Director Tim Burton turns 66 today
The Greatest Tim Burton Films on his 66th Birthday
Director Tim Burton turns 66 today
Tim Burton was born in Burbank, California, on August 25, 1958, Burton is known for his dark, gothic, and eccentric horror and fantasy films. Over the last three decades, Burton has established a curious career, which is fitting for a filmmaker so invested in the unusual. His films range from family-oriented children’s stories and niche genre adaptations to adult revenge dramas and violent mystery stories. Throughout that range, he’s maintained a level of production design complexity that makes his films sumptuous to behold even if the story isn’t quite spectacular. To celebrate his birthday, we went back through his entire filmography and ranked his top 10 films.
The American filmmaker, artist, and writer Tim Burton, known for his distinctive style, characterized by dark, gothic, and quirky visuals, was born Timothy Walter Burton on August 25, 1958, in Burbank, California. Burton has carved out a unique niche in Hollywood, creating some of the most memorable and imaginative films in modern cinema. Burton grew up in Burbank, near the heart of the Hollywood film industry. From an early age, he was drawn to the macabre and the fantastical, influenced by horror movies, science fiction, and the work of artists like Dr. Seuss and Edgar Allan Poe. Burton attended the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), where he studied character animation.
His early career began at Walt Disney Studios, where he worked as an animator and concept artist on films like The Fox and the Hound (1981). However, his unconventional ideas and distinctive artistic style often clashed with Disney’s mainstream approach. Burton’s first major break came with the short film Vincent (1982), a stop-motion animated tribute to his idol, Vincent Price, which showcased his emerging style and gained him attention in the industry.
Burton’s directorial debut in feature films came with Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), a quirky comedy that became a surprise hit and established him as a filmmaker with a unique vision. This success was followed by Beetlejuice (1988), a dark comedy that further cemented his reputation and introduced audiences to his signature blend of humor, horror, and surrealism.
The late 1980s and early 1990s were defining years for Burton, as he directed two of his most iconic films: Batman (1989) and Edward Scissorhands (1990). Batman was a commercial blockbuster that redefined the superhero genre with its gothic tone and stylized visuals. Edward Scissorhands, a modern fairy tale about an artificial man with scissors for hands, is considered one of Burton’s most personal and poignant works, blending his fascination with outsider characters and his love for gothic aesthetics.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Burton continued to produce a string of visually stunning and commercially successful films, including Batman Returns (1992), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), and Big Fish (2003). His adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and the stop-motion animated Corpse Bride (2005) further demonstrated his ability to bring dark and whimsical stories to life.
In 2010, Burton directed Alice in Wonderland, a visually rich reimagining of the classic tale, which became a global box office success. Burton’s later works, such as Frankenweenie (2012) and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016), continued to explore themes of the fantastical and the eerie, maintaining his status as a unique voice in cinema.
In his personal life, Burton has had high-profile relationships, most notably with actress Helena Bonham Carter, with whom he had two children. The couple worked together on several films, including Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and Alice in Wonderland (2010), before amicably separating in 2014. Burton was previously married to German artist Lena Gieseke, and in 2023, he began a relationship with Italian actress Monica Bellucci.
Burton’s impact on the film industry is profound. His distinctive visual style and ability to blend the macabre with the whimsical have influenced a generation of filmmakers and artists. As a director, producer, and artist, Tim Burton has created a body of work that is both commercially successful and critically acclaimed, making him one of the most influential filmmakers of his time.
By Ken Warren, 2017/18
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