In his 35-year career, Tim Burton has carved out a niche for himself making quirky, eccentric films that are often box office bonanzas. Let’s take a look back at all 19 of his films, ranked from worst to best, in our photo gallery.
Burton began his career as an animator for Walt Disney Studios before making the short films “Vincent” (1982) and “Frankenweenie” (1984). He directed his first feature when he was just 26 years old: “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” (1985). Burton followed that success with the macabre comedy “Beetlejuice” (1988) before entering the world of blockbusters with the dark, ominous superhero adventure “Batman” (1989).
From the beginning, Burton displayed a talent for crafting visually stunning worlds unlike any seen before. Four of his films, in fact — “Batman,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Sweeney Todd,” and “Alice in Wonderland” — have won Oscars for their art direction.
Burton often returned to his animation roots, first as a producer on “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993). He scored Oscar nominations in Best Animated Feature for directing the stop-motion films “Corpse Bride” (2005) and “Frankenweenie” (2012). Surprisingly, those are his only two bids to date, despite helming such critical darlings as “Ed Wood” (1994), “Big Fish” (2003), and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (2007).
Tour our gallery of Burton’s films, and see where your favorites are on the list.
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19. PLANET OF THE APES (2001)
Image Credit: 20th Century/Zanuck Co/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by William Broyles, Jr., Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, based on the book by Pierre Boulle. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Kris Kristofferson, Paul Giamatti, Estella Warren.
Before the “Planet of the Apes” was rebooted to great acclaim with Andy Serkis, Burton took a swing at bringing the campy sci-fi franchise into the new millennium with state-of-the-art makeup and visual effects. Yet all the Rick Baker makeup in the world can’t elevate this dreary retread. Mark Wahlberg is at his least charismatic as an astronaut who crash lands on a planet inhabited entirely by talking apes who have turned humans into slaves. What’s especially surprising about the film is how anonymous it feels, with the director’s distinctive style nowhere to be found. “Planet of the Apes” is as generic and forgettable as is it gets, which is the last thing you’d expect from Burton.
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18. ALICE IN WONDERLAND (2010)
Image Credit: Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Linda Woolverton, based on “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll. Starring Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas, Mia Wasikowska.
Burton is nothing if not a master of creating imaginative worlds, and the wonderland of Lewis Carroll’s beloved book should be an ideal playground for the director. Indeed, the Oscar-winning production design by Robert Stromberg and costumes by Colleen Atwood are the best thing about this chaotic and overblown adaptation. This version finds Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returning to Wonderland to do battle with the evil Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) with the help of the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and friends. The film neglects the whimsy and satire of Carroll’s original story for clutter and action, making for a visually stunning but overwhelming experience. At least it’s better than the followup, “Alice Through the Looking Glass” (2016), on which Burton only served as a producer.
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17. MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (2016)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Jane Goldman, based on the book by Ransom Riggs. Starring Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Chris O’Dowd, Allison Janney, Rupert Everett, Terence Stamp, Ella Purnell, Judi Dench, Samuel L. Jackson.
“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” feels like Burton on autopilot: great to look at, but not much else. Its story about a school for children with special powers run by the loving Miss Peregrine (Eva Green) is the sort of thing the director could do in his sleep, and watching the film, it almost feels like he did. Burton does a great job introducing us to his large cast of characters and showing off their different abilities, but unfortunately, he doesn’t give them much to do. “Miss Peregrine” isn’t a bad film necessarily, just a forgettable one.
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16. DARK SHADOWS (2012)
Image Credit: Warner Bros./Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith, story by John August and Grahame-Smith, based on the television series created by Dan Curtis. Starring John August, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloe Grace Moretz, Bella Heathcote.
In adapting Dan Curtis’ horror soap opera to the big screen, Burton mounts a typically stylish production. Unfortunately, the plot can’t match the visuals. Johnny Depp plays Barnabas Collins, who in the 1700s is turned into a vampire when he spurns the love of a witch (Eva Green). He returns to his gothic mansion in the 1970s to save his family name and fight off the witch’s lingering romantic advancements. The movie has a lot of fun with Barnabas’ reactions to the modern world, but it never finds the correct balance between campy humor and frightening chills. “Dark Shadows” starts strong, but ultimately disappoints.
