Lꦐet’s be honest, people rarely go see a movie for a certain director or producer. People are usually drawn by title actors or the story itself, and we often forget about everyone who is working themselves to the bones behind the scenes. But there are some directors, like Tim Burton, who can draw a crowd just by placing their name on a project. Whether you prefer his new work, or you find yourself more drawn to his older classics doesn’t matter. Burton has something for everꦏyone.
If you like dark, cre﷽epy, and eerie horror films, give Sleepy Hollow a gander. Or, i🌄f you wear your inner child on your slﷺeeve, something more colorful and light like Alice Through the Looking Glass might be more your speed. I, myself, was the quiet sort of child who would openly refer to herself as ‘strange and unusual;’ so I nat🅰urally found a home in Burton’s expansive collection of works. The name “Tim Burton” has now become synonymous in our society with all things weird, outside of the box, and unique. We turn to him for stories about outsiders, misfits, and peo⛦ple who are happier living life on their own terms (and the people that won’t let them do that.)
Burton’s diverse and impressive body of work has spanned over decades and, with that, comes a fascinating amount of behind the scenes tidbits and se🥃crets. After a long afternoon of browsing internet forums, IMDB pages, and consuming DVD special features, I have compiled this list of facts that both entertained and intrigued me. So sit back, relax, and channel your inner misfit as we delve into these 30 ▨dark and intriguing facts about the legend that is Tim Burton.
30 𒁏 "Scared Sheetless"
First off, that amazing pun which I have used as the title for this section of the 𝓀article was actually the original title for the film that eventuallಌy became known as Beetlejuice (note:𓄧 this article will be using the phonetic spelling which was used during the film's release). But that cult classic film would have been an entirely different film had it not been for multiple script rewrites that eventually turned it into one of the greatest films of all time. In the original film, Beetlejuice was supposed to be an otherworldly demon who transformed himself into a human form in order to accomplish his goal of ending the lives of the Deetz’s.
Lydia originally had a younger sister that was the only one who could see and interact with the ghosts.
Throughout the film, Beetlejuice was suꦿpposed to continually shapeshift in order to best traumatize the children. Luckily, that was all scraped and it became the comedy we all know and love.
29 ღ Nightmare Origins
Every ♕great work needs some inspiration. Some are inspired by thei𝓀r dreams and nightmares, others are inspired by their hatred of authority figures and the people who commissioned their art in the first place, and some are inspired by over-enthusiastic shop employees making season displays. That’s right. This gothic kinda-sorta love story was inspired by a seasonal display in a department store. Burton claims that he wrote the original poem, which would eventually become the classic and slightly terrifying “family” film. The Nightmare Before Christmas was inspired during a trip to the store when he observed a Halloween display being deconstructed to make way for new Chris♈tmas display. He claims that the “juxtaposition of ghouls and goblins with Santa and🍬 his reindeer sparked [his] imagination.”
28 What's In A Name? ꦑ
Though the Tim Burton version was met wꦏith some criticism and hesitancy, it was still a darn good movie and it was a faithful reinvention of the original story with a glorious Burton twist. The story of Alice’s adventures features a plethora of different characters, items, and legends, that Alice must interact with; but very few are named and the few that have “names” are referred to by their nickname. This is where Burton comes in.
He literally named everything in Underland and provided real names for nicknamed characters.
Though th🌞e list is extensive, some examples include the hatter (Tarrant Hightopp), the March Hare (Thackery), and The Red Queen (Iracebeth Crimms). Both the cake (Upelkuchen) and the elixir (Pishalver) that Alice ingests to adjust her size throughout the film receive official names as well.
27 Daydreams Of A Lonely Child 💟
Any child that has ever felt lꦯike the black sheep of their family or community can relate to Edward Scissorhands, and that’s precisely why he exists. What I’m about to say might shock you but brace yourselves: Burton was what some may refer to as a “weird” kid. He didn’t really fit in and felt lonely most of the time. Ed🌼ward was based off a sketch he made as a teen and the town he finds (temporary) solace in was based on his own hometown of Burbank, California. Though Burton wanted to make it clear that he was not mocking suburbia with this portrayal, but rather pointing out the flaws without judgment. Caroline Thompson (who was hired to write the spec script for the film after Tim read and loved her short story First Born) base🔥d the character of Peg on her mother, who♚ was always bringing strangers home.
