A Reel Opinion: The Best & Worst Films of Tim Burton

Last month, this Blogger’s girlfriend penned an excellent review about The Beetle House; a New York City restaurant inspired by the films of strange and unusual director Tim Burton (read that review HERE). One blog can often lead to another, and that review got this Blogger’s wheels turning towards the career of Burton. The quirky, visionary, imaginative, and frustratingly inconsistent filmmaker has one of the most distinct styles in Hollywood in the last 20 years, and his contributions have altered pop culture and continue to draw people with his name alone. This Blog is a look at his best and worst films in the Reel Speak tradition of a Top Five ranking; using criteria of story, character, visual impact, cultural impact, and personal likes and objective dislikes…along with the tiebreaker of whether or not I ever want to watch it again.

Since this is intended to be a celebration of Tim Burton, this Blogger will spend more time on the good than the bad. Any film that doesn’t appear here falls somewhere between the Best and Worst.

Now, it’s showtime…

THE WORST 

5. BATMAN (1989) 

More like BATMAN: THE MUSICAL with a ridiculous song and dance routine every five minutes; led by a beer-bellied, middle-aged, receding hairline Joker with the dumbest nefarious scheme of all time involving shampoo and makeup. It’s a frustrating film because the first 20 minutes are outstanding, only to fall into cartoonish, meandering, aimless nonsense. 

4. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (2005) 

Messy and cliché with a story that can’t latch onto any one thing for more than two minutes. Johnny Depp mistakes eccentric for bizarre in his portrayal of Willie Wonka. 

3. ALICE IN WONDERLAND (2010) 

A soulless, joyless bore with a messy narrative and CGI looking like a Looney Tunes flick…topped off with a final battle/war that feels like it belongs in another movie. 

2. MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (2016) 

Rushed, silly, and pointless. 

1. DARK SHADOWS (2012) 

A dull slog that drags on forever. It feels like 50 episodes of the classic TV series crammed into one feature, and it is capped off by a big stupid final battle with characters pulling shotguns out of nowhere. 

THE BEST 

5. A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993) 

Even though the poster says otherwise, this is technically not a Tim Burton film as he did not direct it, but instead acted as a producer. Henry Sellick is the credited helmer, but the story, characters, and fantasy world are all Burton’s. It is a clever, and outright brilliant take on our holidays and where they come from, with the main character of Jack Skellington becoming one of the most significant entries in pop culture. 

4. BIG FISH (2003)

Burton’s best films are the ones that he has an emotional connection to, and BIG FISH is the one that he threw his heart into and it shows. A tale of a son searching for his father, BIG FISH combines elements of fantasy with the power of storytelling, and the charming performances from Ewan MacGregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Billy Crudup, Danny DeVito, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonmah Carter, and Marion Cotillard makes the film a joy to behold. It is one of Burton’s most critically acclaimed films with four Golden Globe nominations and one Oscar nod. 

3. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990) 

Based on his own childhood, this mesmerizing story was Burton’s version of the classic FRANKENSTEIN. The first of eight (!) films Burton would make with Johnny Depp, ED was an exploration of what it is to be human, and was one of the first films where Burton would run with his love for characters who are outcast because they are different. It is a fairy tale reinvented. 

2. BEETLEJUICE (1988) 

This mashup of horror and comedy is the ultimate Tim Burton film and his biggest contribution to pop culture. It is an original twist on hauntings and poltergeists, with an electric performance by Michael Keaton and perhaps Winona Ryder’s most memorable role. When the conversation moves to Burton’s imagination, this is the first film that comes to mind. 

1. ED WOOD (1994) 

Where BETELGEUSE may be his most memorable, ED WOOD is the one film in Burton’s career that feels like genuine cinema. There are movies and there are films, and this is certainly the latter. Once again playing with his favorite themes of rejects and horror, this true-story biopic is a love letter to classic Hollywood while acting as an inspirational tale to any one of us who have been told that our creative works aren’t good enough. What is art, and who gets to say if it is or not is a battle every filmmaker, writer, painter, and sculptor faces…and ED WOOD has a lot to say about that. The cast is inspired, with Depp once again in front…but the towering, Oscar-winning performance by Martin Landau in his role as real-life horror icon Bela Lugosi is one for the ages. Those of us who have followed Tim Burton through his career have a clear love for film, and ED WOOD is an expression of just that. 

THE BEST AND WORST OF TIM BURTON

BEST

1. ED WOOD
2. BEETLEJUICE
3. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS
4. BIG FISH
5. THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

WORST

1. DARK SHADOWS
2. MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN
3. ALICE IN WONDERLAND
4. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
5. BATMAN