Tim Burton’s career, which included quite a few remakes, has reached many wonderfully inventive high points and a few low points. From ghosts and superheroes to talking animals and magic beings,Tim Burton has one of the most distinct styles in Hollywood. The fact that some stars are often described as “Tim Burton actors” due to how many times they have worked with him is just one of many examples of how Burton became a genre of his own.
However, for every great original film he’s directed over the years, fromBeetlejuicetoEd WoodandEdward Scissorhands,he’s also been in the directing chair for a series of remakes that differ in quality. Taking on a film that already has an expectant fan base is never an easy task, but when done correctly, it can be a wonderful re-imagining of a beloved existing IP.Tim Burton’s filmographyconsists of hits and misses, and it’s no different when it comes to remakes.
Burton has never been afraid of tackling a beloved IP, though. One of the first hits in his career was preciselyBatman(1989), a film that changed general audiences' perception of the character and brought the darkness and complexity of the famous superhero from the comics to the screen in a way that had never been done. While Batman wasn’t a remake, it showed that Burton was more than capable of reimaging characters and stories that had been around for years.
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Cast
In 2029, Leo Davidson ventures through a space-time storm to rescue his chimp friend, landing on Ashlar, a world ruled by talking apes. With newfound allies, he uncovers his spacecraft’s fate and sparks a revolt against ape tyranny. Saved by his chimp companion, Leo returns to Earth, but discovers a deeply disturbing reality.
Tim Burton was a great choice to direct a remake ofPlanet of the Apes. His visual style and humor seemed like they could have been the perfect combination to bring Pierre Boulle’s novel to the screen, especially given how Tim Burton specializes in bringing the weird and wonderful to life. The original film series had its distinctive charm that resulted in some of the most iconic imagery in cinema from the late 1960s.
A movie featuring talking chimps who are set to take over the world should have been the perfect canvas for Burton to unleash his creativity in an inventive way, butunfortunately, his version fell flat for several reasons.Sadly, it lacked depth, and the sociopolitical parallels from the original film series were missing.Burton’s Planet of the Apes wasn’t terrible,butit didn’t feel like a Tim Burton movie, which is the most damning criticism of the film, given the power of his visual storytelling usually.
Tim Burton’s Planet Of The Apes’ 1 Redeemable Quality Still Impresses Me 23 Years Later
Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes remake is a notorious entry in the franchise, but I still love this one aspect of the film after two decades.
Also, the movie came before motion capture techniques and visual effects in general at a point where an entire set of main characters could be created through CG as opposed to what happened in 2011’sRise of the Planet of the Apes. Burton’s re-imagining, a phrase he helped to coin thanks to the movie, relied on great prosthetics, and make-up, to bring the apes to life. They look decent overall, butthe less said about the awkward kissing scene, the better.
Dumbo (2019)
Dumbo, directed by Tim Burton, is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s classic 1941 animated film. The story centers on a young elephant with oversized ears that enable him to fly, captivating audiences and saving a struggling circus. Starring Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, and Eva Green, the film delves into themes of family and personal growth while showcasing Burton’s signature visual style.
One of the best elements of the originalDumbocartoon from 1941 was that its limited narrative was well handled by the film’s equally conservative runtime of one hour and four minutes. It had its wonderful charm, and pathos, in the tale of an elephant who was ridiculed because of the size of his ears and was handled with great care. Unfortunately,Tim Burton’s announcement that he could have retiredfollowing his remake speaks volumes.
However, taking on any Disney property is not for the faint of heart, plus, Burton had to somehow extend the narrative of a one-hour kids' movie, to a two-hour remake while still channeling what made the first movie so timeless. In doing so,the production lost sight of what it was attempting to be, and it became a weird mix of Burton-esque gothic adventure, with an over-complicated plot. Also, starMichael Keaton admitted he “sucked” inDumbo.
While Tim Burton’sDumboisn’t a terrible film, it’s, unfortunately, a predictable mess.
While Tim Burton’sDumboisn’t a terrible film, it’s, unfortunately, a predictable mess. There are moments when the film almost soars, but they are too few and far between to elevate it beyond beinga disappointing remake. At least it made Burton realize he needed to be re-energized, meaning audiences finally got the fun sequel,Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.
Dark Shadows (2012)
Loosely based on the gothic soap opera of the same name, Dark Shadows follows a vampire named Barnabas Collins when he is unearthed from his tomb after 200 years. Barnabas adjusts to modern life, falls in love, and searches for a cure, but first he must confront the witch who cursed him so long ago.