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15. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (2005)
Image Credit: Peter Mountain/Warner Bros./REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by John August, based on the book by Roald Dahl. Starring Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor, Missi Pyle, James Fox, Deep Roy, Christopher Lee.
Though it’s hard to compete with the Gene Wilder musical, Burton does a good job putting his own spin on Roald Dahl’s children’s book. Freddie Highmore plays Charlie Bucket, a poor young boy who finds a golden ticket in a candy bar, winning him a trip to Willy Wonka’s (Johnny Depp) world famous chocolate factory. As expected, Burton creates a fantastical, eye-popping world (how did production designer Alex McDowell NOT get nominated for an Oscar?), yet Depp is slightly off-putting as Wonka, which he plays as a strange combination of Michael Jackson and Carol Burnett. Still, the film is worth viewing for Highmore’s winning performance and the psychedelic chocolate factory.
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14. DUMBO (2019)
Image Credit: Disney Screenplay by Ehren Kruger, based on the novel by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl. Starring Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, Alan Arkin.
Of the (many) recent Disney animated classics updated with live action casts and modern day visual effects, “Dumbo” deserves points for not being completely beholden to the 1941 original. And it’s little wonder why: at just 64 minutes, it’s the slightest of the studio’s early outings, comprised of nothing more than talking animals. Burton does away with all of that to instead focus on the human characters, telling the story of a wounded WWI vet (Colin Farrell) who works for a traveling circus. When his kids adopt an orphaned elephant with large ears that help him fly, they must protect him from an evil rival ringmaster (Michael Keaton), who hopes to profit off of the adorable animal. Despite his usual visual flourishes, this can’t help but feel like a director for hire job, albeit an imaginative one.
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13. FRANKENWEENIE (2012)
Image Credit: Disney/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by John August, based on a short film written by Lenny Ripps and Burton. Starring Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, Winona Ryder.
Burton returned to his roots with this black-and-white, stop-motion animated adaptation of one of his earliest short films. “Frankenweenie” centers on a young boy named Victor Frankenstein (voiced by Charlie Tahan) who brings his beloved dog Sparky back to life after he passes away suddenly. But Victor can’t keep his creation a secret for too long. Burton stuffs the movie with loving references to the classic Universal monster movies that undoubtedly inspired him, from the gothic production design to the expressionistic, shadowy cinematography. The film brought the director his second Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature, which he lost to “Brave.”
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12. BIG EYES (2014)
Image Credit: Leah Gallo/The Weinstein Company/REX/Shutterstock Written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. Starring Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Danny Huston, Jon Polito, Krysten Ritter, Jason Schwartzman, Terence Stamp.
“Big Eyes” finds Burton reuniting with his “Ed Wood” screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski for another oddball biopic. Amy Adams won a Golden Globe for playing Margaret Keane, a painter best known for her portraits of big-eyed waifs. Christoph Waltz costars as her husband, Walter Keane, a mediocre artist who convinces Margaret to let him take credit for her work, since no one in 1950s America would want to buy art from a “lady painter.” Margaret later sues Walter to reclaim the credit she rightly deserved. “Big Eyes” is an interesting change of pace for Burton, more straightforward than eccentric, with most of the focus on the actors instead of the art direction. The result is an entertaining feminist rally cry, now more prescient than ever.
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11. CORPSE BRIDE (2005)
Image Credit: Warner Bros./Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Co-directed by Mike Johnson. Written by John August, Caroline Thompson, Pamela Pettler. Starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Paul Whitehouse, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney, Richard E. Grant, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough.
The cinematic worlds of Tim Burton are almost uniquely tailored for animation, and indeed, the filmmaker has often worked in the medium to great acclaim. (He began his career as an animator for Disney before directing his first short, the stop-motion horror tribute “Vincent.”) After finding success in the live action realm, he dipped his toes back into cartoons with this macabre romance about a skittish groom (voiced by Johnny Depp) who finds himself married to a murdered young woman (Helena Bonham Carter) after he inadvertently practices his wedding vows in front of her. The film brought Burton his first Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, which he lost to “Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.”
