Word: burtons
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...After directing a live-action, all-Oriental cast version of Hansel and Gretel for Disney's new cable station in the same year as Vincent, Burton was then allowed to develop and direct "Frankenweenie", a 25-minute film that served as a precursor for all of Burton's work to come. In the short feature, ten-year-old suburbanite Victor Frankenstein (Barret Oliver of Neverending Story fame) reanimates his dead dog, Sparky. Filmed in black-and-white, with make-up on Sparky complete with little neck bolts and stitches, "Frankenweenie" was a modest success for the filmmaker that eventually opened...
...Paul Reubens, the comedian who had crafted his bizarre alter-ego of Pee-Wee Herman, Burton found a comrade-in-oddness and the perfect start to work with on this all-important first film. With a story centering around Herman's search for his lost bicycle, Adventure led one on a surreal road trip across the U.S. complete with giant concrete dinosaurs, biker gangs and a memorable rendition of the song "Tequila." One of the sleeper hits of 1985, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure established Burton as a "bankable" director...
...three years before Burton released his next film--Beetlejuice. Yet another twisted tale, centering this time around a pair of "newlydeads," the Maitlands, played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis and the "bio-exorcist" (Michael Keaton) they hire to clean out their home of its new yuppie occupants. The film, despite (or perhaps owing to) its weird atmosphere, unusual characters and occasionally cheesy special-effects, was yet another success for Burton, and he was then tapped by Warner Brothers to direct their biggest project at that time--Batman...
...From the start, Burton's Batman promised to be a departure from the cardboard comic characterizations and situations found in the Superman films of the early '80s. First, Burton chose Beetlejuice star Keaton, known more as a comic actor than an action star, to play the title character--a move that sent comic book fans into an uproar. Burton also removed the Robin character, choosing instead to focus on the intense psychological make-up of Batman and his foe, the Joker (Jack Nicholson in one of his best roles). Once again, Burton's strong adherence to his own vision paid...
...before directing Returns, Burton made Edward Scissorhands, which stands to date as his most unusual, as well as his most personal, work. This fairy tale involves a mad scientist (played by Burton's idol, Vincent Price) creating a simulacrum of a young man (Johnny Depp) in his laboratory. He gives the boy scissors for hands until he can finish his work but dies before attaching the new hands. The boy lives a lonely life in the castle until he is discovered by an Avon lady (Dianne West), who takes him home to the pastel-colored suburbia below. The boy, dubbed...