There is no director in the world who has been able to make such a difference in his inner world when it comes to bringing his stories to the big screen, which has earned him a privileged position in the preferences of millions of fans. who see in their works a different touch from the one that marks the industry. That is why we are going to review all the films that Tim Burton has directed, which are not few.
A huge fantasy world
If we had to define Tim Burton’s cinema, we could surely do it with three words: fantasy, darkness and strange creatures. And it is not little, because from his beginnings, the American director born in Burbank, California, made his love for dream worlds very clear, practically dreamlike thanks to an innate ability to imagine and communicate by drawing. That led him, for example, to work in the animation department at Disney, where it became clear that his particular style was not going to have a place. Even so, he participated in the conceptualization process of a classic from the 80s such as El Caldero Mágico .
While he was taking his first steps and creating his first works with drawings and models animated with stop motion technology ( which would earn him so much success throughout his career) with titles such as Vincent, his first and acclaimed short film, Frankenweenie and, of course, Corpse Bride. No, The Nightmare Before Christmas is not directed by Tim Burton but it is supervised, designed and conceptualized from start to finish. So those of you who expect Jack Skeleton to be in this classification, you must forget about it.
But in addition to all of the above, of those ghostly worlds and their strangest creatures, there are two names closely linked to Tim Burton’s filmography, well three: on the one hand , the composer Danny Elfman, who was able to create the atmosphere musical that his films needed, with masterpieces like Bitelchús . Batman , Mars Attack , Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and of course Edward Scissorhands, who is a true masterpiece.
And logically, on the other hand we have his fetish actors , who are none other than the recently acquitted of his affair with his ex-wife, Johnny Depp, and the always contradictory but imposing Helena Bonham Carter.
Without them, surely Tim Burton’s cinema would not be what it is today : a splendid catalog of fantasy with that disbelieving touch of characters who are almost always bordering on madness. As its director?
Tim Burton movies
Come on, we won’t delay any longer. We are going to check how the classification of the films directed by Tim Burton is according to the ratings received on IMDb.
20 – Planet of the Apes (2001)
No one knows how Tim Burton ended up accepting this project, except for the fascination he had dragged on since he saw it when he was practically a child. Unfortunately, the American director could not improve on the 1968 film and it has remained one of the worst in his filmography due to a weak script full of black holes.
IMDb Score: 5.7
19 – Dark Shadows (2012)
This dark comedy is an example of the cinema that Tim Burton likes, although there are moments when he is more lucid than others. Johnny Deep takes us to the 18th century, a dark moment in which powerful enemies appear, twisted witches and a transformation into a vampire that will have a lot of weight in the story.
IMDb Score: 6.2
18 – Dumbo (2019)
Tim Burton, a fervent lover of animated films, saw the opportunity to make a live-action version of an all-time classic, and the thing was a bit too much… Tim Burton! We don’t know if that darkness and baroque universe suited a film that could have been more friendly, visually. He did not convince either the public or the director’s own fans.
IMDb Score: 6.3
17 – Mars Attack (1996)
It is surely one of Tim Burton’s funniest films : funny, histrionic, at times brilliant, but the daughter of a type of humor that now seems a bit simple. For many of the science-fiction fans, it deserves a place in the Olympus of the cartoons of the movies of the 50s and 60s. For others it is unbearable.
IMDb Score: 6.4
16 – Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Tim Burton’s first attempt at getting a live-action movie adaptation of a cartoon classic was a real challenge. Magical and surprising at times, it is a sample of that inner universe that Disney ended up accepting after consecrating himself away from his lap.
IMDb Score: 6.4
15 – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
Film based on the books written by Ransom Riggs and that come to Tim Burton like a glove , although he did not know how to exploit its full potential due to the confinement of respecting (obviously) the original work. It’s not one of the director’s most celebrated films, but if you revisit it, you’ll have a good time with a spectacular Eva Green surrounded by little girls with special powers.
IMDb Score: 6.7
14 – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
The classic tale that was already made into a film by Mel Stuart and starring Gene Wilder in 1971 , was the perfect occasion to create a narrative as strange and fantastic as it is funny, ironic and full of characters, each one more extravagant. Luckily, it will be Charlie who receives the main lesson that that golden ticket from the chocolate factory gives him.
