Tim Burton Biography

Director, producer, screenwriter. Born August 25, 1958, in Burbank, California. As a child, Burton was engrossed with the classic horror films of Roger Corman—many of which featured quintessential screen villain Vincent Price. Burton also developed a penchant for drawing and enrolled at the California Institute of Arts, where he majored in animation. In 1980, upon his graduation, he began working as an apprentice animator for Walt Disney Studios. Within a year, Burton grew tired with his work at Disney and decided to strike out on his own. In 1982, he released the award-winning short Vincent, which paid homage to the enduring work of his childhood idol.

In 1984, Burton created a unique version of the Frankenstein story with the live-action short Frankenweenie. Impressed with Frankenweenie, Paul Reubens commissioned Burton to direct the wildly inventive comedy Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985). The success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure brought about other opportunities, including the 1988 ghost story Beetlejuice starring Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, and Geena Davis. Often considered the prototypical Burton film, Beetlejuice was recognized for its visual flair and interwoven themes of fantasy and horror.

After forming his own production company, Burton directed the lavish production Batman (1989). With a cast that included Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, and Kim Basinger, the stylized feature became the first film to sell $100 million in the first 10 days of release. The following year, Burton helmed the bizarre but touching film Edward Scissorhands. Featuring notable performances by up-and-coming stars Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder (as well as Price's final feature role as the eccentric inventor), Edward Scissorhands was acclaimed for being both a social satire and a simple tale of love and intolerance.

Directing an ensemble that included Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito, and Christopher Walken, Burton reteamed with Keaton for the 1992 Batman sequel, Batman Returns. The following year, he produced the animated musical Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Created with the painstaking process of stop-motion animation, the film became a critical and commercial success, while Burton was credited for his technical prowess.

In 1994, Burton cast Johnny Depp as the title character in Ed Wood—a black-and-white portrait of a middling filmmaker and his all-consuming passion to succeed. Although critically praised (Martin Landau won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of a drug-addicted Bela Lugosi), the film failed to appeal to mass audiences. After producing the third installment Batman Forever (1995) and the animated feature James and the Giant Peach (1996), Burton directed the sci-fi spoof Mars Attacks! The film flopped at the box office despite an all-star cast that included Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, and Pierce Brosnan.