BUZZNET Exclusive: 10 Behind The Scenes Facts From ‘Frankenweenie’!

Tim Burton‘s 1984 short has finally become a full length movie! The upcoming flick Frankenweenie (which opens in theaters at midnight on October 5th) is Tim’s first full-length animated feature for Disney. Buzznet’s Patty Gopez attended the Frankenweenie press junket at the Grand Californian Hotel and got some exclusive behind the scenes tidbits about the new Disney movie straight from the stars themselves! We got to be in the presence of greats such as Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Landau, Winona Ryder and the director himself Tim Burton – as well as young actors Charlie Tahan and Atticus Shaffer. Find out some interesting BTS details!

[brightcove id=1862861835001 type=videoPlayer autoplay=0]

Here are 10 behind the scenes facts on the actors and the movie:

1. If you want to see her smile instantly, ask Winona Ryder about Beetlejuice! Winona is really proud of her work on the 1988 film – which had her team up with director Tim Burton. She continues to hold a place in her heart for the flick, in which she played Lydia. She said: “Little, litle kids still come up to me and ask, ‘Are you the girl in Beetlejuice?’ and it makes me so happy.”

2. Tim may have a thing for naming a number of his characters the same (like Victor — in this movie and in the Corpse Bride), but he insists that his naming process is nothing more than looking at a character until the name comes to him and is more of an impulse.

3. Spoiler Alert: Winona SINGS in the movie! When talking about his beloved director, Hollywood vet Martin Landau said one of his favorite things about his director is that “Tim Burton is the only one in the world to turn Winona Ryder into a recording artist.”

4. When doing voice over work, most actors record their scenes individually, but veteran actors Martin Short and Catherine O’Hara (who had worked together many times in the past) did scenes together while playing the parents.

5. Like most actors, Charlie Tahan and Atticus Shaffer were excited upon working with Tim Burton. Their favorite movies by the famed director? Charlie enjoys The Nightmare Before Christmas while Atticus loves Corpse Bride!

6. This may be a stop motion film, but with stop motion comes a bit of a misconception. The biggest misconception of stop motion animation around the board is that “people think it’s clay – claymation – but it’s puppets,” according to writer John August and executive producer Don Hahn.

7. What’s the difference between working on a live action project compared to working on an animated feature? Atticus explains that working on a live action, “you have to worry about wardrobe, you have to worry about makeup, memorize lines, acting out lines, being where you need to be… worry about other things like the camera running out of film.” Whereas, in voiceover, you can “arrive in a shorts and a t-shirt… and you don’t need to memorize your lines.” (Good to know!)

8. When talking about fans, Tim said his fan encounters he considers bizarre are when fans come up to him and show off their “strange tattoos” in “strange places” based on his work. He’s even seen people with his face tattooed on them!

9. Martin and Catherine both voiced three characters each in the movie: Martin did Mr. Frankenstein, Nassor and Mr. Burgemeister, while Catherine did the role of Mrs. Frankenstein, Weird Girl and Gym Teacher.

10. There are some really memorable scenes in the movie, but when asked their favorite scene to see, Charlie answered with “When Victor bring Sparky back to life” while Atticus liked when “all the monsters are out while Elsa’s singing and there’s chaos, but it’s so choreographed.”

Will you be checking out Frankenweenie? What’s your favorite Tim Burton flick?