Tim Burton Visual Style

Tim Burton is well known for his work as a director. He has been nominated for several awards. Among these are; two Oscars, one Golden Globe, five Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, and several Hugo Awards (IMDB). Besides being a director of many of Hollywood's greatest films, he is also an accomplished illustrator, painter, screenwriter, and producer. From his early days at The California Institute of Arts, to his current film projects, Burton has always had an ability to transfer his perceptions in to a visual medium. His visual style is often a mix fantasy, gothic, and horror (Tim Burton Bio A&E). Timothy Walter Burton was born; in the shadow of the Hollywood Hills of Burbank, California, on August 25, 1958. He grew up the son of seemingly distant parents that were also a bit odd. His father, who was injured early in his career as a professional baseball player, worked for the City of Burbank's sports department. His mother owned a cat-themed gift shop (for cats) called Cats Plus. Burton's room had to large windows that overlooked the yard, but his parents boarded them up (Pringle). Oddly enough, one of the staples of his films, there is usually an overly sympathetic parental figure. He enjoyed watching Japanese monster movies, and classic Universal horror films (Feinberg, Scott); like those of Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi. “I don't know what it was, maybe the movie theaters in my immediate surrounding neighbourhood [sic] in Burbank, but I never saw what would be considered A movies” (Tim Burton Bio A&E). After graduation he enrolled at The California Institute of Arts, where his short film Stalk of the Celery Monster (1979) caught the attention of the animation studio at Walt Disney and he was hired. …show more content…
As a result he dropped out of college after a year to work there (Pringle). While at Disney, he created two short films; Vincent (1982) and Frankenweenie (1984). Vincent allowed Tim Burton to work with one of his idols, Vincent Price, who supplied the voice of the narrator. Price would also later star in the film Edward Scissorhands in 1990 (CITATION). Frankenweenie was retelling of the Frankenstein story from the point of view of a young Dr. Frankenstein whose dog had died and he tried to bring him back to life. This left Disney executives scratching their heads, they thought it was to dark and scary for children. Burton had a different take on the monsters in his films. I don't know why but I always related to characters like Frankenstein. I think a lot of kids do; its easier to relate to …show more content…
Tim Burton: Interviews. Jackson: U of Mississippi, 2005. Print.

Ebert, Roger. "Batman Movie Review & Film Summary (1989) | Roger Ebert." Batman Movie Review & Film Summary (1989). 23 June 1989. Web. 9 July 2015.

Woerner, Meredith "10 Things You'll See in Almost Every Tim Burton Movie." Io9. Web. 1 Aug. 2015.

"Tim Burton." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 08 July 2015.

Feinberg, Scott. "Tim Burton on His Life and Movies Coming Full Circle with 'Frankenweenie' (Video)." The Hollywood Reporter. 17 Feb. 2013. Web. 7 July 2015.

“IMDB” http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000318/awards

Itzkoff, Dave. "Tim Burton, at Home in His Own Head." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Sept. 2012. Web. 9 July 2015.

Pringle, Gill "Tim Burton: How a Strange Childhood Gave Him a Taste for the Bizarre” BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Web. 21 July