Biography

Childchood

Tim Burton was raised in Burbank, California. He spent most of his childhood as a recluse, drawing cartoons and watching old movies (he was especially fond of films with Vincent Price). When he was in the ninth grade, his artistic talent was recognized by a local garbage company when he won a prize for an anti-litter poster he designed. The company placed this poster on all of their garbage trucks for a year. After graduation from high school, he attended California Institute of the Arts.

Early career

Like so many others who graduated from that school, Burton's first job was as an animator for Disney. He worked on such films as The Fox and the Hound (1981) and The Black Cauldron (1985), but had some creative differences from that of his colleagues. Nevertheless, Disney recognized his talent, and gave him the green light to make Vincent (1982), an animated short about a boy who wanted to be just like Vincent Price. Narrated by Price himself, the short was a critical success and won several awards.

Burton made a few other short films, including his first live-action film, Frankenweenie (1984). A half-hour long twist on the tale of Frankenstein, it was deemed inappropriate for children and wasn't released. But actor Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) saw Frankenweenie (1984), and believed that Burton would be the right man to direct him in his first full-length feature film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985).
The film was a surprise success, and Burton instantly became popular. However, many of the scripts that were offered to him after this were essentially just spin-offs of the film, and Burton wanted to do something new.

Beetle Juice

For three years, he made no more films, until he was presented with the script for Beetle Juice (1988). The script was wild and wasn't really about anything, but was filled with such artistic and quirky opportunities, Burton couldn't say no. Beetle Juice (1988) was another big hit, and Burton's name in Hollywood was solidified. It was also his first film with actor Michael Keaton.

Batman

Warner Bros then entrusted him with Batman (1989), a film based on the immensely popular comic book series of the same name. Starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, the film was the most financially successful film of the year and Burton's biggest box-office hit to date.

Edward Scissorhand

Due to the fantastic success of his first three films, he was given the green light to make his next film, any kind of film he wanted. That film was Edward Scissorhands (1990), one of his most emotional, esteemed and artistic films to date. Edward Scissorhands (1990) was also Burton's first film with actor Johnny Depp.

Career development

Burton's next film was Batman Returns (1992), and was darker and quirkier than the first one, and, while by no means a financial flop, many people felt somewhat disappointed by it.
While working on Batman Returns (1992), he also produced the popular The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), directed by former fellow Disney Animator Henry Selick.

Burton reunited with Johnny Depp on the film Ed Wood (1994), a film showered with critical acclaim, Martin Landau won an academy award for his performance in it, and it is very popular now, but flopped during its initial release.
Burton's subsequent film, Mars Attacks! (1996), had much more vibrant colors than his other films. Despite being directed by Burton and featuring all-star actors including Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Pierce Brosnan and Michael J. Fox, it received mediocre reviews and wasn't immensely popular at the box office, either.

Burton returned to his darker and more artistic form with the film Sleepy Hollow (1999), starring Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci and Casper Van Dien. The film was praised for its art direction and was financially successful, redeeming Burton of the disappointment many had felt by Mars Attacks! (1996).

His next film was Planet of the Apes (2001), a remake of the classic of the same name. The film was panned by many critics but was still financially successful. While on the set of Planet of the Apes (2001), Burton met Helena Bonham Carter, to whom he is now currently engaged and has a son with.

Afterwards, Burton directed the film Big Fish (2003) - a much more conventional film than most of his others, it received a good deal of critical praise, although it disappointed some of his long-time fans who preferred the quirkiness of his other, earlier films.

Despite the fluctuations in his career, Burton proved himself to be one of the most popular directors of the late 20th century. Burton went on to direct Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and Corpse Bride (2005), both featuring Johnny Depp in the lead roles, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. Charlie and Bride were Burton's most critically-praised movies in years. Charlie was a huge box office success that made over $207 million domestically.

Early movies

In 2006 Burton began early work on the film Believe It or Not. By June, Burton announced that he would be postponing his work on this film to instead concentrate on the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. This would become yet another collaboration with Johnny Depp, who signed on to play the murderous barber.
By June 19, 2007 Burton announced that he was withdrawing completely from the Believe It or Not film. On February 5, 2007, Burton started principal production on Sweeney Todd, from a screenplay by John Logan. The Dreamworks/Warner Bros. production was released on December 21, 2007. So far, Burton's work on Sweeney Todd has won the National Board of Review Award for Best Director, received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director and won an Oscar for Best Achievement in Art Direction.

Future projects

In November 2007, Burton signed a deal with Disney to direct two 3-D films. The first will be a motion capture adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, which is currently in pre-production. It will start filming in May 2008. Afterwards, he will remake Frankenweenie as a stop-motion film