1981–1987: Early work and breakthrough Stalk of the Celery Monster attracted the attention of
Walt Disney Productions, who offered Burton an animator's apprenticeship at its
animation division. While at Disney in 1982, Burton made his first short,
Vincent, a six-minute black-and-white
stop motion film based on a poem written by Burton, which depicts a young boy who fantasizes that he is his hero
Vincent Price, with Price himself providing narration. The film was produced by
Rick Heinrichs, whom Burton had befriended while working in the concept art department at Disney. The film was shown at the
Chicago Film Festival and released, alongside the teen drama
Tex, for two weeks in one Los Angeles cinema. This was followed by Burton's first live-action production,
Hansel and Gretel, a Japanese-themed adaptation of the
Brothers Grimm fairy tale for the
Disney Channel, which climaxes in a
kung fu fight between Hansel and Gretel and the witch. Having aired once in 1983 at 10:30 P.M. on Halloween and promptly shelved, prints of the film are extremely difficult to locate, fueling rumors that the project did not exist. The short would finally go on public display in 2009 at the
Museum of Modern Art, and again in 2011 as part of the Tim Burton art exhibit at
LACMA. It was again shown at the
Seoul Museum of Art in 2012. Burton's next live-action short film,
Frankenweenie, was released in 1984. It tells the story of a young boy who tries to revive his dog after it is run over by a car. Filmed in black-and-white, it stars
Barret Oliver,
Shelley Duvall (with whom he would work again in 1986, directing an episode of her television series
Faerie Tale Theatre), and
Daniel Stern. After
Frankenweenie was completed, Disney fired Burton, under the pretext of him spending the company's resources on a film that would be too dark and scary for children to see. Actor
Paul Reubens saw
Frankenweenie and chose Burton to direct the cinematic spin-off of his popular character
Pee-wee Herman, stating on the audio commentary of 2000 DVD release of ''Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' that as soon as the short began, he was sold on Burton's style. Pee-wee Herman gained mainstream popularity with a successful stage show at
The Groundlings and
the Roxy which was later turned into an
HBO special. The film, ''
Pee-wee's Big Adventure, was made on a budget of $8 million and grossed more than $40 million at the North American box office. Burton, a fan of the eccentric musical group Oingo Boingo, asked songwriter Danny Elfman to provide the music for the film. Since then, Elfman has scored every film that Tim Burton has directed, except for Ed Wood, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children''. In 1987, Burton contributed to the animated
Family Dog episode of the
Steven Spielberg-created anthology series
Amazing Stories. Written and directed by fellow Disney colleague and future
The Iron Giant (1999) and
The Incredibles (2004) director
Brad Bird, the episode followed the misadventures of a dog through his point of view as he encounters various shenanigans with the family that owns him. Burton would be responsible for handling character designs (which were reminiscent of the designs of Sparky from
Frankenweenie), and his longtime collaborator Elfman additionally provided music for the episode. In 1993,
Family Dog would be spun off into
its own series with Spielberg and Burton executive producing, though Bird had zero involvement; the series only lasted a single season on
CBS and was burned off in the summer of that year. Additionally, Burton directed episodes of the
1985 revival of the '50s/'60s anthology horror series
Alfred Hitchcock Presents and
Shelley Duvall's
Faerie Tale Theatre.