Dark Shadowssaw Tim Burton casting an actor who had already been in some of his very best movies, includingEdward Scissorhands,Ed Wood, andSleepy Hollow; Johnny Depp. Burton admitted (via New York Times) thatthe 1960sDark ShadowsTV show was a huge influence on him as a child, saying,“I should probably have been doing homework or playing sports after school instead of watching Dark Shadows."
It’s no stretch to see why Burton would be drawn to the world ofDark Shadowsas a child. It had a genuinely creepy atmosphere, and although the pacing was slow and some of the acting was questionable, to say the least, it had a nostalgic charm all of its own regardless. Unfortunately for Burton, his adaptation may have a wonderful cast, including Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Burton’s Catwoman herself, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Johnny Depp.
The film’s saving grace is Eva Green’s antagonist Angelique, who dives into her role as the witchy lady who Depp’s Barnabas spurned. She’s great, but her obsession with Barnabas doesn’t make sense. Depp’s performance, like it is usually in Burton’s movies, is suitably quirky, but his various tics and scenery-chewing don’t lend themselves well to a character that a domineering witch such as Angelique would obsess over.The movie, however, is tonally awkward, and while it’s entertaining, it doesn’t look like a Tim Burton film.
Alice In Wonderland (2010)
Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton. It stars Mia Wasikowska as Alice, who returns to the magical world of Wonderland to confront the tyrannical Red Queen, played by Helena Bonham Carter. The film features Johnny Depp as the eccentric Mad Hatter and Anne Hathaway as the benevolent White Queen. This reimagining of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale combines live-action and CGI elements.
Tim Burton’s best movies are the ones in which he has creative control over the project, especially when he’s able to conjure up bizarre images from his wonderful mind. That’s why a lot of his remakes don’t quite make the grade in terms of overall quality. He has the talent to turn any story into movie gold, buthe’s better when he can focus his attention on original stories. His adaptation ofAlice in Wonderlandis a great example of this.
Every Tim Burton Movie Ranked, Worst To Best
With the premiere of his latest film Dumbo, we look back at the career of director Tim Burton, from his worst film to his best.
In theory, the combination of Lewis Carroll’s iconic children’s novel, and Burton’s wildly vivid imagination, should have been a match made in heaven.For the most part, the film does work, and Burton brings some superbly realized images to the screen. Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter is one of his better roles in Burton’s later output, Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen is very Burton-esq in her design, and the visuals pop out of the screen wonderfully.
Alice in Wonderlandwas a huge successat the box office, bringing over a billion dollars to the studio Disney, which got the marketing campaign for the film spot-on. Despite it having a low score of 6.4/10 on IMDb, the movie is a lot of fun, andit made an impression on audiences. Unfortunately, however, Burton’s experience withAlice in Wonderland, and also later withDumbo, is why he considered leaving directing behind. Thankfully, that didn’t last too long.
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The 2005 film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel, directed by Tim Burton. It follows a young boy, Charlie Bucket, who wins a tour of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, a fantastical realm overseen by the eccentric candy maker played by Johnny Depp.
Gene Wilder’s performance as the titular character inWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factoryfrom 1971 is so iconic, and one of his best roles, that anybody who took on the role inTim Burton’s 2005 remake would have big shoes to fill. If one team, consisting of a visionary director in Burton, and a great character actor in Johnny Depp could pull it off, it was them. Their pairing has brought audiences some of the very best movies in Burton’s impressive back catalog, but althoughCharlie and the Chocolate Factoryis a lot of fun, Depp’s protagonist is its weakest element.
One person who wasn’t impressed with Burton’s remake was Gene Wilder, who said thatCharlie and the Chocolate Factorywas “an insult”. Wilder felt that there was no need for Hollywood to go back and remake the movie and that the reasons behind it were prominently financial. There’s no doubt some truth in this, but when you have a talented creative team behind a project, and a studio backing it with an eye-catching marketing campaign, there’s always the hope that they can get it right.
The production design is exactly what you’d expect from Tim Burton.
In the end, Tim Burton, and Disney, got their Willy Wonka remake largely right. Depp’s protagonist was designed so that he didn’t seem like a pale imitation of Gene Wilder’s classic Wonka. However, he was such a cartoonish version of the character that he almost became a caricature. Burton and Depp brought the character of Willy Wonka to life in vivid surroundings, but their main protagonist’s personality is split too far apart.
One minute, the audience is supposed to feel sorry for the wounded man-child, while at the same time, he doesn’t seem to care if the children he invites to the chocolate factory make it out alive. It’s a shame, as the rest of the movie works brilliantly;the production design is exactly what you’d expect fromTim Burton, and the chocolate factory looks deliciously good to eat. Plus, the squirrel scene is a hoot.
Sources:The New York Times
Tim Burton
Discover the latest news and filmography for Tim Burton, known for Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
