I like to start off this part of analysis by identifying four major plot points: The Opening, end of Act One, end of Act Two, the Final Struggle. So here’s my take on the script: The Opening: PP. 1-5 which establishes Victor, Mom, Dad, and Sparky, parents concern about Victor's lack of social life, and the town of New Holland. Act One end: PP. 17-21 in which Victor builds his reanimation machine and brings Sparky back to life. Act Two end: PP. 52-58 where the motley crew of reanimated animals comes to life, threatening the town, and Victor feels responsible for the chaos. Final Struggle: PP. 65-71 which has the big to-do at the windmill, Sparky saves Victor's life, but dies, then is revived by the townspeople. Once again, a story with a clear set of primary plot points demarcating three acts. Thoughts?

As I originally worked through the breakdown, I pegged the end of act one on Sparky's resurrection, but as I thought about it I realized the inciting incident was actually Sparky's tragic death. Up to that point Victor, his family, and Sparky could all have gone on with their lives as they existed in the prologue and there wouldn't have been a story. It's Sparky's death that sends Victor's life into a tailspin and motivates him to find a way to revive his beloved pet (and reveals one theme: learning to deal with death). Like Scott, I would place the end of act two at the point where the kids' monstrous creations converge on the Dutch Day celebration, which forces Victor to change from being reactive to being proactive. As a side observation, it was interesting to see how Mr. August got rid of the one character who was better suited to solve the story's problem. Had Mr. Rzykruski remained, he (as a science teacher) would likely have been better equipped to deal with the chaotic monsters, but since this was Victor's story, Rzykruski had to be removed. The incident with Bob's broken arm gave Burgemeister cause to get Rzykruski dismissed and left Victor alone at the moment when the assistance of a mentor might have been helpful, thus forcing Victor to become the hero rather than leaning on someone else. There's another plot point, one often discussed when analyzing novels but I think fits here, as well. During act two there is something referred to as the turning point, or mid-point, and I think this story has one that's crucial. The first half of act two is held together by secrets: Victor's revival of Sparky and E's knowledge of how he did it. At the turning point (PP. 45-51) both of those skeletons fall out of their respective closets: E spills the beans to the rest of the science fair competitors; and Victor's parents discover Sparky alive. This ups the stakes for Victor (he's in trouble) and for the rest of the kids (they all want Victor's skill at reviving the dead). The second half of act two deals with the post-secret consequences: the monsters rampage through the festival; and Sparky's appearance to the festival goers turns them against him (which helps him lead them to the windmill).

Will, that's a great observation about Rzykruski being excised from the story to force Victor to go it alone. That's thinking like a screenwriter and I'll bet that was John August's logic as well (I'll reach out to him to see what he says about that). As to the two other plot points you cite, I am in complete agreement with you, so I have incorporated them with the four primary plotline points from my earlier post. The Opening: PP. 1-5 which establishes Victor, Mom, Dad, and Sparky, parents concern about Victor’s lack of social life, and the town of New Holland. The Hook [Inciting Incident]: PP. 13-16 wherein Sparky dies. Act One end: PP. 17-21 in which Victor builds his reanimation machine and brings Sparky back to life. Transition [Mid-Point]: PP. 45-51 wherein Victor's secret -- reanimation / Sparky resurrected -- is revealed. Act Two end: PP. 52-58 where the motley crew of reanimated animals comes to life, threatening the town, and Victor feels responsible for the chaos. Final Struggle: PP. 65-71 which has the big to-do at the windmill, Sparky saves Victor’s life, but dies, then is revived by the townspeople. There are other plot points, but these provide the backbone of the narrative structure. The two you mention are significant for numerous reasons: The Hook / Inciting Incident is a Call To Adventure (per Joseph Campbell), an event or dynamic which disrupts the Protagonist's Old / Ordinary World, setting into motion the P heading into the New / Extraordinary World. The Transition not only has ramifications for the Plotline (External World), but also what I call the Themeline (Internal World), that is the Protagonist shifts from one way of being to another. Often we can typify this as going from Reactive to Proactive. It's a bit different in Frankenweenie because after the secret - reanimation - becomes known to the public, Victor still reacts to events, however now he must do so with the truth out there: Sparky has come back to life and the reanimation process is available to others. Another way of talking about it per my language system, the Transition marks the segue from Deconstruction to Reconstruction. So with Victor in Frankenweenie, he spends the first half of Act Two trying to reclaim his way of living as it was in Act One, before Sparky died. However things have changed due to his dog's death and resurrection. Victor tries to go back to normal, but he can't. So his old way of being needs to change. Hence: Deconstruction. Reconstruction generally involves a character embracing the truth of his/her situation and Victor does that once the secret has been revealed. The Old Life is gone. Victor's New Life with a resurrected dog requires a new way of being. In turn, this forces Victor to stretch beyond his isolated lifestyle and interface with the community of New Holland, albeit reluctantly, due to Sparky's chaotic interactions with the general populace. Good analysis, Will, and thanks!

This might be more relevant for Thursday's discussion, but I'm not seeing why Victor goes from... 1st act: "I don't want him in my heart. I want him here, with me." This leads to him bringing Sparky back to life. Is this a "flawed" reaction? to... 3rd act: “It’s okay, boy, you don't have to come back. You'll always be in my heart.” Why the reversal and change of heart? And I don't understand why Victor felt responsible for the chaos at the end of the 2nd act. Yes, that was caused indirectly by him, through the others who decoded his process, but am I missing something else here?

Thanks for the breakdown, Will. I was wondering about why Mr. R was removed too, but your comment does make sense to me.