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10. SLEEPY HOLLOW (1999)
Image Credit: Clive Coote/Paramount/Mandalay/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker, story by Kevin Yagher and Walker, based on “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. Starring Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Christopher Walken.
Burton loosely adapted Washington Irving’s chilling horror story with some modern day bells and whistles to spooky effect. Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is transformed from a mild-mannered school teacher into an eccentric New York City police detective sent to the town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of gruesome decapitations. But his “modern day” forensic science is no match for the Headless Horseman, a diabolical ghoul shaving the tops off of the town’s residents. Rick Heinrich’s Oscar-winning art direction and Emmanuel Lubezki’s gloomy cinematography create an ominous world with menace lurking around every corner.
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9. BIG FISH (2003)
Image Credit: Zade Rosenthal/Columbia/Tri-/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by John August, based on the novel by Daniel Wallace. Starring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Alison Lohman, Robert Guillaume, Marion Cotillard, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito.
“Big Fish” finds Burton dipping his toes into a more sentimental mode of filmmaking. Luckily, he loses none of his quirk when making us weep. Based on the book by Daniel Wallace, it tells the story of a young man (Billy Crudup) who returns to his Alabama home to be with his ailing father (Albert Finney), a former traveling salesman with a gift for telling tall tales. As his son attempts to find the truth of his dad’s life, the dying man recounts the adventures of his youth (portrayed by Ewan McGregor in flashbacks), including joining the circus, meeting a witch, and befriending a giant. The plot gives Burton license to fill the screen with many spectacular sights while pulling at our heart strings. He competed at the Critics Choice Awards and BAFTA for Best Director, but was snubbed at the Oscars.
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8. SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (2007)
Image Credit: Peter Mountain/Dreamworks/Wa/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by John Logan, based on the musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler. Starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen.
With its gruesome subject matter and complicated lyrical compositions, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” would be a challenge for any director. Thankfully, Burton makes Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s landmark stage show into one of the great modern movie musicals. Johnny Depp plays Benjamin Barker, aka Sweeney Todd, a barber who murders his customers with a straight razor and helps his landlady, Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), turn them into meat pies. Dante Ferretti won an Oscar for his production design, which faithfully recreates the gloomy, rainy Victorian London of 1840. Despite competing at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, Burton was snubbed at the Oscars for Best Director. It’s too bad, because his gleeful adaptation of the bloody opera is one of his very best.
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7. MARS ATTACKS! (1996)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Jonathan Gems, based on the trading card series by Topps. Starring Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Lukas Haas, Natalie Portman, Jim Brown, Lisa Marie, Sylvia Sidney.
“Mars Attacks!” is Burton at his most playful, a loving tribute to the kind of sci-fi cheese-o-ramas that used to play on the second half of a double bill. Based on a popular trading card series, the film imagines what would happen if a fleet of big-brained, screech-voiced aliens decided to visit Earth. The answer, unfortunately, is not good. The large ensemble cast — including Jack Nicholson in a dual role as the U.S. President and a casino owner — have a hoot with the goofy material, while Burton delights in finding creative ways for the martians to pick the humans off one-by-one. “Mars Attacks!” is by no means great art, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun.
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6. PEE-WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE (1985)
Image Credit: Warner Bros/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Phil Hartman, Paul Reubens, Michael Varhol. Starring Pee-wee Herman, Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger, Judd Omen.
Burton made his feature directing debut with this deliriously loopy big-screen adaptation of Paul Reubens’ popular Pee-wee Herman character. When the eccentric man-child’s beloved red bike is stolen in broad daylight, he sets out across the U.S. to find it, leading to the adventure of a lifetime. Reubens reportedly sought out Burton after viewing his short “Vincent” (1982) and “Frankenweenie” (1984). In this early outing, Burton displays his talent for creating unique worlds inhabited by lovable loners. “Pee-wee” was also the first collaboration between the director and former Oingo Boingo frontman Danny Elfman, who has served as composer on several Burton films.
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5. BATMAN (1989)
Image Credit: Moviestore Collection/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren, story by Hamm, based on characters created by Bob Kane. Starring Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, Jack Palance.
