Where I Watched It: Disney Plus

English Audio Description?: Yes

I have these very patchy memories from my childhood of having seen Tim Burton’s original short film on VHS. I can even remember the library where we rented it, and a little of what the library looked like, as well as some of the film. As a child, you don’t think of things like “I’m watching a Tim Burton film”, so it wasn’t until years later when I was able to piece this experience together. I’m not really sure why Burton decided to remake and expand on his idea, but for a morbid boy and his dog story, it gives families an option to watch something horror themed that should in no way keep your kids up at night.

Featuring a strong voice cast including Catherine O’Hara and Martin Short, this expansion keeps up with the original idea of a boy being able to bring his best friend back from the dead, and wraps it into a deeper mystery and quirky side characters that seem like they want to zombify their own animals. BUT AT WHAT COST?

Much like Ian Malcolm’s speech in Jurassic Park, where he talks about the unearned rewards being reaped from bringing dinosaurs back from extinction, there are ethical ideas at play here. burton has always enjoyed the macabre, and relishes in characters that lean off the beaten path. To center a film around a boy who is obsessed with science, and perhaps not so much typical kids stuff, feels like a central protagonist of any Burton film. And the fact that death plays a factor in all of this just goes to highlight even more that these characters are in Burton’s world.

I can’t help but think that this movie, which is still aimed at kids, and is now fronted by a Disney logo, lacks the kind of levity that could send it over the top. It is trapped in its own depressed funk, and finds it next to impossible to find that lift that could really draw kids. If anything, they might just turn it off when the dog dies, and figure they’re bored anyway. it will attract that certain type of kid, but some might be looking for a distraction. older kids could possibly appreciate Burton’s work.

The audio description is fine, but with Burton going for a very specific look with this style, it’s hard to translate quasi-stop motion through audio description. it doesn’t have the same love and care that previous stop motion films have had, but it’s meant to look like it does.

It’s definitely an option, especially if your kids aren’t ready for Saw, but considering Tim Burton has already sheparded two stronger and similar titles with The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride, not to mention the fact that Disney Plus does have the original short (with audio description), this seems like maybe not your first choice, but perhaps an eventual or inevitable one.

Final Grade: B-