Frankenweenie is also about mortality, but at a very different stage. It's losing a parent versus losing a dog. I don't run away from the tears of that, which I think is what makes it feel universal.

The producers and I first talked about the Big Fish musical, right before we did the first test screening of the movie. I said, I think there's a Broadway musical here. And really, from that day, we started figuring out how we would do it.

I just always remember myself as the teenager with questions about movies and screenwriting. I would hope that there was somebody out there who would answer those questions, and so, if I can take a few minutes to do it, I will. It's not threatening for us. We're not being stalked, so it's easier.

I knew that this was the movie in which a lot of the cinema version of Burton-esque first started. So, I knew that there were things that were hugely important to him for it, but it didn't really feel that different than working on any other of these projects.

With Corpse Bride, I saw a lot more of it during the process because we were changing things a lot. When I came onto Corpse Bride, it wasn't a musical.

Keeping the cat front-and-center was definitely a smart choice, from Tim and the animation department. Mr. Whiskers got referred to more than we actually saw him on stage. Seeing him on screen, you just love him.