26 🀅 An Ode To The Author ꦫ
Frankenweenie is 𒁃one of those modern films with its teeth sunk into the past. It not only honors and worships the films that came before it, but it also spends a mౠajority of its screen time paying respect to the works that inspired it. The central plot is, of course, a nod to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; however, there is also a turtle who appears in the film named 🙈Shelley. Though one could write this off, as ‘Shelly’ is a very common name to give shelled pets, it was actually intended to🦂 be a nod to Mary Shelley herself.
The cemetery becomes a reference to the film Pet Semetery.
Victor’s (another clear Frankenstein referen♒ce) next door neighbor's nꦜame (Elsa Van Helsing) is also a reference to Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
25 ༺ Slee🧔pless Legends
As you may know, the idea of a headless horseman is not unique to this film nor the mind of Tim Burton. These ideas find their roots in legends that can be traced all the way back to Celtic and German folklore from the Middle Ages. However, Washington Irving’s version of this classic legend is, arguably, the most well-k🔴nown. This version was inspired by the discovery of a headless corpse in the town of Sleepy Hollow, who was🍌 buried in an unmarked grave. Although, this is the first adaptation of the classic story where the actor playing the headless horseman didn’t have to hide their head within their cloaks. In Burton’s version, the actor’s head was covered in a blue mask which was removed digitally in post-production.
24 ꦐ One And Done
Though I tend to keep a positive attitude and an open mind towards all things I have yet to experience (within reason), it has become harder and harder to stay optimistic about the never-ending stream of remakes and unnecessary sequels that are drowning out all other films in Hollywood. Sometimes, I just want to watch a nice stand-alone film that I don’t need to watch seventeen other films beforehand in order 🦄to understand. Wᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚhich is why I respect Burton’s hard stance on sequels.
While he has dabbled in both the art of the remake and has made a few sequels in his career.
I’ve always admired the✤ ways that he has changed these beloved stories, remade them with his own flair and twists, and has only made a sequel if he felt it was needed. Burton claims that sequels if done poorly, can ruin the “purity” of a film and has turned down several offers to expand on his numerous films.
23 🤪 Wriꦬters' Rights
We’ve all seen a terrible adaptation that we wished we could erase from canon. We’ve all seen a group of middle schoolers butcher Shakespeare while reading aloud in English class. The disappointment is strong with these misguided adaptations and I can only imagine how it would feel to be the creator of said work. Imagine having your brainchild be dissected, morphed, and🔯 reduced to nothing in front of you. Which is the precise reason why Stephen Sondheim (the creator of Sweeney Todd) initially refused to give anyone the adaptive rights to 🅷his work. But Burton’s pitch ended up blowing him away and he reluctantly gave up the rights, with the condition that Burton would direct the project. In order to avoid nepotism claims, Helena Bonham Carter ended♉ up sending Sondheim no less than twelve audition tapes in order to prove her talent.
22 It's A Nice Day For A Red Weddingꦦ
Costuming has always been one of my favorite aspects of film and television. Every outfit, every s🍸hoe, every thread on a dress, was chosen for a specific purpose. Be it either to convey a burgeoning connection between two characters, to reveal a hidden aspect of a character's personality, or, as is in the case of Lydia’s wedding dress in Beetlejuice, to make a nod at an old wives tale.
Lydia wasn’t a blushing bride in a dress that could rival the reddest rose in the garden because of her unique and passionate personality.
The costume department chose to make her dress red in order to reference an old poem which tells bri☂des what will happen to them depending on which color dress they chose for the big day. According to the poem, the only acceptable colors to wear on your big day are white and blue. And the worst colors to wear are green, yellow, pink, and red. The poem reads, “married in red you will wish yourself [deceased].”
21 A Tr🍷ue Fan
Look, sometimes money gets tight and people end up doing a project that they aren’t really p▨assionate about in o🌞rder to make ends meet. But, when you’ve reached Tim Burton status, you can take the time to choose and pursue projects that truly bring you joy and mean something to you. Tim Burton is actually a huge fan of Margaret Keane (the artist who inspired his film Big Eyes). Burton has collected a 𒊎large number of her creations over his lifetime and has even commissioned several unique pieces including past and current partners, and his dog. However, Burton did have to sacrifice one aspect of his creative vision. He wished to shoot the entire film on 35mm film but, in the end, ending up going digital due to budgetary concerns and the fact that the Vancouver Deluxe Lab had recently closed.