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Tim Burton--A Man of Vision Pt. I

© Jo-Ann Pittman

Tim Burton is one of the most unique directors in Hollywood today. He films are all blockbuster hits despite the gothic, surrealistic themes and images they support. No matter what the plot of the movie, the main character is almost always a tortured outcast. Someone with whom we all can identify and for whom we feel sympathy. The kind of person that Tim Burton, himself, admits to being. Here is a brief biography and filmography of this talented man of vision.

Tim Burton was born on August 25, 1958, in Burbank, California. He grew up in a typical suburban neighborhood--the kind he would later satirize in films like Edward Scissorhands. He prefered the company of Vincent Price movies and the writings of Edgar Allen Poe to that of his parents and brother. The only other pasttime that he enjoyed was drawing. Drawings of a world that only he could envision. These drawings won him a scholarship to the California Institute of the Arts. The scholarship was award by Disney Studios for whom he would later work.

His career as a Disney artist would not last long. His first project with them was The Fox and the Hound. Burton admits that he was not cut out for the job. But Disney recognized his talents and set him to work on his own project. He produced a black and white, six minute, animated short called Vincent. Narrated by his idol, Vincent Price, it is the story of seemingly normal boy who wants to be Vincent Price. This tortured soul loses himself in bizzare fantasies that upset his family. Burton won several awards for this short which was eventually commercially released.

The only other piece that Burton would produce for Disney was another animated short called Frankenweenie. This 27 minute, black and white film tells the story of a young boy, Victor Frankenstein, who brings his dog back to life after it is hit by a car. The sight of the now reanimated pooch terrorizes the neighborhood. Victor must figure out how to convince everybody that his dog is not a monster. Disney decided that this film was not suitable for kids and it would be eight years before they would release it on video. It can also be seen every year on the Disney Channel at Halloween.

Despite the fact that it would be almost a decade before the public would see Frankenweenie, others in Hollywood were already bearing witness to it. One of these people was Paul Reubens who was riding high at the time as his alter ego Pee Wee Herman. Paul was getting ready to take a step away from TV and into films. He saw Frankenweenie and knew that he had found the director for his first movie. Pee Wee's Big Adventure was Burton's first full length live action film. The tagline for this movie pretty much sums up the whole film--"The story of a rebel and his bike." This movie was a surprise smash hit. But with lines like--"But what? Everyone I know has a big but. C'mon, Simone, let's talk about YOUR big but."--how could this film fail?