<p id=”par-1_45″>Tim Burton gave us some of the most visually striking <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/movies/”>movies</a> in Hollywood history — and coaxed some <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/was-johnny-depps-willy-wonka-based-on-michael-jackson.html/”>brilliant performances out of Johnny Depp</a>. Some of his films are rightly regarded as classics, while others are horribly overrated. Here’s a look at his five best.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-5-alice-in-wonderland”>5. ‘Alice in Wonderland’</h2>
<p id=”par-2_72″>Many Burton fans regard<em> Alice in Wonderland</em> as the beginning of his slide into mediocrity. They are dead wrong. Burton’s <em>Alice in Wonderland</em> is an emotionally affecting coming-of-age story about a young woman finding herself in a surreal world halfway between the artistic sensibilities of Walt Disney and H. R. Giger. As the Mad Hatter, Depp gives one of his most underrated performances, crafting a character who is both campy and tragic.</p>
<p id=”par-3_36″>Some fans of Lewis Caroll’s <em>Alice </em>books have complained that Burton took too many liberties with the source material. That’s fine. There are so many <em>Alice in Wonderland</em> films that we don’t need another faithful one.</p>
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<iframe title=”Alice In Wonderland – The Mad Hatter! (HQ)” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/rPK67tnsfZc?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-4-batman-returns”>4. ‘Batman Returns’</h2>
<p id=”par-4_41″>The 1989 film <em>Batman </em>returned the Caped Crusader to his dark roots, proved Burton could make a blockbuster, and revolutionized superhero movies forever. Its sequel isn’t as beloved. After all, it was darker than a lot of younger children could handle.</p>
<p id=”par-5_51″>While the storytelling in<em> </em><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/batman-the-scene-that-ended-tim-burtons-time-directing-the-movies.html/”><em>Batman Returns</em> is off-kilter</a>, the performances are pitch-perfect. <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/why-michelle-pfeiffer-put-a-live-bird-in-her-mouth-for-batman-returns.html/”>Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman</a> is one of the most gloriously strange characters ever to grace a Hollywood film. She’s so compelling that it becomes clear that Burton was more interested in her than Batman — and who could blame him?</p>
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<iframe title=”Batman saves Selina Kyle | Batman Returns (4k Remastered)” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/7h8stPIngBo?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-3-the-nightmare-before-christmas”>3. ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’</h2>
<p id=”par-6_72″><em><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-nightmare-before-christmas-danny-elfman-got-reveng-people-said-kids-dont-like-movie.html/”>The Nightmare Before Christmas</a></em> was directed by Henry Selick, and based on a story by Burton, who also produced the film. While Burton didn’t direct <em>The Nightmare Before Christmas</em>, it has his fingerprints all over it and it’s usually seen as a cornerstone of his filmography. In its small way, <em>The Nightmare Before Christmas </em>was a brave film, as it recast the lexicon of Christmas films into something Gothic and gleefully twisted.</p>
<p id=”par-7_37″><em>The Nightmare Before Christmas</em> works perfectly. It’s sweet enough and edgy enough to become a Christmas classic while pleasing the Goth subculture. Whether you love or hate Christmas, <em>The Nightmare Before Christmas i</em>s the movie for you.</p>
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<iframe title=”This Is Halloween (From Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas”)” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZVuToMilP0A?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-2-edward-scissorhands”>2. ‘Edward Scissorhands’</h2>
<p id=”par-8_48″>Burton’s best films always draw from fairytale optimism just as much as Universal Classic Monsters. Here, Burton made something that matched his influences, a beautiful retelling of the <em>Frankenstein </em>myth that speaks to the adolescent in all of us. Depp’s gentle character performance changed his career trajectory forever.</p>
<p id=”par-9_34″>Burton isn’t known for tearjerkers, but it’s hard not to be moved by the film’s final sequence. The best love stories are bittersweet. With <em>Edward Scissorhands</em>, Burton created his <em>Romeo and Juliet</em> or <em>Casablanca</em>.</p>
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<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Edward Scissorhands (1990) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/TBHIO60whNw?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-1-ed-wood”>1. ‘Ed Wood’</h2>
<p id=”par-10_51″>Hollywood often likes to portray itself as glamorous. With his biopic of notorious B-movie director Edward D. Wood, Jr., Burton found the poetry in the seedy underbelly of old-school exploitation cinema. Anyone who’s ever found joy in a cheesy monster movie will be tickled pink by the sweetness of <em>Ed Wood</em>.</p>
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<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Ed Wood Jr | Plan 9 from Outer Space 1957 | Colorized | Horror, Sci-Fi | Cult Film | subtitles” width=”925″ height=”694″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/37VERat3G7c?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-11_73″>Depp plays Wood almost as wonderfully as Martin Landau brought Bela Lugosi back from the grave. Together, they make one of cinema’s best buddy teams. <em>Ed Wood</em> isn’t exactly a work of history, but it lets Wood have the last laugh after a lifetime of hardship and derision. In a 2007 <a href=”https://www.gamesradar.com/the-total-film-interview-tim-burton/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Total Film</a> interview, Burton named <em>The Nightmare Before Christmas</em>, <em>Edward Scissorhands</em>, and <em>Ed Wood </em>as his best films — and he’s right.</p>