If Victor Frankenstein, the monstermaking scientist of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, were a suburban American kid … well, he is in Tim Burton’s feature-length remake, in stop-motion animation, of his 1984 live-action short. Victor (voiced by Charlie Tahan) is a little too weird for his conventional parents (Martin Short and Catherine O’Hara) but a perfect mate for his pit bull terrier Sparky. When Sparky is killed in a car accident, Victor resolves to bring him back to life. The movie transforms what is for most children their first shock of mortality — the passing of a beloved pet — into a sympathetic tale of precocious necrophilia, and a puckish pocket history of classic monster films. Utilizing the stop-motion wizardry of the puppeteers at Mackinnon & Saunders, this 3-D, black-and-white “family” comedy is the year’s most inventive, endearing animated feature.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/XBfcGLBJ2Uc]