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Tim Burton was born in Burbank, California, on August 25th, 1958. His parents are Bill Burton and Jean Burton. Tim Burton would spend his childhood feeling reclusive and different from other kids. He loved to draw and watch Monster Movies from Universal Studios. He would also grow up to be inspired by actor Vincent Price and Animator/Director Ray Harryhausen.
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Burton attended CalArts after high school, earning a scholarship towards their new "Disney Animation" program. He says he was lucky and was there at the right time. -
Burton scored an apprenticeship with Disney, with his animated short Stalk of the Celery Monster. Which would make him leave CalArts before getting his degree. He would work at Disney as an animator, concept artist, and storyboard artist. -
This film was Tim Burton's first short ever directed while he worked at Disney. This short film is based upon a poem the Burton wrote and follows a character named Vincent. This seven year old boy wants to be just like Vincent Price which was one of Tim Burton's inspirations as a kid. The short film is even narrated by Vincent Price himself. -
Tim Burton's Frankenweenie is a sci-fi comedy horror short film. It is inspired by the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It follows a child named Victor Frankenstein, who brings his dead dog sparky back to life. This film would have Disney fire Burton because it was too scary for their family audience and didn't fit their image. Burton had previously struggled with fitting with Disney's style of movies and animation. But soon later this film would help him get a life changing opportunity. -
Paul Reubens who plays Pee-wee Herman was looking for someone to direct this Warner Bros film. He landed on Tim Burton because he was recommended by two friends, one being the fantastic Shelley Duvall. Which she was starred in Frankenweenie. So once Burton got the offer from Ruebens he accepted it. And this was his first debut feature film he directed. The film had mixed reviews but became a comedy classic. This is due to Burton's outstanding direction and Reubens amazing performance. -
This film would establish Tim Burton's unique creepy cartoony aesthetic. This film had a thirteen million budget. It would end up earning seventy three million dollars. It was also the tenth highest grossing film of that year. This film would continue to win an Oscar for "Best Makeup and Hair." -
This year, Warner Bros' Batman (1989) would be the biggest box office hit. It would end up grossing 400 million dollars, making it the first superhero movie to do so. Tim Burton would bring Michael Keaton, who previously starred as Beetlejuice, to play Batman. Burton did so because he believed Keaton could capture the essence of Batman's obsessiveness and overall character. -
This film would be one of Tim Burton's most personal films. It is inspired by his childhood and a drawing he made as a child. The drawing was an early concept of Edward representing his feelings of isolation and being an outcast. This film would also spark the great partnership between Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, who would continue to star in many more films by Burton. This film would also continue his "Burtonesque" aesthetic. -
Tim Burton produced the story of The Nightmare Before Christmas along with the characters in the movie. The movie was mainly based on a poem that Burton had written previously. He made a deal with Disney to produce it. During the movie production, he was working on directing Batman Returns, so his friend Henry Selick directed Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. This movie took approximately three years to make. It started production in 1991 and was released in 1993. -
Mars Attacks was a hiccup in Tim Burton's career. It was unsuccessful at the box office, only making $37.7 million. A factor of this was that it was supposed to be released in the summer, but ended up being released in the winter. Also, it had lots of competition with films like 101 Dalmations, Star Trek: First Contact, Ransom, and The Preacher's Wife. Also, a fun fact is that initially, Tim wanted to make the aliens stop motion, but the budget was cut, and the idea was scrapped. -
After Tim's stumble in his career with the film Mars Attacks! He got right back up and produced Sleepy Hollow. This film retells Washington Irving's story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." This film would end up winning an Academy Award for Best Art Direction. It grossed over $207 million with a budget of $70 million. -
Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter were a big couple in Hollywood and had a long partnership. Tim and Helena were in a romantic relationship for 13 years, never married. Through those years, they worked on many films together; she starred in seven. They first met while working on Planet of the Apes in 2001 and started dating after filming. Later on, they would have two kids, Billy Raymond Burton and Nell Burton. Unfortunately, they broke up in 2014, which would be devastating for them both. -
In London on October 3rd, 2003, Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter's first child was born. Billy Raymond Burton was named after both of his grandfathers. He is also the godson of Johnny Depp. -
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride was directed by Tim Burton and co-directed by Mike Johnson. The film took 55 weeks to produce and was filmed digitally. The movie has his two iconic actors voicing the main characters: Helena Bonham Carter as Emily and. Johnny Depp as Victor. This movie received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature but lost to Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit. It did receive a Saturn Award for Best Animated Feature. -
In London, on December 15th, 2007, Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter's second child was born. Nell was named in homage to all the Helens in Helena's side of the family. Nell's mother's name is Helena, her grandmother's name is Elena, and her great-grandmother's name is Helene. -
This film is an adaptation of the 1979 musical. Tim had his regular actors, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, starring as the leads. They filmed in London, where he filmed Batman, because it felt most at home to him. Tim also made the adaptation more bloody because he thought it was an "emotional release," and the musical held back too much. This choice would lead the film to not be a hit, for it was gory, but it did reach #5 in the box office and won an Oscar for Best Art Direction. -
Tim Burton returned to work with Disney to recreate Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" into live action. This film would end up being his personal highest-grossing film ever. This film grossed up to 1.025 billion dollars worldwide. -
Tim Burton would be an executive producer on Netflix's series Wednesday and would direct four episodes in seasons one and two. He would bring his aesthetic vision into the show. Later in 2025, when season two was released, he would include stop motion animation in an episode. This animation would resemble his old short film, Vincent. -
Tim Burton would revisit Beetlejuice and make a sequel, Beetlejuice 2, thirty-six years later. He did this because he wanted to do it for personal reasons to show what happens when you grow old. He does this by bringing back actors from the original movie, most notably Winona Ryder, who played Lydia Deetz, and who now has a daughter, Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega. This shows the conflict between parent and child, and how Lydia is now the lame parent, while Astrid is the cool teen.