It was almost three decades ago that Tim Burton released Frankenweenie, a short film that in a stylish and inventive 30-minute burst made him one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood.

Now, with one of the most distinctive (read: weird) careers in filmmaking behind him, Burton returns to the story that made him what he is today: melding his own nouveau-Gothic approach with the black-and-white sensibilities of cinema's Golden Age to build a clever, two-tone riff on outsider-dom, deceased pets and the perils of DIY reincarnation.

As per usual, the pleasure is in the design as much as it is in the storyline. Burton has combined stop-motion puppetry with next-level 3D technology (and a Boris Karloff Frankenstein-era aesthetic) to produce something entirely new and unexpected. It's a turn through filmmaking's distant past that looks like it's come from the art form's future. And it's pretty funny too.

Burton's Frankenweenie opens in 3D in cinemas around Australia on October 25. For more info head here.