Tim Burton's last film as director, 2010's Alice in Wonderland, opened in 3D and IMAX 3D, going to gross over a billion dollars worldwide and becoming the ninth biggest global earner of all time (not adjusted for inflation).  This ensured that every subsequent Burton film at the studio would be released in 3D and IMAX 3D.  Though it doesn't have Johnny Depp or the fairy tale familiarity of that last movie, Burton's Frankenweenie will nonetheless be getting the blockbuster treatment, and as we all know, contemporary blockbusters need to be presented in the most spectacular fashion.

If you're a fan of Tim Burton's work, more specifically stuff like Edward Scissorhands, The Corpse Bride, or Ed Wood as opposed to say, Alice in Wonderland or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, then you're going to really like the newly released teaser trailer for Frankenweenie.  The second Burton-directed movie to hit theaters this year is a black and white stop motion animated feature looks like it's packed with the sort of elements that won Burton so many fans in the first place.  It's stylized, sweet, thoroughly morbid, and happily playful.  Oh and it has some nice Danny Elfman score, of course.

Today we have a teaser poster for Frankenweenie, the second of two 2012 movies directed by Tim Burton, both of which are derived from existing properties.  The first, this summer's Dark Shadows, is based on the 1967-1971 gothic soap opera created by Dan Curtis.  Interestingly, though, Frankenweenie is based on Burton's own 1984 short film, that one that, according to legend, got him fired from Disney.  Now that he's household name Tim Burton, however, Disney was happy to let him oversee a a feature length version of the story, which finds a suburban little boy bringing his beloved dog Sparky back from the dead. 

What with the presence of Johnny Depp and all, Dark Shadows is the 2012 Tim Burton film that's been hogging the attention as of late, but today Disney released the first official images from Frankenweenie, the director's feature-length stop-motion expansion on his 1984 short film of the same name.  These two stills introduce Sparky, a dog, and Bob, the suburban boy who uses science to play god and resurrect his beloved pet when Sparky dies unexpectedly.  Of course, this leads to all manner of complications.  For the first time since Ed Wood, Burton's doing an entire feature in black and white, and I'm sort of astonished Disney is allowing it.  The lack of color carries over from the original short, is inarguably stylish, and fits the tone of the material like a glove.

Still nearly a full two years away from release, Tim Burton’s full length 3D stop-motion animation picture Frankenweenie (which is an adaptation of his 1984 short) has got quite the cast attached. The film, which tells the tale of a man who reanimates his deceased dog will feature the voice work of Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, and Martin Landau. Also fixed to the project is screenwriter John August, who’s collaborated with Burton on three separate occasions in the past (Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Big Fish).

A large cast - including Demi Moore, Thomas Haden Church (Sidways) and Kate Bosworth - has assembled for The Reasonable Bunch, the directorial debut of Barry Levinson's son, Sam Levinson. Ezra Miller (City Island), Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn and Martin Landau (Ed Wood) round out the ensemble comedy.