Tim Burton is an animator, director, producer, writer, actor, and illustrator. After making a series of short films, including the horror-movie homage “Frankenweenie” (1984), Burton directed his first feature film, “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” in 1985. He gained popularity when his work attracted the attention of Walt Disney Productions and gained him an apprenticeship at the studio. Burton has been in the film industry from 1971 to this year with “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” I have seen almost all of Tim Burton’s work, so I decided to rank my top 10 films/movies directed by him from least to most favorite.
10. “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” (2016)
The transitions were sometimes awkward, but forgivable. The romance happened a little too fast between the main character, Jake, and that one girl; I don’t think the characters got to know each other that well. The movie was a little over two hours, and I felt like it still needed more time to really develop things. I had to re-watch it to understand the whole magic elements. But, I thought the movie was very creative. I like how it tied in with actual events, like the World War. The monster designs were pretty cool, and I thought the time loop thing was clever.
9. “Big Eyes” (2014)
Amy Adams did a fine job in her role as Margaret. I tend to forget how women were treated as second class citizens, especially in the ’50s and ’60s, which explains why she lets Walter manipulate her the way he does. The movie was very historically accurate, plus it was nice to see the real Margaret still alive and painting.
8. “Frankenweenie” (2012)
The stop motion animation is great and amazing. The Black and White works in this movie, and it makes it like the original short. It faithfully follows the original short with a few new things to make it its own feature film. The character designs are nice, even though they can look sometimes creepy, especially on Sparky. The special effects are amazing, even for a stop motion movie. The scene where Victor brings Sparky to life looks amazing.
7. “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005)
Every second of this movie is pure, cinematic gold. I’ve never seen much of the original 1971 film. Tim Burton really outdid himself with this one. Not only is it visually appealing, but the use of actual trained squirrels and each Oompa Loompa being a different shot of Deep Roy is utter genius! Speaking of the little workers, the songs they sing are a massive improvement over the 1971 film, with my personal favorites being Augustus Gloop and Violet Beauregarde.
6. “Batman” (1989)
I love everything about this movie. The cast did amazing roles. I love Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman, and I love Jack Nicholson as Joker. The storytelling was really amazing, the fight scenes were cool, and the visual effects were fantastic. Gotham City looks awesome. I love the music by Danny Elfman. I enjoyed the final battle between Batman and the Joker at the Cathedral, and the ending scene when Batman looks up at his bat signal was cool.
5. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (2024)
I was nervous for the second movie after the first “Beetlejuice” so I went in with high expectations, which were met. Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder reprise their iconic roles with the same charm and energy that made the first film so memorable. Jenna Ortega’s roles always get a little boring or lacking in any flavor when it comes to Tim Burton, but I thought she did pretty well.
4. “Alice in Wonderland” (2010)
I liked the characters, they had an interesting spin on them. I also liked how they didn’t just use pink and purple for the Cheshire cat, especially since the original book was black and white meaning that you can get creative with colors. Overall it was a good movie.
3. “Edward Scissorhands” (1990)
This movie is so versatile. You are easily drawn to it because of the visionary filmmaking. The way Edward speaks is so calm and innocent. I love how each house is color-coded besides the mansion. Every scene is stunning. My favorite is the scene where Kim is twirling around while Edward is making an ice statue. That scene was breathtaking.
2. “Beetlejuice” (1988)
“Beetlejuice” may be strange and oddball at first, but it is essentially a landmark supernatural comedy that I think is one of Tim Burton’s better films. The visuals are absolutely wonderful. The script is filled to the brim with one-liners that are funny and somewhat demonic, the score from Danny Elfman is fun and the direction is pretty much superb. And I loved how offbeat the performances were. Overall, unique, imaginative and lots of fun to watch.
1. “Corpse Bride” (2005)
It’s a visually beautiful film with equally beautiful music and super creative character design. You can tell how much work was put into it, and it pays off tremendously. I really liked the ending and thought Victor and Victoria were cute together. You can tell Victor never really loved Emily and that he was only going to marry her because he thought Victoria didn’t care about him.
