News

Karen O and Winona Ryder Featured on Frankenweenie Soundtrack

Source: Walt Disney Pictures

August 10, 2012

Walt Disney Pictures announced today that Karen O has written an original song that will be featured in the end credits to Tim Burton's Frankenweenie. The song will also be included in the just-announced "Frankenweenie Unleashed!", a tie-in 14-track compilation that will be released on September 25, 2012. Check out the full track listing below!

As singer/songwriter/composer and the lead singer for the rock band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen O has collaborated with artists in music and film over the past ten years, including Spike Jonze, Trent Reznor, David Lynch, Flaming Lips, Barnaby Clay, Carter Burwell and many others. Karen composed the score for the acclaimed 2009 film Where The Wild Things Are (with Burwell,) and she co-wrote the song "All is Love" (with Nick Zinner) which was nominated for a Grammy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song for a Motion Picture. Most recently, Karen contributed vocals to the Trent Reznor produced cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" for David Fincher's feature The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Karen O told Rolling Stone, "Tim [Burton] wanted an unconventional unconditional love song. My music inspiration came out of the same era of B movie fright film references sprinkled throughout the film. I went in the direction of exotica and calypso stylistically because it's quirky, good vibes music of that era and when you throw in a theramin solo it's a marriage made in heaven. I remember 'Beetlejuice' introducing me to the genius of Harry Belafonte's calypso record so I wanted to give a nod to that too. We ended up with a love song for the end of the film to the film! 'Frankenweenie' is so special, it's an unbelievable honor to be involved with it."

The Frankenweenie original motion picture soundtrack, meanwhile, with score by Oscar-nominated and Grammy-winning composer Danny Elfman, will also be available on September 25, 2012. Elfman has established himself as one of Hollywood's leading film composers and has written close to 50 film scores featuring his unique sound including Dark Shadows, Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Milk, Chicago, Batman, Spider-man, Men in Black trilogy, Edward Scissorhands and Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

A stop-motion animated film, Frankenweenie was filmed in black and white and rendered in 3D. Presented by Disney, Frankenweenie is directed by Tim Burton, produced by Burton and Allison Abbate, from a screenplay by John August, based on an original idea by Tim Burton. Frankenweenie releases in U.S. theaters on October 5, 2012.

In addition to Karen O’s “Strange Love,” the Frankenweenie Unleashed! collection features original songs and one cover inspired by the stop-motion film event. The diverse range of artists includes Neon Trees, Mark Foster, Plain White Ts and Kimbra.

The full "Frankenweenie Unleashed!" track list is as follows:

“Strange Love” – Karen O
“Electric Heart (Stay Forever)” – Neon Trees
“Polartropic (You Don’t Understand Me)” – Mark Foster
“Almost There” – Passion Pit
“Pet Sematary” – Plain White T’s
“With My Hands – Kimbra
“Everybody’s Got a Secret” – AWOLNATION
“Immortal” – Kerli
“My Mechanical Friend” – Grace Potter featuring The Flaming Lips
“Lost Cause” – Imagine Dragons
“Underground” – Grouplove
“Building a Monster” – Skylar Grey
“Witchcraft” – Robert Smith
“Praise Be New Holland” – Winona Ryder