Burton film 'Frankenweenie' to open London film festival

Director Tim Burton's new animated 3D film Frankenweenie is to open the 56th BFI London Film Festival, it has been announced.

The 53-year-old filmmaker, who has two children with long-term partner, actress Helena Bonham Carter, is expected to attend the European premiere in London's Leicester Square on October 10, alongside stars of the Disney black and white stop-motion movie Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short and Martin Landau.

Frankenweenie, which will be released nationwide on October 17, will also receive a simultaneous premiere in 30 cinemas across the UK, in a first for the festival's opening night.

The festival will also host The Art Of Frankenweenie exhibition at the Southbank Centre's Festival Village from October 17-21.

The film, the first animated film that Burton has directed for Disney, is a remake of his 1984 short about a boy and his dog.

Festival director Clare Stewart said: "Frankenweenie is a perfect choice of opener - it's a film that revels in the magic of movies from one of cinema's great visionaries. Tim Burton has chosen London as his home city and hundreds of talented British craftspeople have contributed to this production."

She added: "Funny, dark and whimsical, this gloriously crafted stop-motion 3D animation from Tim Burton - the reigning prince of outsiders - playfully turns the Frankenstein story on its bolted-on head."

The 56th BFI London Film Festival, in partnership with American Express, runs from October 10 to October 21.

PA