With “Batman,” Burton brought the caped crusader back to the film noir roots of Bob Kane’s comic books after the 1960s Adam West TV show mired it in camp. In so doing, he helped bring the superhero movie into darker and more mature territory. Michael Keaton plays Bruce Wayne, a billionaire vigilante who dons a black mask to fight crime. Jack Nicholson steals the show as the Joker, a maniacal, clown-faced madman terrorizing Gotham City. The real star, however, is Anton Furst’s Oscar-winning production design, which creates an ominous, atmospheric metropolis of mysterious shadows and towering skyscrapers. It’s hard to imagine Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy without Burton’s film, which proved superheroes weren’t just for children anymore.
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4. BEETLEJUICE (1988)
Image Credit: Moviestore Collection/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren, story by McDowell and Larry Wilson. Starring Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O’Hara, Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton.
After proving his mettle with “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” Burton was let loose with this wildly entertaining ghost story. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis play a young married couple who are killed in a freak accident. They return as spirits to find an obnoxious new family occupying their home. Desperate to kick them out, they enlist a sleazy demon named Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to scare them away. In his second feature film, Burton establishes the quirky, goth-fantasy aesthetic that would define his work. His vision of the underworld is a wholly original one, from the extravagant art direction to the stop motion visual effects. The film won an Oscar for its makeup, which turns leading man Keaton into a rotting, green-haired psycho.
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3. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990)
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Caroline Thompson, story by Burton and Thompson. Starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Kathy Baker, Vincent Price, Alan Arkin.
Of all the oddball loners in Burton’s filmography, none is more empathetic than this pale-faced goth boy with sharp iron shears for fingers. Johnny Depp began his long association with the director playing the title character, a shy, sensitive young man with scissors for hands. Abandoned in a gothic tower, he is brought down to suburbia by the friendly Avon Lady (Dianne Wiest) and quickly falls in love with her beautiful daughter (Winona Ryder). With eye-popping production design by Bo Welch and a sweeping Danny Elfman score, “Edward Scissorhands” is one of Burton’s most creative and surprisingly moving creations. Its sole Oscar nomination came for Stan Winston and Ve Neill’s makeup, which it lost to “Dick Tracy.”
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2. BATMAN RETURNS (1992)
Image Credit: Zade Rosenthal/Warner Bros/DC Comics/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Daniel Waters, story by Waters and Sam Hamm, based on characters created by Bob Kane. Starring Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Michael Murphy.
The laws of Hollywood dictate that every successful film be given a sequel, and thus “Batman Returns” was born. Yet rather than producing a standard retread of the original, Burton opted to go weirder and darker with the followup, creating a grim, disturbing film that divided critics and disappointed audiences when it was first released. Time has rendered a different verdict. Part two finds the caped crusader (Michael Keaton) doing battle with a pair of deeply deranged weirdos — the Penguin (a gleefully repugnant Danny DeVito) and Catwoman (a scene-stealing Michelle Pfeiffer) — who threaten to terrorize Gotham City at Christmastime. Filled with grisly violence, bizarre fetishism, and kinky erotica that pushes the PG-13 rating to its very limits, “Batman Returns” is one of the oddest blockbusters ever produced. It’s also a true Burton masterpiece.
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1. ED WOOD (1994)
Image Credit: Touchstone/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, based on the book ‘Nightmare of Ecstasy’ by Rudolph Grey. Starring Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, Bill Murray.
Who would’ve guessed that a biopic about the worst director of all time would be the highlight of another filmmaker’s career? Yet “Ed Wood” remains the most entertaining and moving entry in Burton’s filmography. Johnny Depp stars as Edward D. Wood Jr., the miraculously untalented auteur behind such z-list classics as “Plan 9 for Outer Space” and “Glen or Glenda” (in which Wood, a famous transvestite, plays both title roles). Martin Landau gives the performance of his career (and has an Oscar to prove it) as washed-up, drug-addicted horror icon Bela Lugosi, who becomes a friend and muse to Wood. Although all the ingredients are in place for a campy romp, Burton instead creates a loving tribute to Wood’s passion and enthusiasm, and to the oddball group of misfits who populated his films. Wood may have been a hack, but at least he was a gleeful hack. In addition to Landau’s victory as Best Supporting Actor, the film also won a trophy for it’s makeup.
