These 13 Fan-Favorite Tim Burton Movies Still Hold Up

Tim Burton is the filmmaker who introduced mainstream audiences to goth culture with his whimsical movies that celebrate outsiders and those who don’t quite fit in. Just as his long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice hits theaters in time for Halloween, now is the season to celebrate the Burton movies that still resonate with fans years later.

Originally an animator and illustrator, Burton made his feature directorial debut with 1985’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. The fantastical horror-comedy Beetlejuice showcased Burton’s trademark style, which led to him ushering the modern superhero age with 1989’s Batman. Even though he didn’t direct A Nightmare Before Christmas, the iconic characters he created for that stop-motion classic appear on merchandise and memorabilia everywhere to this day.

Although Burton had some misses such as Planet of the Apes and Dumbo, many of his movies have become cult favorites that fans rewatch annually. Which of these Burton movies have you seen more than once?

Beetlejuice (1988)

The fantasy-comedy Beetlejuice is about a recently deceased ghost couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who hire a morally bankrupt bio-exorcist named Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to rid their house of its new owners.

Winona Ryder perfectly embodies Lydia Deetz, a teenage goth who at one point says, “Live people ignore the strange and unusual. I, myself, am strange and unusual.” Although Burton’s Beetlejuice itself is purposely strange and unusual, the beloved PG movie isn’t scary so much as playfully weird and fun.

Ryder returns as elder goth Lydia Deetz with a daughter (Jenna Ortega) of her own in the long-overdue 2024 sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, also directed by Burton.

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

In Edward Scissorhands, Johnny Depp plays the titular artificial person with scissors for hands who lives with a suburban family and falls in love with their teen daughter (Winona Ryder).

Depp and Ryder were once a real-life couple, which gives this magical modern fairy tale authentic chemistry. Unlike her character in Burton’s Beetlejuice, Ryder plays a fairly conventional-looking teen in Edward Scissorhands.

It’s Edward with his pale face, gravity-defying shock of tangled black hair, and black leather suit who looks like a goth outcast. Looking at Burton and his own mop of messy salt-and-pepper hair and black wardrobe, you can’t help but think that the misunderstood Edward reflects how the director sees himself.

Batman Returns (1992)

Burton’s second and final Batman movie stars Michael Keaton as the Dark Knight, Danny DeVito as the Penguin, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman.

Just watch Pfeiffer in her skintight, black patent leather costume saying, “I am Catwoman, hear me roar,” and you’ll immediately understand why Batman Returns became every goth’s favorite superhero movie. The Penguin also attracts a number of goth groupies in the appropriately named Gotham City in the movie. If all that weren’t enough, Siouxsie and the Banshees perform the movie’s darkly romantic theme song, “Face to Face,” which became a staple at goth clubs for decades.

Fans wished that Pfeiffer would return in a sequel or spin-off, but Burton didn’t direct the next Batman movie, Batman Forever, and Halle Berry played the character — and won a Razzie for Worst Actress — for her performance in Catwoman. Ask anyone who their favorite cinematic Catwoman is and most will say Pfeiffer was purr-fect.

Ed Wood (1994)

In this biographical comedy-drama, Johnny Depp plays Ed Wood — the crossdressing, cult film director of Glen or Glenda and Plan 9 From Outer Space, the latter of which is considered the worst film ever made. The biopic explores Wood’s special friendship with Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau) during the latter’s sad final years.

Burton’s black-and-white masterpiece Ed Wood is one of his best-reviewed films and one that explores an actual real-life outcast instead of, say, a self-isolating superhero or a man with scissors for hands. Martin won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing the man who played Dracula, and Ed Wood also won the Academy Award for Best Makeup.

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

This loose adaptation of Washington Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” stars Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane, a police constable sent from New York to the village of Sleepy Hollow to investigate claims of a Headless Horseman (Christopher Walken) terrorizing the community.

Burton knows how to establish a gothic atmosphere, and Sleepy Hollow delivers with its foggy forest roads, creepy covered bridges, a terrifying Crone Witch, and an imposing dead tree with twisted branches and gnarled roots from which the Horseman emerges. Depp nails his role as Crane, a skittish man fascinated by forensic science yet uncomfortable at the sight of blood and gore.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is based on Roald Dahl’s classic 1964 novel of the same name. Depp, Burton’s muse, plays the eccentric, somewhat creepy candymaker named Wonka, while a young Freddie Highmore plays the impoverished titular boy who wins a golden ticket to visit Wonka’s chocolate factory.

