Martin Landau

Come on! You know we've all done it and were happy to do so. Sometimes you just can't resist. You just can't ignore it or it'll be poking around all day looking for attention. True, it can be messy but it only takes a second to wipe off your hands when you're done.

In case you've been so focused on Tim Burton's upcoming Dark Shadows adaptation that it's slipped your mind that he's also working on an animated feature-length take on his classic tale of Frankenweenie, Disney has released a new still from the latter...just in time for Christmas! What the heck? With all the goods the studios have been doling out this week, we're starting to think Christmas is the new Halloween!

Entertainment Weekly scored the very first images from Tim Burton's upcoming animated feature-length take on his classic tale of Frankenweenie, and we have the goods right here for you free of all the nastiness that usually goes along with reanimation.

One might think Dread Central would have nothing to report from a convention packed to the gills with fans of Tinker Bell and Mickey Mouse, but those folks forget Disney often likes to dip its animated toe into the world of the creepy. It is with this in mind we sent secret agents to infiltrate the insidious event they call D23!! (See? It even sounds creepy!)

Yeah, sorry about the surly headline. Just got back from seeing Fright Night, and my mood is kind of foul. Anyway, breaking news out of the Disney Expo! Prepare to feel the Earth move as you gaze in wonder at the Frankenweenie title card. The animated film is based on Burton’s 1984 short film about a pet dog brought back to life by his loyal owner after it is struck by a car.

In an epic move that absolutely NO ONE saw coming, it appears as if composer Danny Elfman is set to score ... are you ready? ... a Tim Burton production! Would you just die? Who knew!?! We're flabbergasted! This announcement is likely to send ripples through the film community for decades to come!

Even though we still have a long wait ahead of us, we're pretty stoked to see the full-length version of Tim Burton's Frankenweenie coming our way in 3D on October 5th, 2012. A few more details around the project have come to light, including the synopsis, and we have them all for you right here to chew on!

And the release date shuffle keeps on keeping on as Tim Burton's Frankenweenie in 3D, an expansion of his original 1984 short, has been shifted from the originally announced March 9, 2012, to the more appropriate October 5th, 2012. After all, everything horror-related must come out in October, right?

Trembles makes it personal this week with Strange Shadows in an Empty Room, a 1976 film that was shot in and around the area where he lives.