reanimated—with mixed results. It’s an odd, not always comfortable blend of sweetness and doleful gloom, with dozens of in-joke references to 1930s horror movies that few viewers under 30 will get. Burton has plowed this ground before (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride), and it’s not that fertile; this one feels like exactly what it is: a padded-out short. The melancholy atmosphere sometimes plays as lack of energy, but it’s still an interesting novelty.