Tim Burton

Tim Burton is an American filmmaker whose movies often combine gothic imagery, macabre humor, and emotionally isolated characters. Born August 25, 1958, in Burbank, California, he grew up near the entertainment industry but described his suburban childhood as lonely and creatively confining. He studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts, where Disney recruited him as an apprentice animator.

Burton worked on projects including The Fox and the Hound, but his sensibilities did not fit comfortably within conventional Disney animation. He directed the short films Vincent (1982), narrated by Vincent Price, and Frankenweenie (1984), a black-and-white story about a boy reviving his dead dog. Disney considered Frankenweenie too dark, but its distinctive style helped establish Burton as a filmmaker with a singular visual identity.

His breakthrough feature was Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), starring Paul Reubens. The film's commercial success led to Beetlejuice (1988), a supernatural comedy featuring Michael Keaton as the chaotic ghost Betelgeuse. Burton then directed Batman (1989), casting Keaton as Bruce Wayne and Jack Nicholson as the Joker. Despite pre-release controversy over Keaton's casting, Batman became a major worldwide hit and influenced the modern superhero film. Burton returned for Batman Returns (1992), a darker sequel starring Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman and Danny DeVito as the Penguin.

Edward Scissorhands (1990) is among his most personal films. Played by Johnny Depp, Edward is an artificial man with scissors instead of hands, whose attempt to join a pastel suburban community ends in rejection. Burton and Depp collaborated repeatedly, including on Ed Wood (1994), a sympathetic portrait of the famously inept filmmaker, and Sleepy Hollow (1999), an atmospheric adaptation starring Depp as Ichabod Crane.

Burton's stop-motion musical The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) was produced by Burton and directed by Henry Selick. Its characters, especially Jack Skellington and Sally, became enduring figures in popular culture, although Burton did not direct the film. He directed the stop-motion Corpse Bride (2005), again featuring Depp's voice, and later made Alice in Wonderland (2010), which earned more than one billion dollars worldwide.

His filmography also includes Big Fish (2003), a father-son drama built around elaborate stories; Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), a musical adaptation starring Depp and Helena Bonham Carter; and Frankenweenie (2012), his feature-length expansion of the earlier short. In 2014, Burton directed Big Eyes, about painter Margaret Keane and the deception surrounding credit for her work. Outsiders remain his signature.