Weird Tim Burton Movies

Odd Films by Tim Burton

The word "weird" gets tossed around a lot when you talk about Tim Burton movies. This is no fluke -- many of Tim Burton's movies could easily be thrown into this category.

As a matter of fact, I'd put forth that each of Tim Burton's feature films is "weird" in one way or another.

With that in mind, let's take a look at each of Burton's already-released films and figure out what exactly is "weird" about each of them.

Pee Wee's Big Adventure -- Any movie starring Paul Reubens is gonna be weird, but this film also features one of the weirdest and scariest claymation moments ever. Two words: Large Marge.
Beetlejuice -- Is there anything weirder in the last fifty years of film than the scene from Beetlejuice that uses Harry Belafonte's "Banana Boat Song" ?
Batman -- In my opinion the greatest of Batman films -- this movie is weird all around, from the dizzying camera work to Jack Nicholson's stunning portrayal of the Joker.
Edward Scissorhands -- Burton's 1990 masterpiece is vintage Burton. Moody and memorable, weird and terrifying, but still somehow lovable. The weirdest part is the strange way the townspeople interact with Edward, as if nothing's really wrong with him at all. Spooky, isn't it?
Batman Returns -- Maybe the weirdest part of this movie is that it got made. A poor excuse for a sequel -- though Devito's Penguin is weird enough to fill four films.
Ed Wood -- A revision of film history in which failed transvestite film director Ed Wood meets Orson Welles and learns to love a real woman. Need I say more?
Mars Attacks! -- The only Burton film to include punctuation, Mars Attacks! is weird because of the plethora of big stars that joined up for what was clearly a bomb of a movie.
Sleepy Hollow -- This one's weird because its based on an early piece of classic American literature -- and because it stars both Christina Ricci and Chris Walken.
Planet of the Apes -- Mark Wahlberg? Tim Roth? Paul Giamatti? All of these guys in one movie? Most of them wearing ape costumes? Amazingly weird.
Big Fish -- The only thing weird about this snore-fest is that it was made at all.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -- Johnny Depp phoned in his role as Willy Wonka. The weirdest part of this film is the Oompa Loompas rapping and dancing around like Teletubbies.
Corpse Bride -- A weird movie, not because the plot involves heavy doses of necrophilia, but because it is the only Burton film that concentrated more on visuals than on story.
Sweeney Todd -- Only Burton could take a lengthy and droll musical and turn it into a rollicking, fast-paced Hollywood film that tells a story in less than two hours. And that's weird.
Alice in Wonderland -- As if the original story isn't weird enough, Burton threw his man-crush Johnny Depp into the mix as a colorful and over-the-top Mad Hatter. Why's that weird? I'm not sure. And THAT is weird.

Tim Burton films are rarely conventional. Aside from Big Fish, which could be the greatest mistake of his career, his films are uncompromisingly weird, weird for weird's sake, even a bit too weird at times. Still -- there are conventional moments in all of them. Headed out to see a Tim Burton movie soon? Expect weirdness . . . and greatness.

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