Vincent (1982)

When it comes to stop-motion, Tim Burton is mainly known for A Nightmare Before Christmas, and more recently Corpse Bride, and Frankenweenie   is the 1982 short film Vincent

The plot focuses on a young boy named Vincent Malloy, who fantasizes about being Vincent Price. I won't go further than that, because it is a very short movie, and describing the plot is more Price's job. The story has no dialogue as such, but is gotten across through poetic reading

When it comes to tone, Vincent is far more ghoulish than stuff like A Nightmare Before Christmas, probably because this is taken pretty seriously, and is more amusing in a decidedly blacker way.

There's some very creative imagery and designs in this short, all shot beautifully in black-and white. As you'd expect from stop-motion, this 5 minute movie cost $60,000 dollars to make, if Wikipedia is to be trusted. Why is stop motion so expensive, anyway? Time consuming, yeah, but what's so money-draining about moulding a few plasticine models and moving them around? I'm very much curious to know.

As if everything else about Vincent wasn't good enough, Vincent Price does a fantastic job narrating. He totally sells everything,   and I also appreciate the meta-ness of Price himself telling this story.

The score permeates the movie with a grim and funereal feeling, and is very well composed.

Vincent is a great little film, and is a nice showcase for Tim Burton's talents before he lost them, as well as a great example of the talents of Vincent Price himself, who will always be one of the greats in cinema history...