Sparky is Victor Frankenstein's pet dog and the central figure of Tim Burton's 1984 live action short Frankenweenie and its 2012 animated feature film of the same name.
Description
In both stories, Sparky dies, much to the dismay of his young owner, who proceeds to bring the pup back to life in his makeshift laboratory.
Sparky is a devoted and playful Bull Terrier whose sense of curiosity is matched only by his beloved owner, Victor. Sparky enjoys chasing after balls and being the star of Victor’s homemade movies. He exudes tons of energy and enthusiasm, which even his untimely death doesn’t diminish.
Appearances
Frankenweenie (short film)
Sparky dies early on, when Victor plays ball with him and he runs onto the road to get the ball and a car hits him. After Sparky is buried in the pet cemetery, Victor, grief-stricken, comes up with the idea to reanimate him after seeing a dead frog electrocuted and watches its muscles react. Victor, during the night, digs up Sparky's corpse and conducts an experiment on him and lightning strikes him. At first it appears to fail, until Sparky wags his tail and licks Victor. Upon the realization that he has resurrected his pet, Victor and Sparky reunite.
Victor hides Sparky in the attic, but he can't keep him hidden for long and Sparky wanders outside and frightens Victor's friend Anne Chambers. She calls her dad, who confronts Victor's parents, who soon find Sparky. They agree to keep him hidden, but after rumors start spreading about them, they are forced to reveal Sparky to their neighbors. Sparky runs away from home, followed by Victor, his parents, and the neighbors. Sparky and Victor hides in a small windmill that a man accidentally sets ablaze. Victor falls through a hole and Sparky drags him out of the windmill, which collapses on the dog. As a reward for his bravery, the neighbors recharge him with their cars, and a pet poodle jumps out of a car and she and Sparky presumably get together.
Frankenweenie (remake)
Sparky and his owner watch their home movie
Victor's pet dog, Sparky is the star of Victor's home movies. After they watch the film, Sparky gets in trouble with the neighbor, Mr. Burgermeister, who disapproves of Sparky because he once peed on his plastic flamingoes. During this time, Burgermeister's niece, Elsa, has come home to visit, and her dog Persephone befriends Sparky when Sparky loses his ball and Persephone rolls it back to him. Victor's classmate, Weird Girl, tells him that her cat Mr. Whiskers dreamed about him, and that something big always happens when he dreams about someone. This hints to Sparky's later death. Another of Victor's classmates, Edgar "E" Gore, tries to convince Victor to be his partner for the upcoming science fair, which Victor's rivals Toshiaki and Nassor want to win. When Victor refuses, Edgar unintentionally scares Sparky away. Shortly after, at breakfast, Victor's father convinces Victor to sign up for baseball, even though Victor is more interested in science.
Gallery
Trivia
- Since the other monsters are meant to bare a resemblance to the original Universal Movie monsters, Sparky obviously holds a strong resemblance to the Frankenstein's monster from Frankenstein.
- Sparky and the Vampire Cat's final confrontation at the end may represent the heated rivalry of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, as well as the heavily thought upon concept of Dracula versus Frankenstein.
- Sparky was played by Sparky the Bull Terrier in the live action short film.
- In this movie, he's voiced by Frank Welker.
External links
- Sparky on the Frankenweenie Wiki.