A Comparison Of Tim Burton's Life And Films

Burton’s films include mythic themes of exile, death and ideas on childhood. His films have been nominated for several Academy Awards; he has won a few of them, mostly for his beautiful set design and makeup. Before Burton has started directing any of his films, he always sketches out his set design and make up ideas. Burton’s peculiar style is what sets him apart from other directors, but unlike some he wouldn’t like be known as a director with a certain type. In Burton’s career he has made around 12 films, not including his short-films shot early in his career. Such as Vincent(1982), The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy, his first leading film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), and two of his most known films Edward Scissorhands (1990), and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). Burton puts as much into the art of film, his films contain various themes, “Burton’s regulars”, and exquisite set designs. Burton’s themes in his movies reflect his childhood and his own life.
Tim Burton was born in Burbank, California, in 1958.
His father was a baseball player and worked for the city and his mother owned a gift store dedicated to cats. Most of his life he lived independent as his parents were busy most of the time. As a child, he lived in a bedroom that was completely dark because his parents blackened out his windows to supposedly save on heat. As he entered his teenage years he chose to create his own path instead of following the one set by the “popular” people. Burton believes that those who grew up as the loners will turn out to be the most successful adults because they have spent their time searching for who they are, and those who were considered “popular” in high school will have already reached their peak and downfall as an adult and will talk about high school as the best time of their lives, while others may oppose. Burton’s passion for art came as a child and continued to grow as he got
older.
His passion for art only grew more and more the older he got. He went to the Disney institute where he began studying animation, but the idea of staying there and drawing what other told him to didn’t appeal to him. All throughout his films his style of art is exposed as he sketches every detail of the movie including the characters, set design and each actual scene.
Burton presents many different themes throughout his films and one of them is a mythic theme. Mythic themes are, as explained by Bernard F. Dick, as “a form of racial history---a narrative distillation of the wishes and fears both of ourselves and the human race”. One theme they seem to all have in common is exile. Exile means when one is alienated from society in a behavioral and geographical sense. This theme I seen in all Burton’s movies but Edward Scissorhands shows off this theme the most. The idea of this movie is about Edward Scissorhands is a man, who was created by and inventor that couldn’t finish building him. Edwarrd lived in a faraway corner of town in a supposedly “haunted house.” Having to develop with no contact whatsoever apart from the outside world. Edward developed quite peculiar lifestyle. Styling trees outside his house with his hands. When he finally came down into the town with the local Avon lady, the people treated him as an outcast and menace to their town. Edward’s efforts to show them he still cared, had gone unnoticed. It escalated so rapidly that Edward was forced to move back to his home in the isolated corner. According to Kehr, the character played by Johnny Depp “The crisis of young adulthood shaped Edward Scissorhands, was divided between loyalty to home and family and the excitement and danger of stepping out into life”.