Tim Burton’s ‘Frankenweenie’ to open London Film Festival

The animated black-and-white tale of a boy’s attempts to bring his beloved dead dog back to life will have its European premiere at the festival on Oct. 10.  It will have a red-carpet gala premiere at London’s Odeon Leicester Square and will be screened simultaneously at 30 theaters across Britain.

The film is a feature-length expansion of Burton’s 1984 live-action short of the same name. Festival chief Clare Stewart said Thursday that Burton’s “funny, dark and whimsical” tale “playfully turns the Frankenstein story on its bolted-on head.”

The 56th London Film Festival runs Oct. 10-21. The full lineup will be announced next month.