* AudienceAlienatingPremise: This was one reason this movie was a box office disappointment. A black and white stop-motion animated feature focused around death and reanimation is a hard sell for today's families, especially when it's topped off by a violent climax. [[ScrewedByTheNetwork Disney didn't help matters by refusing to move its release date to distance it from the more accessible]] ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania'' and the equally-dark-and-quirky-but-released-first ''WesternAnimation/ParaNorman''; when the former became a SleeperHit that exceeded industry expectations and had strong weekly holds, and the latter got the earliest wave of critical buzz, that pretty much burned off demand for another Halloween film for 2012.
* AssPull: It's one thing to use the power of lightning to resurrect a dead dog and a dead [[spoiler:hamster]], or even bring back the soul of a dead fish while vaporizing its body. But [[spoiler:turning sea monkeys into mischievous gremlins, a live cat holding a dead bat into a winged vampire cat, a dead rat into a much bigger wererat, and especially an average turtle into a ''freaking Film/{{Gamera}} monster'']]?
* BrokenBase: On whether or not the animated remake was really necessary. Some appreciate it for its offbeat sensibilities and for expanding the story, while others see it as harmless enough, but pointless.
* CreepyCute: Some think this of Weird Girl, with her big eyes and soft voice. Even with his [[BodyHorror gruesome looks,]] her cat Mr. Whiskers can be this for cat lovers.
%%* DracoInLeatherPants: Nassor, apparently.
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Mr. Whiskers, particularly due to what he becomes in the film's third act.
** Colossus, especially seeing as he only has a few seconds of screen time.
** Mr. Rzykruski, in all his [[LargeHam hammy]] glory.
** The nameless Gym Teacher, who is well-liked for her BuxomBeautyStandard figure.
* EthnicScrappy: Toshiaki is disliked for being a bit of a racist stereotype (he’s really smart and can’t pronounce the letter L properly). Nassor is also Egyptian, but he’s basically a Boris Karloff parody.
* HilariousInHindsight: Would you believe that the original short got Creator/TimBurton ''fired'' from Creator/{{Disney}} back in TheEighties?
* IAmNotShazam: The dog's name is "Sparky" and the owner's name is "Victor Frankenstein." Sparky is a bull terrier. There are no wiener dogs in the movie.
* {{Narm}}: Due to an unfortunate puppet design, the Frankensteins all appear to be perpetually smiling, even [[AngstWhatAngst during the dramatic scenes]].
* {{Squick}}: Weird Girl apparently looks for omens in her cat's litter box.
* StoicWoobie: Victor.
* UglyCute:
** Sparky. He’s not that unpleasant-looking, but the poor dog is literally roadkill.
** Some consider Edgar to be this, mainly due to being a PerpetualSmiler.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: An AnimatedAdaptation of a short film that Creator/TimBurton made back in 1984, has some very horrifying, violent, and disturbing scenes. Yes, that is expected in a Tim Burton movie, but none of his other animated films are anywhere near as violent as this one. And it got a PG rating from the MPAA, and is being marketed toward kids at Subway through mainly making it about a boy and his undead dog.
* WinBackTheCrowd: After a string of controversial choices from ''WesternAnimation/CorpseBride'' to ''Film/DarkShadows'', people found this to be a return to form for Tim Burton, with specific praise going to not using Creator/JohnnyDepp in this and going back to the simple, charming story of outcasts that made his earlier films cherished. It even earned him his first Oscar nomination since ''Corpse Bride''.
* TheWoobie: Admit it, you felt bad for Victor and/or Sparky at least once.
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