James Whale’s Frankenstein and its sequel The Bride of Frankenstein are hardly safe from mimicry. Tim Burton’s feature length version of Frankenweenie – his original film was a short – borrows liberally from these bastions of Universal horror. Occasionally, the film works. Yet the magical first half-hour only forms a prelude to the ultra-bizarre happenings.

Victor loves his dog Sparky, the latter always featuring prominently in his homemade 3D movies. However, when tragedy strikes, Victor feels compelled to resurrect his beloved pet through the power of lightning.

Only when Burton fails to put a leash on his runaway imagination does the whole canvas fall apart. Even the ending seems slapped on rather than earned.

On the flip side, there’s plenty to admire here. The use of black and white proves that colour should not always be the default choice when making an animated feature. A couple of minor characters, notably science teacher Mr Rzykruski (voiced by Martin Landau) prevent Frankenweenie from falling too deep into that wretched abyss. And composer Danny Elfman does his best work since Batman. The re-animation sequence alone justifies the price of admission.

Positives aside, the appearance of several monsters toward the end shifts the film’s darkish tone into a pitch-black feeling from which it never quite recovers. I’m still reeling from one transformation sequence which gave me the creeps.

(Released by Walt Disney Pictures and rated "PG" by MPAA.)