I just wanted my dog back.

Of all the perfectly clever things comedian George Carlin ever uttered, one thing has always stayed with me. When discussing the dogs he had and lost over the years, Carlin boiled it down to a simple truth. He talks about the moment that we all decide to buy an animal, and the unspoken agreement that comes along with the decision. It's going to end badly. You're purchasing a small tragedy.

I've lost three dogs over the course of my lifetime, and it has completely devastated me each time. My current pup, Dodger, is seven. He has officially reached senior status.

That 'From the director of Alice in Wonderland' bit is a joke, right?

The second movie in our snow-day double header was Tim Burton's Frankenweenie. This was supposed to be something we could watch as a family, but surprising no one, I was left alone for the bulk of it. My son Matty, convinced this movie was terrifying, actually went to sleep instead, a move basically unheard of for a three year old boy. My wife, lover of both dogs and sleep, thought she was game, but blamed her inability to stay conscious on the movie being all black and white. So, while two-thirds of my house bailed on it, I'm going to go ahead and recommend it. Consider the whole flick a small triumph.

A remake/extended version of an earlier short, Frankenweenie tells the touching story of a boy who brings his deceased dog back to life, in an effort to spend more time together. The aptly named Sparky, is/was a great dog, and was the best friend young Victor ever had. But when his pup meets an unfortunate fate (the same as my second dog, Koko) Victor is crushed. But being the bright kid that he is, Victor figures out how to reanimate Sparky. Despite my son's fear, there's nothing inherently scary about any of this, except for the townspeople's narrow views on science, of course. This is old-school Burton, mixing cute and clever, with a dash of creepy for good measure. It's also surprisingly Depp-free.