1988–1994: Batman films and acclaim Burton's next major film was
Beetlejuice (1988), a supernatural
comedy horror about a young couple forced to cope with life after death and the family of pretentious yuppies who invade their treasured New England home. Their teenage daughter, Lydia (
Winona Ryder), has an obsession with death which allows her to see the deceased couple. Starring
Alec Baldwin and
Geena Davis, and featuring
Michael Keaton as the title character, the film grossed $80 million on a relatively low budget and won the
Academy Award for Best Makeup. It was later adapted into an
animated TV series of the same name, with Burton playing a role as executive producer, that ran on
ABC and later the
Fox network. Burton's ability to produce hit films with low budgets impressed studio executives, and he received his first big-budget film,
Batman. The production was plagued with problems. Burton repeatedly clashed with the film's producers,
Jon Peters and
Peter Guber, but the most notable debacle involved casting. For the title role, Burton chose to cast Michael Keaton as
Batman following their previous collaboration in
Beetlejuice, despite Keaton's average physique, inexperience with action films, and reputation as a comic actor. Although Burton won in the end, the furor over the casting provoked enormous fan animosity, to the extent that Warner Brothers' share price slumped. Burton had considered it ridiculous to cast a "bulked-up" ultra-masculine man as Batman, insisting that Batman should be an ordinary man who dressed up in an elaborate bat costume to frighten criminals. Burton originally considered
Brad Dourif for the
Joker, but eventually cast
Jack Nicholson, in a move that helped assuage fans' fears, as well as attracting older audiences not as interested in a
superhero film. When the film opened in June 1989, it was backed by the biggest marketing and merchandising campaign in film history at the time, and became one of the biggest box office hits of all time, grossing over $250 million in the U.S. and $400 million worldwide (numbers not adjusted for inflation) and earning critical acclaim for the performances of both Keaton and Nicholson, as well as the film's production aspects, which won the Academy Award for
Best Art Direction. The success of the film helped establish Burton as a profitable director, and it proved to be a huge influence on future superhero films, which eschewed the bright, all-American heroism of
Richard Donner's
Superman for a grittier, more realistic look and characters with more psychological depth. It also served as a major inspiration for the acclaimed TV series
Batman: The Animated Series. Burton claimed that the graphic novel
Batman: The Killing Joke was a major influence on his film adaptation of
Batman: I was never a giant comic book fan, but I've always loved the image of Batman and the Joker. The reason I've never been a comic book fan – and I think it started when I was a child – is because I could never tell which box I was supposed to read. I don't know if it was
dyslexia or whatever, but that's why I loved
The Killing Joke, because, for the first time, I could tell which one to read. It's my favorite. It's the first comic I've ever loved. And the success of those graphic novels made our ideas more acceptable. for the character of Edward Scissorhands came from a drawing he created in high school. Depp wrote a similar comment in the foreword to Mark Salisbury's book,
Burton on Burton, regarding his first meeting with Burton over the casting of the film.
Edward Scissorhands is considered one of Burton's best movies by some critics. Burton has stated that this is his most personal and meaningful film because it is a representation of him not being able to communicate effectively with others as a teenager. After the success of
Batman, Burton agreed to direct the sequel for Warner Bros. on the condition that he would be granted total control. The result was
Batman Returns, which featured Michael Keaton returning as Batman, and a new triad of villains:
Danny DeVito (as
the Penguin),
Michelle Pfeiffer (as
Catwoman) and
Christopher Walken (as
Max Shreck, an evil corporate tycoon and original character created for the film). Somewhat darker and considerably more personal than its predecessor, concerns were raised that the film might be too scary for children. Audiences were more uncomfortable at the film's overt sexuality, personified by the sleek, fetish-inspired styling of Catwoman's costume. Burton made many changes to the Penguin which would subsequently be applied to the character in both comics and television. In the comics, the Penguin was an ordinary man; in the film, the Penguin resembles his namesake, possessing webbed, flipper-like fingers, a hooked, beak-like nose, and a short, rotund body. Burton also chose the artist who recorded the single for the movie soundtrack; he insisted that it be the band
Siouxsie and the Banshees with the song "
Face to Face". Released in 1992,
Batman Returns grossed $282.8 million worldwide, making it a financial success, though not to the extent of its predecessor. Due to schedule constraints on
Batman Returns, Burton produced, but did not direct,
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) for Disney, originally meant to be a children's book in rhyme. The film was directed by
Henry Selick and written by
Caroline Thompson, based on Burton's original story, world, and characters. The film received positive reviews for the stop motion animation, musical score, and original storyline. It was a modest box office success, grossing $50 million. Because of the nature of the film, it was not produced under Disney's name, but rather Disney-owned Touchstone Pictures. Disney wanted the protagonist to have eyes, but the final iteration did not. Over 100 people worked on this motion picture just to create the characters, and it took three years of work to produce the film. Burton noted he was unsure about returning to direct, writing: "I don't think Warner Bros. wanted me to direct a third
Batman. I even said that to them." Burton and Warner Bros. mutually agreed to part ways. To attract the young audience, it was decided that
Joel Schumacher would direct
the third film, whilst Burton would only produce it in conjunction with
Peter MacGregor-Scott, in which Burton was given top-billing producer credit, without being able to contribute ideas; only approving director and screenwriters. Following this change and the changes made by the new director, Michael Keaton resigned from the lead role and was replaced by
Val Kilmer. Filming for
Batman Forever began in late 1994 with new actors:
Tommy Lee Jones as Harvey Dent/Two-Face,
Nicole Kidman as Dr. Chase Meridian,
Chris O'Donnell as Dick Grayson/Robin and
Jim Carrey as Edward Nygma/The Riddler; the only two actors who returned after
Batman Returns were
Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon and
Michael Gough as Alfred Pennyworth. The film, a combination of the darkness that characterized the saga and colors and neon signs proposed by Schumacher, was a huge box office success, earning $336 million. Warner Bros. demanded that Schumacher delete some scenes so the film did not have the same tone as its predecessor,
Batman Returns (later they were added as deleted scenes on the 2005 DVD release).
