Is Tim Burton Directing 'Frankenweenie' for Disney?

During an advanced screening of the upcoming Disney movie Enchanted, it appears Dick Cook, the Chairman of Walt Disney Pictures, let slip some news that wasn't supposed to be out there for at least another month. According to AICN, via someone who attended said Enchanted screening, Cook announced during the Q&A that Disney is prepping a stop-motion feature to be directed by "the creative mastermind behind the majority of stop-motion pictures in the last decade." It shouldn't take a genius to figure out the person he's talking about: Tim Burton. So once this news was out there, folks immediately began speculating as to which film Burton would be directing for Disney. That's when another person emailed AICN with the following: "It's a feature length remake of his short "Frankenweenie." All stop motion. Leave me completely anonymous, please."

For those who do not know what a Frankenweenie is, it's one of Burton's earlier short films (from 1984), and originally Disney was going to release the short. However, some claim the content was a bit too "questionable" for children, and the release plan was subsequently shelved. Eventually, the short showed up as an extra feature on the Nightmare Before Christmas DVD. Did Disney ask Burton to re-tool the film so that it would be more family-friendly, and give him the go-ahead to start planning a feature? It certainly seems logical, but do keep in mind these are all rumors as of now (and Disney seems to be going out of their way not to comment). Based on Mary Shelley's classic, Frankenstein, Frankenweenie follows a boy whose dog is hit and killed by a car. C'mon, you should be able to figure out the rest -- he brings dog back to life, people freak out, blah blah. Has anyone watched the original short? Would you be interested in seeing Burton bring it to the big screen in feature form? Chime in below ...