Scott, did you receive my email? I resent my scene breakdown of Barney's Version; I had to clarify some things and make some corrections.

Scott, thank you for the clarification on deconstruction/reconstruction. I was never clear about these concepts, but as you've discussed them above they now make sense to me.

Jem, about Victor's pangs of responsibility for the monster chaos, the script actually makes the statement (pg. 58):

TOSHIAKI: My problem’s bigger! Toshiaki points to the distance - a towering, giant Turtle is walking past. Its a suburban Gamera. Sparky barks defensively. Bob has to admit -- BOB: Yeah. He’s right. A beat. Victor has to think fast. This is all his fault. He looks down at Sparky and gets an idea.

But that's not something the viewing audience can see. I think Victor's motivation at this moment ties back to his last exchange with Rzykruski (pp. 44-45). (I've removed the stage directions for clarity.)

VICTOR: I was doing my experiment, my project, and the first time it worked great. But the next time it didn't. I mean, it sort of worked, but then it didn't. And I don't know why. MR. RZYKRUSKI: Then maybe you never really understood it the first time. People think science is here... (points to his head) ...but it is also here. (points to his heart). The first time, did you love your experiment? VICTOR: Yes. MR. RZYKRUSKI: And the second time? VICTOR: No. I just wanted it over. MR. RZYKRUSKI: Then you changed the variables. VICTOR: I was doing it for the wrong reason. MR. RZYKRUSKI Science is not good or bad, Victor. But it can be used both ways. That is why you must always be careful.

Victor got Sparky for the right reason (love of his lost pet--the heart) but the other creations came about for the wrong reasons (desire to win the science fair trophy--the head). I think Victor now sees it's time for him to care, as everyone else is in a panic. This also ties back to his parents' concern about his lack of social interaction. Victor's about to interact publicly in a very big way. In addition, at the moment the monsters begin to appear in town (pg. 58) both Bob and Toshiaki plead to Victor for help.

Just sent you an email confirmation, jem. Thanks!

Will, to expand on Deconstruction and Reconstruction, it doesn't really matter what language you use, whatever best describes for you stages of a characters metamorphosis / transformation. In most movies, the Protagonist goes through a change, generally a positive one, aligning with Hollywood's addiction to happy endings. Per my language: Disunity - Deconstruction - Reconstruction - Unity Generally speaking, Act One establishes the P in their Old World and demonstrates the specific nature of the P's Disunity. The P may or may not be aware of their Disunity state. They may or may not want to change. No matter. The Universe (Plot) comes along and plops a plot point atop the P which disrupts the P's Old Way of Being. This is often called the Inciting Incident, Call to Adventure or my language: The Hook. Why this plot point? Because the destiny of the P is to move from an Inauthentic Way of Living to an Authentic Way of Living. In their lives leading up to FADE IN, the P has been making do, but is somehow disconnected from their True Self, Core Essence, Authentic Nature, etc. This reflects in large part their Disunity and also can be seen as tied to their Need [to change]. The Hook plot point either immediately or more likely eventually compels or lures the P out of the Old World into the New World. This can be the same place they live in, such as Frankenweenie, it's just that circumstances have changed the Old World into a kind of New World. Often, however, there is a literal geographical shift where the P leaves home and goes on an adventure in a New World. The first part of this experience may involve learning new rules, new faces, new places and can call into question the Old Ways of Being: beliefs, behaviors, defense mechanisms, coping skills. This is part and parcel of Deconstruction. Along the way through various test and trials, obstacles and complications, as well allies the P meets along the way, the P starts to get in touch with their heretofore repressed or denied Core Essence. Over time, that becomes more and more the touchstone and foundation of their New Way of Being. This we can call Reconstruction. From a psychological standpoint, the entirety of Act III and specifically the Final Struggle is a final test to see if the P has 'evolved' fully. Have they learned their lessons? Have they synthesized Want and Need? Have they embraced enough of the New Ways of Being to replace or combine with the Old Ways to create a united front in terms of action in the Plotline? If so, they achieve their goal and in so doing, attain a symbolic state of Unity. This is a broad generalization of the Disunity to Unity arc, but one we see over and over and over again in movies. It's my language system, one I've used for decades, but as I say, there's no right way to write, no one single formula or pattern for storytelling, so consider it descriptive, not prescriptive. As it so happens, this pattern exists in Frankenweenie. Also in Argo, Gravity and American Hustle, each in its own wonderfully unique way, proving that with distinctive circumstances and characters, we don't have to fall prey to formulaic writing when trafficking in universal patterns.

jem, you have zeroed in on what I think is the essence of Victor's metamorphosis. Indeed, the specificity of that line of dialogue - "I don't want him in my heart" / "You'll always be in my heart" - cannot be seen for anything other than a callback to demonstrate the degree of Victor's attitudinal change. We can discuss this at length tomorrow, but I encourage you to go through the scene-by-scene breakdown, or better yet the script, and look at the story strictly from the perspective of Victor's psychological journey. Track events and moments that represent steps in his transformation. If done well, you should see a bridge from his Act I comment to his Act III comment, a reflection of his metamorphosis.

Thanks for that, Will, an excellent explanation to Jem's question. With magical stories like this - the reanimation representing 'magic' - more often than not, we are trafficking in the mythological realm of the Pandora's Box [or jar]. Open the jar: The magic happens. Hooray! What we wanted has occurred. Then uh-oh: Unforeseen circumstances and occurrences arise, spinning out of control. And who's to blame for it all? Why, the person who opened the jar. In this case, it's Victor who precipitates everything be reanimating Sparky. That leads to chaos on multiple fronts. Hence his sense of culpability.