4. Tim Burton

Most people are familiar with the work of Tim Burton. Commonly known for for his dark visuals and working with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, Burton is one of my guilty pleasures. Sure he makes visually stunning films but his quality has particularly remained consistent over the years. Nonetheless he is one of my favorites, particularly for his early works and his ambitious projects.


Through Tim's childhood he lived in a sort of suburban neighborhood and absolutely detesting it. He felt somewhat like an outcast not having many friends and felt distanced from many of the people he knew. For this he became quite efficient with art as being an outlet. Later attending art school he landed a job at Walt Disney Animation Studios to help animate some of their movies, but later realized that he wanted to branch off and fulfill his own ambitions.

Tim went on to direct many films such as Batman and Alice and Wonderland. Most of his movies are made with Gothic undertones and aesthetics, not always but usually incorporating dark skies, deep blue and purple tones and various themes and character profiles to set aside his work from the rest. His films, usually incorporate a lead who is often misunderstood and outcast from the rest of the movie's universe.

My love for Tim Burton's works isn't too complicated. His movies are visually stunning and more often than not, evoke a high sentimental value for me in portraying a person who is misunderstood for where he is currently placed and fights his way to find somewhere he truly belongs. My favorite movie that accurately portrays this, hands down is Edward Scissorhands. Mr. Burton always seems to have a clear vision of what he wants to represent on screen with his characters. He never delves into a overly complicated character arc, because he doesn't need to. His stories are simple and evoke feelings through the scenery and majestic matte paintings. His characters, albeit simple and easy to understand, are still multifaceted and interesting, more often than not giving us elements of ourselves we haven't really been able to connect with as often with other movies.

Tim Burton really inspires me to take better judgement when looking at creating an atmosphere and evoking feelings through a multitude of varying elements such as character and set design. Being able to relate with his back story and what he's accomplished as a filmmaker really gives me an aspiration to attain what I'd love to do with my life which is make movies that tell poignant and emotionally effective stories.

The List of Fantastical movies directed by Tim Burton
-Frankenweenie
-Dark Shadows
-Alice in Wonderland
-Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
-Corpse Bride
-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
-Big Fish
-Planet of the Apes
-Sleepy Hollow
-Mars Attacks!
-Ed Wood
-Batman Returns
-Edward Scissorhands
-Batman
-Beetlejuice
-Pee-wee's Big Adventure