1995–2010: Established director In 1996, Burton and Selick reunited for the musical fantasy
James and the Giant Peach, based on
the book by
Roald Dahl. Burton, once again, served only as a producer due to his contributions to making
Mars Attacks! (1996). The film, a combination of live action and stop motion footage, starred
Richard Dreyfuss,
Susan Sarandon,
David Thewlis,
Simon Callow and
Jane Leeves among others, with Selick's animation direction. While a box office disappointment for Disney, the film was received well by critics for its story and visual aspects and was nominated for the Academy Award for
Best Original Musical or Comedy Score (by
Randy Newman). Elfman and Burton reunited for
Mars Attacks!. Based on a popular
science-fiction trading card series, the film was a hybrid of 1950s science fiction and 1970s all-star disaster films. The coincidence made it an inadvertent spoof of the blockbuster
Independence Day, which had been released five months earlier. The film boasted an all-star cast, including
Jack Nicholson,
Glenn Close,
Annette Bening,
Danny DeVito,
Pierce Brosnan,
Michael J. Fox,
Sarah Jessica Parker,
Natalie Portman,
Lukas Haas,
Martin Short,
Rod Steiger,
Christina Applegate, and
Jack Black.
Sleepy Hollow, released in November 1999, had a supernatural setting and starred Johnny Depp as
Ichabod Crane, a detective with an interest in forensic science rather than the schoolteacher of
Washington Irving's
original tale. With
Sleepy Hollow, Burton paid homage to the horror films of the English company
Hammer Films.
Christopher Lee, one of Hammer's stars, was given a cameo role. A host of Burton regulars appeared in supporting roles (
Michael Gough,
Jeffrey Jones, and
Christopher Walken, among others), and
Christina Ricci was cast as Katrina van Tassel. A well-regarded supporting cast was headed by
Miranda Richardson,
Michael Gambon,
Richard Griffiths and
Ian McDiarmid. Mostly well received by critics, and with a special mention to Elfman's gothic score, the film grossed $207 million worldwide and won the
Academy Award for Best Art Direction, as well as two
BAFTAs for
Best Costume Design and
Best Production Design. A box office success,
Sleepy Hollow was also a turning point for Burton. Along with the change in his personal life (separation from actress
Lisa Marie), Burton changed radically in style for his next project, leaving the haunted forests and colorful outcasts behind to go on to directing
Planet of the Apes which, as Burton had repeatedly noted, was "not a remake" of the earlier film. at the première of
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in
Madrid, in 2007
Planet of the Apes was a commercial success, grossing $68 million in its opening weekend and eventually earning $180 million in North America and $362 million total worldwide. The film however, received mixed reviews and is widely considered inferior to
the first adaptation of
the novel. In 2003, Burton directed
Big Fish, based on the novel
Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by
Daniel Wallace. The film is about a father telling the story of his life to his son using exaggeration and color. Starring
Ewan McGregor as young Edward Bloom and
Albert Finney as an older Edward Bloom, the film also stars
Jessica Lange,
Billy Crudup,
Danny DeVito,
Alison Lohman and
Marion Cotillard.
Big Fish received four
Golden Globe nominations as well as an Academy Award nomination for Elfman's score. The film was also the second collaboration between Burton and
Helena Bonham Carter, who played the characters of Jenny and the Witch, and Burton and
Danny DeVito, who played circus ringleader Amos Calloway.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is an adaptation of the
book of the same name by Roald Dahl. Starring Johnny Depp as
Willy Wonka,
Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket, and
Deep Roy as the
Oompa-Loompas, the film generally took a more faithful approach to the source material than the 1971 adaptation,
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, although some liberties were taken, such as adding Wonka's issue with his father (played by Christopher Lee).
