Burton resurrects dead dog tale

Tim Burton has revealed his new film Frankenweenie was inspired by the death of his childhood pet.

The Dark Shadows director went to the Comic-Con fan convention in San Diego to show footage of Frankenweenie, an expanded take on his 1984 short film of the same name.

Tim revealed: "It stemmed from having a dead dog when I was a child and that sort of special first relationship you have with a pet. I just wanted to mix all of those elements, the horror, the humour, the heart of the story."

The film tells the story of a boy who brings his beloved dog back to life after the pet dies in an accident. Unlike the live-action original, the feature-length version is done in black and white through stop-motion animation using puppets meticulously shot one frame at a time. The voice cast includes Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara and Martin Landau.

Tim, who began as an animator, said it was a new experience back then to work with live actors but that the stop-motion version is the more pure take on his story.

He said: "It's nice to be able to shoot it this way. It's like little sets, and you shoot it like a live-action film. The puppets are so tactile. They're amazing to feel and to touch."

The director answered questions from fans during his preview panel, among them queries from a group dressed as characters from his films, such as Alice In Wonderland, Beetlejuice and this summer's Dark Shadows.

"It's great," Tim said. "It feels like my family has come to see me."

Frankenweenie hits cinemas on October 17 in the UK.