IMDb Score: 6.7
13 – Frankenweenie (2012)
Tim Burton takes revenge on a medium-length film he directed in 1984 with the same title (with a live action image) in which he already revisited the classic Frankenstein from the 1930s. He adds designs, characters and settings devised by the director himself, who returns to the stop motion technique that has given such good results . A true wonder that could have been much more if it hadn’t slackened in its rhythm. Still, it’s pure Tim Burton.
IMDb Score: 6.9
12 – Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
Technically it is Tim Burton’s first film and he did it with a well-known character in the US such as Pee-wee. The film is an exercise in good manners that he tried to bring to his own terrain, taking advantage of that comic encore of the lead actor. A film that practically offers the entire catalog of virtues that the Californian’s future projects will have. If you haven’t seen it, do it now.
IMDb Score: 7
11 – Big Eyes (2014)
This film is a curious biopic within Tim Burton’s career that tells us the fascinating story of Margaret and Walter Keane, a painter from the 50s and 60s of the last century who had a fixation with characters with big eyes. The problem is that in those times to sell them better, it was the husband who had to sign the works. Subtle, sensitive and very personal.
IMDb Score: 7
10 – Batman Returns (1992)
Over the years Tim Burton’s two Batman movies have gained a following but at the time they were highly criticized for their script, which barely had any rhythm or meaning. Now, that mythical Californian director has caused them to be among the public’s favorites, hence the remarkable they get on IMDb. Catwoman and the Penguin round out the cast of heroes and villains in this film starring Michael Keaton.
IMDb Score: 7.1
9 – Sleepy Hollow (1999)
The old story of the headless horseman returns from the hand of a Tim Burton who puts his hand in the general aspect of the film, with a staging as overwhelming as it is terrifying and accompanied by the magical chords of Danny Elfman.
IMDb Score: 7.3
8 – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Johnny Depp reteams with Tim Burton in this story of terror and revenge in which a bloodthirsty barber seeks to bring to justice those responsible for the tragedy that follows him. Tension, darkness and that typical atmosphere of Victorian films that the director likes so much. You are going to enjoy it.
IMDb Score: 7.3
7 – Corpse Bride (2005)
After the success of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton earned the opportunity to tackle almost any project . And this one from The Corpse Bride is one of them where we have a terrifying story treated with that corrosive black humor that characterizes the North American. If we add to that a soundtrack with some extraordinary songs, we get this great little wonder.
IMDb Score: 7.3
6 – Bitelchus (1988)
The second film was a real bombshell: it revealed to us a superb Michael Keaton, it put Winona Ryder on the map and it told us a magnificent story with dead people who are like a real goat. If on top of that we add the presence of two great actors like Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin, we get an earthquake that will make you have a great time. Oh, and a second installment is on the way, also directed by Tim Burton.
IMDb Score: 7.5
5 – Batman (1989)
Film that was a resounding success in its time, highly criticized as well, but that marked the path of superhero cinema that we have right now. Michael Keaton returns to work with Tim Burton and Danny Elfman’s soundtrack is one of those that make an era. Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger are ten…
IMDb Score: 7.5
4 – Ed Wood (1994)
Tim Burton returns to his classics and in this film he pays tribute to one of the best-known B-series directors in Hollywood. In this film we will learn about his working methods and those obsessions that led him to do things his way. A love letter to the passions of the director who was recognized by fans and critics.
IMDb Score: 7.8
3 – Edward Scissorhands (1990)
For many it is Tim Burton’s most rounded film because it has it all : an endearing, strange, strange and different character who tries to fit into the normality of an idyllic residential neighborhood in the USA. A modern Frankenstein who wants to be accepted but who in the end he has to surrender to the harsh reality. A magical, dark, gloomy and terrifying film, but also sensitive and passionate with a truly luxurious soundtrack. Can anything else be said?
IMDb Score: 7.9
2 – Big Fish (2003)
This film is one of the small wonders that are hidden in Tim Burton’s filmography because it is an extraordinary fable that tells us the story of a character who returns to recover the world he knew through the stories his father told him. who is terminally ill. An endearing film that hides behind an anthological script that, surely, would have deserved first place among all the films by the Californian director.
IMDb Score: 8
1 – Vincent (1982)
And with Tim Burton’s best film we go back to the beginning, to the Burbank director’s first work as such: Vincent is a tribute in the form of a short film to that passion he had for the actor Vincent Price, with whom he managed to work in Edward Scissorhands . A work that summarizes the universe that we are going to find in the following years and that you can see in full right here above,
IMDb Score: 8.3
