Frankenstein

Erik Stetler
March 31st
5th Hour

	Frankenstein is an eaerly science fiction Gothic novel written by Mary Shelley. Its popularity has spawned multiple movie adaptations over the years, but as it goes with movies based on books, they are never accurate to the source material. In this essay, the original novel Frankenstein will be compared to two of its movie versions: Frankenstein (1994) and Frankenweenie (2012). The novel and films differ in terms of characters, their tone and theme, the general plot, settings and props, and how they use Gothic elements.
	In the original novel, a man named Victor Frankenstein seeks a way to create life from where there is none, or from where there once was. He succeeds in his task, but he is horrified by his creation shortly after, as evidenced when Victor says during his narration “…now that I had finished, the beauty of my dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” (Shelley 43) The beast in Frankenstein is civil, only turning to savagery when shown it multiple times. In the 1994 film version, Victor Frankenstein goes about things in a similar manner, when he gazes up at his monster suspended by chains and asks himself what he has done. His version of the beast is more chaotic and violent, as well as less intelligent than the original, as it has extreme difficulty with mobility shortly after creation, and kills a pack of dogs with little issue.
However, in Frankenweenie, a young boy named Victor seeks to bring his dead dog, Sparky, back to life. He succeeds as well, but is happy to have his pet back rather than disgusted at his breaking the laws of nature. The beast is also much more benevolent, since it’s just a child’s pet, as evidenced when Sparky (reanimated) runs into a burning windmill to save Victor.
Both the 1994 film version and Frankenstein are meant to be dramatic with a sense of horror, hence why the creator of the beast feels disgust and his beast either starts off or turns aggressive and a force to be reckoned with. Frankenweenie is more of a children’s movie, however, so the beast being a dog makes it relatable (as many kids have or have owned a pet) and it remaining friendly takes the horror aspect and just makes it a little creepy – much better for a younger audience.
As mentioned, Frankenstein and the 1994 film adaptation are supposed to be scarier (and bloodier, in multiple cases) due to its older intended audience. The original novel was also written at a time when Gothicism was popular, further inspiring its tone. The 1994 version, being a film equivalent, seeks to emulate the original novel to the best of its ability, hence the similarities. Frankenweenie has a more comedic tone to it due to its period of origin and intended audience. The original novel and the 1994 film also seem to have a theme of learning to deal with the consequences of your action,such as the beast’s creation, and in the case of the original, the refusal to build the monster a mate in the original and subsequent revenge murders (“The murderous mark of the fiend’s grasp was on her neck, and the breath had ceased to issue from her lips.” Shelley 183), while Frankenweenie seems to deal more with acceptance and empathy, as the townspeople regret having treated the reanimated Sparky as an abomination when he saves Victor and a classmate and work together to bring him back to life (for the second time).
All three versions include, obviously, a creation sequence in which the version of Victor in the media creates his beast. Frankenstein and the 1994 film follow many of the same paths, such as the death of Victor’s mother, going off to college, and the creation of the beast while studying at the college. The film breaks off at points, though, such as the death of Victor’s professor colleague and the cholera outbreak. Both also start with a captain and his crew in the North Pole meeting Frankenstein.  Frankenweenie is far off the beaten path, as the beast is a full corpse (not various parts of other beings stitched together, and of a dog no less), and key events include the burning of a tower and the beast’s discovery at a carnival. It does share a similarity with the 1994 film, though, in that the creation happens in the attic of a building. The 1994 film and the novel include various deaths, such as Victor’s mother, his friend Henry Clerval, and his love interest Elizabeth. Frankenweenie’s only deaths are the original death of the dog and the impalement of a cat-rat-bat. Again, these similarities and differences can be explained due to the film’s attempt to closely mimic the original novel, while Frankenweenie shares mostly the concept of reanimation and spins it around in a (very) different way for its audience.