The Big Picture

Shelley Duvall brought whimsy to film and TV, especially in Tim Burton’s
Frankenweenie
.
Duvall’s performance in
Frankenweenie
showcases her depth, talent in satire, and unique acting style.
Duvall and Burton’s collaboration was a match made in heaven, as the two proved to be kindred spirits in their approach to art.

Shelley Duvall was a woman who couldn’t help but make everything she did feel far more whimsical and spontaneous than it was on the page. Fittingly for a woman who spearheaded the production of a television show devoted to fairy tales, she had a sparkle about her akin to a fae in human form. That sparkle granted her a spirit that made her seem ill-fitted to the “ordinary” human world, that she was destined to break out and transcend her societal limitations. Such a quality made her a perfect fit for the vision of Tim Burton, who cast her in one of his first films, the short film Frankenweenie, and her work makes you wish they had collaborated again, as she makes for a beautiful portrayal of motherhood.

What Is ‘Frankenweenie’ About?
Image via Disney

When Victor Frankenstein’s (Barret Oliver) beloved dog Sparky dies, he can’t fill the black hole in his heart. Despite the best efforts of his parents, Ben (Daniel Stern) and Susan (Duvall), Victor needs to be reunited with his soul mate. Inspired by his fixations on science fiction literature, Victor seeks to follow in his namesake’s footsteps and bring Sparky back to life using electricity, just like in the classic Boris Karloff-starring film version. He proves successful, and now he has a rejuvenated Sparky, complete with stitches and neck bolts, much to the surprise of his parents. However, they are quickly won over when they realize Sparky is the same sweet dog he was before, and the family work together to hide Sparky from the intolerant suburban neighborhood they live in. Serving as a wholesome and affectionate rough draft of Burton’s iconic aesthetic that he would refine over the years, Frankenweenie emerges as both a critique of the homogenous middle-class Americana Burton grew up in and a treatise on the benefits of parents allowing their children to break free from such stultifying environments. In this vein, the most persuasive tool Burton has isn’t actually his satirical insight, but Shelley Duvall’s performance.

Shelley Duvall Satirizes Conventional Stereotypes With Her Performance

Susan is, at first, the classic rendition of a loving mom: she’s attentive and unambiguously supportive of Victor’s amateur filmmaking ventures and devoted to the welfare of her child and husband in a way that’s nurturing and sweet, even if she’s maybe a bit glum and absent-minded (like how she forgets what Victor’s favorite food is). While she’s clearly flummoxed by Sparky’s return, it doesn’t take much more than some licks on the cheek and an assurance that he’s still friendly for her to flip and accept him again as a family member. It’s less of a character arc and more of a demonstration of her true colors, therefore calling on an actress who can signal to the audience that she’s much more than her initial bearings make her out to be, and that was Duvall’s specialty.

She smoothly evokes the hammy, 1950s B-movie acting style that everyone operates under, injecting a humorous undertone of sardonic wit that skewers the status quo, like when she ponders what a large block on her dining room table is, only to laughingly shrug off that it’s actually a paperweight. Though tentative at first, she’s able to be optimistic at the prospect of having an undead dog, asserting that at least Victor will “have the best science project this year,” and lovingly re-doing the stitches on Sparky’s body. The once seemingly “mainstream” Susan has blossomed into a woman who’s willing to risk the judgment and persecution of the people she has considered her friends in order to make good on her son’s emotional needs. Seeing Susan at the end of the film, happily cheering for the final reunion of Victor and Sparky, is to see her finally become who she was always meant to be, unmoored from expectation and free to be more of her own person, just as Shelley Duvall herself always wanted.

Shelley Duvall Loved Working With Tim Burton

Little is known about the production of Frankenweenie outside of it being Tim Burton’s first attempt at using his resources from working as an animator at Walt Disney Studios to pursue his own filmmaking career. One can only speculate on how and why he decided to cast Duvall in his film, but it turned out to be a match made in heaven. So much so that, per Burton’s own account, she asked him to direct an episode of her landmark children’s television show Faerie Tale Theatre, in which every episode retold a famous fairy tale with top-of-the-line television quality production values. His episode turned out to be Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp, which you can watch for free on YouTube. It shows that the two were kindred spirits in their approach to art, and helped Duvall prove that she was more than Wendy Torrance or Olive Oyl. She was one of the most unique actresses that cinema has ever had the privilege of filming, who always lived up to the adage of being “too good to be true,” and frankly, we didn’t deserve her.

Frankenweenie is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.

WATCH ON DISNEY+