Like many of Burton’s best movies, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory features a committed, oddball performance by Depp and demented characters such as the Oompa-Loompas, who burst into hilarious, random musical numbers. Screen legend Christopher Lee is unforgettable as Wonka’s father — a dentist who disapproves of his son’s career of promoting tooth decay via sugary confections.

Corpse Bride (2005)

Burton and Mike Johnson co-directed this 2005 stop-motion musical fantasy based on whimsical characters created by the former. Set in Victorian era England, Corpse Bride features the voice of Johnny Depp as Victor — a young man who unintentionally pledges himself to Emily the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter) while practicing his wedding vows near Emily’s final resting place in the forest.

Corpse Bride flips expectations by depicting the Land of the Living as gray and dreary, while the Land of the Dead is colorful and full of music and dancing. Despite Corpse Bride‘s macabre title, children embraced the PG movie as an annual Halloween favorite. The Academy even nominated Corpse Bride for the Best Animated Feature Oscar.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

This rare musical slasher movie is based on the Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler stage musical of the same name. Johnny Depp — who else? — stars as the titular barber turned serial killer in Victorian England. Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) helps dispose of the bodies by processing them for her popular meat pies.

With the director’s signature goth visual style and Depp doing what he does best, Tim Burton somehow lured his fans to see Sweeney Todd even if they loathed musicals, which is no small feat if you’ve heard overcooked, Broadway-style songs such as “Pretty Women” and “Not While I’m Around.” The stylish movie won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Tim Burton’s adaptation of Alice in Wonderland stars Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Mia Wasikowska as Alice, and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. When we go down the rabbit hole with Alice, Wonderland comes to life with weird and wonderful characters from the mind of author Lewis Carroll, which align with Burton’s sensibilities.

Burton immerses viewers with a combination of live-action and computer animation to distort the proportions of the Red Queen’s head and other elements in Wonderland, which gives the movie a surreal, fever-dream feel that fans wanted to experience multiple times.

Alice in Wonderland made more than $1 billion at the box office and spawned an inferior live-action/animated sequel, 2016’s Alice Through the Looking Glass, which Burton did not direct but again starred Depp, Wasikowska, and Bonham Carter.

Dark Shadows (2012)

Dark Shadows is Burton’s film adaptation of the gothic 1960s soap opera of the same name. Johnny Depp stars as Barnabas Collins — an 18th-century vampire who awakens in 1972 to help his descendants restore the family business.

Although critics were divided about Dark Shadows, the dark fantasy with comedic elements features another all-in performance by Depp as one of Burton’s trademark weirdos and several supporting performances that make it worth a watch.

Fans would have rather seen Pfeiffer reprise her role as Catwoman in a Burton film, but she is alluring here as family matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. An ever-game Eva Green devours scenery as Angelique “Angie” Bouchard — a vengeful witch with the hots for Barnabas. Also, Christopher Lee makes his fifth and final appearance in a Burton film with a small role as the “king of fishermen” who haunts a local pub.

Frankenweenie (2012)

A simultaneous parody of and homage to Frankenstein, Frankenweenie follows a young lad named Victor Frankenstein who uses the power of lightning to bring his dearly departed dog Sparky back to life. When other children use Victor’s scientific discovery to resurrect their deceased animals, their small town is overrun with zombie pets.

Frankenweenie earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Film. Losing a pet is something almost every child will experience, and Frankenweenie tackles the difficult subject with compassion and Burton’s patented movie magic.

Big Eyes (2014)

The biographical drama Big Eyes stars Amy Adams as Margaret Keane — an American painter whose paintings of people with oversized eyes became a sensation in the ’60s. Christoph Waltz portrays Margaret’s jealous second husband who tries to take all the credit for her work. Look for the real Keane in a cameo sitting on a park bench.

Adams won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for her portrayal of Keane, who died in 2022.

Although Burton fans may seem more excited about a second season of Wednesday and the long-awaited Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Big Eyes is a rare, emotional biographical drama that fans should check out by the director best known for his fantastical films.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

The fantasy film Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is based on the 2011 novel by Ransom Riggs. Eva Green plays Miss Alma LeFay Peregrine, the headmistress of the titular school for children with special abilities, who herself has the ability to transform into a peregrine falcon and, more impressively, manipulate time to protect her students. Asa Butterfield plays a 16-year-old boy who stumbles upon the magical home and its denizens, while future Fallout star Ella Purnell plays a “Peculiar” who is literally lighter than air.

Many viewed Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children as a return to Burton’s signature style and the director reclaiming his role as the patron saint of outsiders. The imaginative special effects, especially when viewed in 3D, are Burton at his visual best.