Tim Burton And Style Of His Films
Tim Burton was born on August 25th, 1958 in Burbank California. As a child, he was very interested in horror films, as we can see in the movies he has created. Burton majored in animation at the California Institution of Arts. He quickly started working as an animator for Disney. Once Burton left Disney he quickly branched out and began making his own films, he is most known for the movies in horror and fantasy including, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Burton's main inspiration was Dr. Suess, Edgar Allan Poe, and Roald Dahl. As we can see in the films he created or added to, Burton recreated Roald Dahl ́s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We can see his inspiration from Dr. Suess and Edgar Allan Poe when his films take a child-like fantasy story and mix them with a dark, mysterious, spooky story. In many of his films, Burton uses many cinematic techniques such as music or sound, flashbacks, and lighting or colors.
In the film, Edward Scissorhands there was a scene where Edward was helping Jim and his friends sneak into Jim’s dad's house, they told Edward it was someone who had stolen from them. When Edward was picking the lock on the door theme music got very suspenseful and loud, making the audience feel as if they had a reason to feel nervous as well. In a lot of Tim Burton films, each character will have their own music to display how the audience should feel about the character. For example, in Edward Scissorhands when Edward comes out of hiding in the corner the music becomes very spooky and dark making him seem demonic, or when Edward first sees Kim the music sound angelic making her seem like a princess. This technique is also seen in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for the kids who go into the factory. Charlie Bucket had a soft excited hum when he was on camera, Violet Beauregarde had sort of a sassy melody, and Augustus Gloop had a very loud and crazy beat.
In Burton’s films, you can also see when he used flashbacks to create a further understanding of a character or setting. Burton used flashbacks many times in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to get further information on the mysterious Willy Wonka. When the guests had first entered the factory they were amazed, they walked into the chocolate river room to come upon the oompa loompa. Willy Wonka then had a flashback to a mysterious place were very high up in the trees remained these whimsical creatures. Wonka climbed up the tree only to see a little orange almost human-looking creature sitting there stirring a bowl. In the bowl there was a green slime, the creature had insisted on Wonka trying the slimy goop. Wonka remembered his plan to start the factory and remembered how he would need helpers, so he made a deal. If he tried the slime the creatures would come work at the factory for a lifetime supply of chocolate. There is also a flashback in Edward Scissorhands when it goes back in time to the castle with the very odd professor. In the scene there is a man wearing a lab coat in a factory, the machines were all going off creating a big ruckus. The machines were making cookies, the man then stood up and took a cookie and the cookie was shaped like a human and seemed to have a heartbeat. The flashback then ended and it was back to Edward in a new place for him.
Tim Burton also used many colors to make his films creative and whimsical. For example in Edward Scissorhands, the neighborhood down below the castle was very unique. The houses coated in pastel blues, yellows, pinks, and greens are not something you see in houses in the real world. The owners of each house dressed the same pastel color as their house, which is also not something you see in the present. In the movie, Edward was also dressed very peculiarly, as he is dressed in all black. This made him seem demonic and not fit in with the neighborhood. Which leads to the suspicion he created later.
