Sparky is the main character in the 1984 film Frankenweenie as well as its 2012 remake, both made by Tim Burton. He is a bull terrier and is the pet dog of Victor Frankenstein. In both versions, he is run over by a car and a grief-stricken Victor tries an experiment on him to reanimate him. Victor succeeds and Sparky is brought back to life. Sparky is just as friendly as he is before, but the neighbors think that Sparky is now vicious and blood-thirsty and try to destroy him.
Short Film[]
In the original short, Sparky is the main character of Victor's home films, where he plays a giant heroic monster. However, Victor throws his ball on the road and tells Sparky to get it, and when he crosses the road, he is hit by a car and dies. He is buried in an animal cemetery, along with other deceased pets. Unable to cope with Sparky's death, Victor digs up his corpse and brings him back home, where he conducts an experiment on him to bring him back to life. At first it seems to fail, and Victor hugs Sparky's body, filled with grief. Then, Sparky's tail wags and he licks his hand, and Victor realizes Sparky has survived.
Shortly after, Sparky leaves the attic and explores the neighborhood. He scares a girl who was laying with her dolls and Sparky rushes home, where Victor's father sees him. He tells Victor's mother and the two decide to bring their neighbors over to tell them Sparky isn't evil. During the night, the neighbors do come, and are scared of Sparky, who runs out of the house, chased by Victor, his parents, and the neighbors. Sparky runs through the gate and hides in a windmill. Victor finds him and the windmill is set on fire by the neighbors. Victor falls through the windmill and Sparky pulls him out, but the windmill falls and kills him again. The neighbors, realizing Sparky was never bad, resurrect him using their cars. Then, a poodle comes out of one car and the two dogs fall in love.