Tim Burton, a director, producer, and screenwriter, is renowned for films like ‘Beetlejuice’ and ‘Edward Scissorhands,’ which combine fantasy and horror elements.
Who Is Tim Burton?
Tim Burton is a filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter. After studying in animation at the California Institute of the Arts, he began his career as a Disney animator. His films, such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, combine elements of fantasy and horror.
Early Life and Career
Tim Burton was born Timothy Walter Burton on August 25, 1958, in Burbank, CA. As a kid, Burton was captivated by Roger Corman’s classic horror films, many of which starred the ultimate screen villain, Vincent Price.
Burton also acquired a passion for sketching and attended the California Institute of Arts, where he concentrated in animation. After graduating in 1980, he started working at Walt Disney Studios as an apprentice animator. Within a year, Burton had become dissatisfied with his job at Disney and chose to break out on his own. In 1982, he published the award-winning short Vincent, a tribute to his boyhood idol’s lasting work.
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Movies
****’Frankenweenie,’ ‘Pee-wee’s Big Adventure’ and ‘Beetlejuice’
In 1984, Burton created a unique version of the Frankenstein story with the live-action short Frankenweenie. Impressed with Frankenweenie, Paul Reubens commissioned Burton to direct the wildly inventive comedy Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985).
The success of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure brought about other opportunities, including the 1988 ghost story Beetlejuice starring Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis. Often considered the prototypical Burton film, Beetlejuice was recognized for its visual flair and interwoven themes of fantasy and horror.
****’Batman’ and ‘Edward Scissorhands’
After forming his own production company, Burton directed the lavish production Batman (1989). With a cast that included Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger, the stylized feature became the first film to gross $100 million over its first 10 days of release.
The following year, Burton helmed the bizarre but touching film Edward Scissorhands. Featuring notable performances by up-and-coming stars Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder (as well as Price’s final feature role as the eccentric inventor), Edward Scissorhands was acclaimed for being both a social satire and a simple tale of love and intolerance.
Directing an ensemble that included Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito and Christopher Walken, Burton reteamed with Keaton for the 1992 Batman sequel, Batman Returns.
****’The Nightmare Before Christmas’ to ‘Mars Attacks!’
The following year, he produced the animated musical Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. Created with the painstaking process of stop-motion animation, the film became a critical and commercial success, while Burton was credited for his technical prowess.
In 1994, Burton cast Depp as the title character in Ed Wood—a black-and-white portrait of a middling filmmaker and his all-consuming passion to succeed. Although critically praised (Martin Landau won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of a drug-addicted Bela Lugosi), the film failed to appeal to mass audiences.
After producing the third installment Batman Forever (1995) and the animated feature James and the Giant Peach (1996), Burton directed the sci-fi spoof Mars Attacks! The film flopped at the box office despite an all-star cast that included Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening and Pierce Brosnan.
****’Sleepy Hollow,’ ‘Big Fish’ and ‘The Corpse Bride’
Burton directed Sleepy Hollow, a loosely updated cinematic adaptation of Washington Irving’s eerie classic The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, in 1999, and Depp delivered a standout performance as the heroic Ichabod Crane. In 2001, he released an ambitious remake of the 1968 cult classic Planet of the Apes, starring Mark Wahlberg and Helena Bonham Carter.
Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney appear in the fantasy drama Big Fish, which was released in 2003. The film received four Golden Globe nominations. Burton produced a version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory starring Depp in 2005, as well as a stop-motion animated film called The Corpse Bride, which was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards.
****’Sweeney Todd’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’
Continuing with his interest in ghoulish subjects, in 2007, Burton directed the film adaptation of the popular musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The film reunited Burton with longtime friend Depp and Bonham Carter. All three received critical praise for their work on the film, including several Golden Globe nominations.
In 2010, they reunited again for an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland, wherein Depp played the role of the Mad Hatter and Carter, the Red Queen. Burton later directed the sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass, for a 2016 release.
****’Dark Shadows,’ ‘Big Eyes,’ ‘Miss Peregrine’ and ‘Dumbo’
Burton and Depp collaborated in 2012 on a cinematic version of the popular television series Dark Shadows. Seth Grahame-Smith wrote the screenplay for this comedic look at a vampire living among his progeny.
Burton also returned to one of his earlier projects, adapting his 1984 short Frankenweenie into a full-length feature picture. One of his own dogs served as inspiration for the title character, a dog brought back to life from the dead. Pepe “just had a good spirit, that dog,” Burton told Entertainment Weekly. “The Frankenweenie persona was not designed to look like him. It was more about his memories and spirit.
Burton directed the 2014 biopic Big Eyes, which tells the story of artist Margaret Keane, whose paintings of figures with enormous eyes have become legendary. Returning to the fantasy genre, he directed the creepy Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, based on Ransom Riggs’ bestselling YA book, in 2016.
The celebrated director’s next project was a live-action rendition of Disney’s classic Dumbo (2019), starring DeVito, Keaton, Colin Farrell, and Eva Green.
Personal Life
In addition to his filmwork, Tim Burton exhibited over 700 drawings, paintings, and other artwork at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art in 2009 and 2010.
Burton became involved with Planet of the Apes star Bonham Carter in 2001. They had two children, a son, Billy, born in October 2003, and a daughter, Nell, born in December 2007. In 2014, it was reported that the couple had separated after 13 years together.
Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
| Name | Tim Burton |
| Birth Year | 1958 |
| Birth Date | 25-Aug-58 |
| Birth State | California |
| Birth City | Burbank |
| Birth Country | United States |
| Gender | Male |
| Best Known For | Director, producer, and screenwriter Tim Burton is known for films such as Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, blending fantasy and horror themes. |
| Industries | Comedy, Horror, Drama, Action, Musical |
| Astrological Sign | Virgo |
| Schools | California Institute of Arts |
Some Quotes
****I have a problem when people say something’s real or not real, or normal or abnormal. The meaning of those words for me is very personal and subjective.
****I don’t know what it was, maybe the movie theaters in my immediate surrounding neighborhood in Burbank, but I never saw what would be considered A movies.
****People told me I couldn’t kill [Jack] Nicholson, so I cast him in two roles and killed him off twice.
****One person’s craziness is another person’s reality.
