Can 'Frankenweenie' Save Tim Burton's Reputation?

Tim Burton's latest movie Frankenweenie will be opening this year's London Film Festival. But will it be good enough to mend his ailing reputation? For years, Burton was one of Hollywood's hottest directors, hailed as an innovator and revered for his individual style, from early films such as Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, to the more recent Alice in Wonderland. However, some of the elements of Burton's movies that once made him unique have now started to become formulaic. His reliance on a core set of actors - namely his partner, Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp, are also becoming predictable.

His last movie, 'Dark Shadows,' disappeared without a trace, despite the hype that was built up around it and his involvement in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is probably best left unmentioned, altogether. The organisers of London Film Festival though are confident that Burton can win people's hearts back with this quirky black and white animation. "Frankenweenie is a perfect choice of opener - it's a film that revels in the magic of movies from one of cinema's great visionaries," Clare Stewart, the BFI's head of exhibition and festival director told Reuters. She added "Tim Burton has chosen London as his home city and hundreds of talented British craftspeople have contributed to this production."

Although the London screening on October 10 will be the red carpet premiere for the movie, its North American cinema release comes five days prior to that. The movie features the voices of Winona Ryder, Martin Landau and CHRISTOPHER LEE.