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was released in July 2005, grossed $475.8 million worldwide, and was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Costume Design. Filming the project proved difficult as Burton, Depp, and Danny Elfman had to work on this film and Burton's
Corpse Bride (2005) at the same time, which was Burton's first full-length stop motion film as a director, featuring the voices of Depp as Victor and Bonham Carter as Emily. Burton directed his first music video, "
Bones", in 2006. "Bones" is the sixth overall single by American indie rock band
The Killers and the second released from their second studio album, ''
Sam's Town''. Starring in this video were actors
Michael Steger and
Devon Aoki. Burton went on to direct a second music video for
The Killers, "
Here with Me", starring Winona Ryder, released in 2012. The
DreamWorks/
Warner Bros. project,
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, based on
the 1979 Broadway musical, was released on December 21, 2007, to critical acclaim and grossed $153 million worldwide. Burton's work on
Sweeney Todd won him the
National Board of Review Award for Best Director, received a Golden Globe nomination for
Best Director, and won the
Academy Award for Best Art Direction. The film blends explicit gore and Broadway tunes and was well received by critics, with
Time calling the film "bloody great." Johnny Depp's performance as the murderous barber
Sweeney Todd was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2005, filmmaker
Shane Acker released his short film
9, a story about a sentient rag doll living in a post-apocalyptic world who tries to stop machines from destroying the rest of his eight fellow rag dolls. The film won numerous awards and was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. After seeing the short film, Tim Burton and
Timur Bekmambetov, director of
Wanted, showed interest in producing a
feature-length adaptation of the film. Directed by Acker, the full-length film was produced by Burton, written by Acker (story) and
Pamela Pettler (screenplay, co-writer of
Corpse Bride), and featured the voice work of
Elijah Wood,
John C. Reilly,
Jennifer Connelly,
Christopher Plummer,
Martin Landau, and
Crispin Glover, among others. '' at
Comic-Con, 2009 Burton appeared at the 2009
Comic-Con in San Diego, California, to promote both
9 and
Alice in Wonderland; the latter won two Academy Awards, for
Best Art Direction and
Best Costume Design. In Burton's version of
Alice in Wonderland, the story is set 13 years after the
original Lewis Carroll tales.
Mia Wasikowska was cast as
Alice. The original start date for filming was May 2008.
Torpoint and
Plymouth were the locations used for filming from September 1 to October 14, and the film remains set in the
Victorian era. During this time, filming took place in
Antony House in Torpoint. 250 local
extras were chosen in early August. Other production work took place in London. The film was originally to be released in 2009, but was pushed to March 5, 2010. The film starred Johnny Depp as the
Mad Hatter,
Matt Lucas as both
Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Helena Bonham Carter as the
Red Queen,
Stephen Fry as the
Cheshire Cat,
Anne Hathaway as the
White Queen,
Alan Rickman as Absolem the Caterpillar,
Michael Sheen as
McTwisp the White Rabbit, and
Crispin Glover as the
Knave of Hearts, with his face and voice added onto a CGI body. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film was a commercial success, grossing $1 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of Burton's career. Burton produced the film's sequel,
Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), which was directed by
James Bobin. The film received generally negative reviews from critics and
bombed at the box office, losing the studio an estimated $70 million.
2011–2021: Career fluctuations Burton began filming
Dark Shadows, a feature film adaptation of the 1960s television series
of the same name, in May 2011. In addition to starring Burton regulars Depp and Bonham Carter, the film saw Burton reunite with
Batman Returns star
Michelle Pfeiffer, while Burton once again collaborated with composer
Danny Elfman, production designer
Rick Heinrichs, and costume designer
Colleen Atwood. The film was released on May 11, 2012, and grossed $245 million worldwide from a $150 million budget. Burton also co-produced
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter with
Timur Bekmambetov, who also served as director (they previously worked together in
9). The film, released on June 22, 2012, was based on the
novel by screenwriter and novelist
Seth Grahame-Smith, who wrote the film's screenplay and also authored
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The film starred
Benjamin Walker as
Abraham Lincoln,
Anthony Mackie as
William H. Johnson,
Joseph Mawle as Lincoln's father
Thomas,
Robin McLeavy as Lincoln's mother,
Nancy, and
Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Lincoln's love interest (and later wife),
Mary Ann Todd. The film received mixed reviews and performed poorly at the box office. He then
remade his 1984 short film
Frankenweenie as a feature-length
stop motion film, distributed by
Walt Disney Pictures. Burton has said, "The film is based on a memory that I had when I was growing up and with my relationship with a dog that I had." The film was released on October 5, 2012, and met with positive reviews. Burton directed the 2014 biographical drama film
Big Eyes about American artist
Margaret Keane (
Amy Adams), whose work was fraudulently claimed in the 1950s and 1960s by her then-husband,
Walter Keane (
Christoph Waltz), and their heated divorce trial after Margaret accused Walter of stealing credit for her paintings. The script was written by the screenwriters behind Burton's
Ed Wood,
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. Filming began in
Vancouver, British Columbia, in mid-2013. The film was distributed by The Weinstein Company and released in U.S. theaters on December 25, 2014. It received generally positive reviews from critics. Burton entered talks to direct a film adaptation of the fantasy novel ''
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, written by Ransom Riggs, in November 2011. The film, starring Asa Butterfield, Eva Green, and Samuel L. Jackson, was released in theatres by 20th Century Fox on September 30, 2016. Burton also directed a live-action adaptation of the Disney animated film Dumbo'', released on March 29, 2019, with
Colin Farrell,
Danny DeVito,
Eva Green, and
Michael Keaton starring. The film grossed $353 million worldwide against a $170 million budget and combined production and advertising costs of $300 million, ultimately losing money.
