Tim Burton reveals his Disney early days to Steve Pratt and why he feels that the black and white and 3D format are so important to the making of Frankenweenie

YES, young animator Tim Burton parted company with his employer the Disney company. But no, it wasn’t like The Apprentice. Mickey Mouse didn’t point his finger and say, “You’re fired”. But the story persists that Burton was fired after making his original Frankenweenie short film. True or false? “It was sort of like that,” is the best answer you’ll get out of him, along with some freewheeling comedy concerning Mickey, Goofy and doors framed by cherubs.

Burton is in unusually animated form at the press conference for his new film – the aforementioned Frankenweenie – which opened the BFI London Film Festival before going on general release.

“It was a strange period in the Disney company’s history and it’s obviously changed over the years.

It’s a whole different place,” he says, “Back then, it was a low point for animation, not just Disney but everywhere. So although the shorts weren’t released, the opportunity to do them was really great and I’m grateful to them for the chance to do it.”

He can afford to be generous because he’s finally made Frankenweenie as a full-length, stop-motion, black and white 3D picture for – and here’s the irony – his former employer Disney. He previously delivered them a massive global hit with his imaginative take on Alice In Womderland.

You might say that Frankenweenie, the story of a boy and his dead dog, is typical Burton, continuing resurrecting the dead themes he’s explored in movies such as A Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride and Edward Scissorhands.

His latest film was made at Three Mills Studios in East London, the city that Burton has adopted as his home. “It’s strange because when we first started the film there was no Olympic stadium and when we finished there was, which shows you how long it took to make,” he says. It’s 30 years since he made the original Frankenweenie short, so why revisit it? It was partly the idea of producer Don Hahn, who was at Disney the same time as the young Burton.

“It was such a memory piece. The drawings and stop motion and black and white and 3D and thinking about other kids in my school and weird teachers and parents,” he says.

“And being able to work with those people I’ve worked with in the past and loved, just made it more special.” Those included another producer, Allison Abbate, along with actors Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara and Martin Landau.

All very different to being a 20-year-old working on cartoon features such as The Fox And The Hound and Black Cauldron. “It was an odd time at the studio and I don’t think the studio knew what to do with Tim,” says Hahn. “And to their credit they gave him some money to make a short film, Frankenweenie, and they didn’t know what to do with their shorts.”

For his part, Burton has found it inspirational meeting and working with some of his heroes, like Landau and the late Vincent Price. “If you like making movies then just meeting these people keeps your energy going and it’s why you like making movies,” he says.

Making the film in black and white isn’t just a gimmick. For him, it’s a crucial element of the film. “It’s something that’s hard to put into words, but for me, it made it more emotional. The 3D element helps support the people who work on the film, and the work that they do on these films.

“When you look at these puppets you see the reality of them, the tactile nature of it, everything, every prop is handmade.”

STOP-MOTION is time-consuming and expensive but Burton hopes that all forms of animation are still viable.

“I remember a few years ago, after computer animation took off, the industry said it wasn’t going to make any more hand-drawn movies. Thankfully that changed. I hope it’s the same for stop- motion.

It’s a beautiful art form. You just hope all forms of animation can flourish,” he says.

With Paranorman and Hotel Transylvania also in cinemas it seems like animated movies are getting darker. Burton doesn’t necessarily see that trend. “From the very beginning my films have been labelled dark, but I’ve never felt that way about them,” he says.

He certainly doesn’t seem to be abandoning his obsession with death and bringing characters back to life, as Frankenweenie’s hero Victor does after his pet dog does in a road accident.

“When I was a kid I always wanted to be a bad scientist. A regular scientist was no fun. A lot of those movies aren’t so much about bringing dead things back to life, I find that is quite creepy actually.

“It’s more about creation, creating things, making things. That’s what film-making is, that’s what stop-motion is. For me that’s the fun of it. That’s why I like doing it. It’s not so much about the business, the box office, the reviews. It’s about making something.”

For Burton, it’s also about receiving. On Saturday, he and his partner and frequent collaborator Helena Bonham Carter will be presented with the BFI’s highest honour, the BFI Fellowship, at this year’s awards ceremony in London.

  • Frankenweenie (PG) is now showing in cinemas