2022–present: Wednesday and resurgence , at a press for
Wednesday (season 2) in South Korea, 2025 In February 2021, it was announced that Burton would be directing and producing
Wednesday, a series for
Netflix based on the
titular character from
The Addams Family starring
Jenna Ortega and
Christina Ricci. This marked Burton's first foray into directing television since the 1980s. He helmed four episodes in the first season, which began production in September 2021 for a November 2022 release. The show was released to critical acclaim, and was renewed for a second season in January 2023, which premiered in August 2025. In October 2022, Burton announced that he would probably never work with
The Walt Disney Company again after
Dumbo, due to his distinctive style and working approach not matching with what Disney is currently looking for, with its focus on
Pixar,
Marvel and
Lucasfilm. He stated that "It's gotten to be very homogenized, very consolidated. There's less room for different types of things". In July 2012, It was announced that Burton was working with
Seth Grahame-Smith on
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a project he had been considering making since 1990. Actor
Michael Keaton also expressed interest in reprising his role as the title character along with
Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz. In October 2017,
Deadline Hollywood reported that Mike Vukadinovich was hired to write a script in time for the film's 30th anniversary. In April 2019, Warner Bros. stated the sequel had been shelved. In February 2022, however, the sequel was announced again, with
Brad Pitt's
Plan B Entertainment producing alongside Warner Bros. Though Burton initially said that he was not involved, he later backtracked,
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice opened the
81st Venice International Film Festival and was theatrically released on September 6, 2024. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $452 million worldwide. In 2025, it was announced that Burton would direct a remake of the 1958 science fiction film
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman for
Warner Bros. Multiple industry reports indicated that
Margot Robbie was in early talks to produce and star in the project through her production company
LuckyChap Entertainment. Originally, novelist and screenwriter
Gillian Flynn was attached to write the first draft of the screenplay, but she exited the project due to other commitments by August 2025. In January 2026, it was announced that Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMehan would now write the screenplay. On December 18, 2025, rapper and actor
A$AP Rocky revealed that he will collaborate on his next film with Burton, who also illustrated the cover art for his fourth studio album ''
Don't Be Dumb (2026). In addition to his work on Wednesday'', Burton's later career has included a number of professional activities that reflect his ongoing influence in film and television. In an interview with
The Hollywood Reporter, Burton explained that the digital age and streaming platforms allowed him to explore narrative forms not possible in traditional feature films, noting that his visual style adapted well to episodic structures. Industry analysts cited Burton's involvement with
Wednesday as a factor in renewed interest from
studios and collaborators in adapting other classic intellectual properties.
Variety reported that studios viewed his return to serialized television as part of a broader trend of established filmmakers embracing streaming formats to reach global audiences. Beyond television, Burton has continued to be associated with feature film projects and adaptations. In 2024, Burton's feature
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival to generally positive reviews, with
The Guardian noting that the film blended elements of Burton's established visual sensibilities with contemporary narrative rhythms, contributing to its commercial success and grossing over $450 million worldwide. Commentators have argued that Burton's career in the 2020s reflects a broader shift in Hollywood toward hybrid models of filmmaking that span streaming television and legacy feature films, noting that his sustained relevance demonstrates adaptability and ongoing demand for his distinctive creative voice. A feature in
The New York Times described his later work as an example of how mainstream directors can successfully navigate both streaming and theatrical domains, particularly when engaging with franchise intellectual properties adapted for global audiences. == Unreleased projects ==