Tim Burton Style Analysis

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How many people could twist a classic tale of Alice and Wonderland and turn it into an encapsulating motion picture of a whole new take of the story we all know and love. Tim Burton has directed some of the most extraordinary alternative films. Tim Burton has a stunningly detail oriented style of directing which is displayed through his meticulous costuming and settings. Firstly, in his films, Tim Burton uses costumes to enhance the plotline. For example, in Edward Scissor Hands, Edward, the protagonist, is costumed in tarnished black clothes. Not to mention his unruly black hair and a lightly, scarred, ghostly face. Edward is seen as different from his hands, depicted as rusty sheers, to his black attire. His hair makes him appear uncivilized …show more content…
This is, essentially where the conflict of the story is. Another example is in Alice and Wonderland. The exquisite costuming of the Mad Hater shows how his real character comes into play. It seems his whole costume is a play on his madness. First, his overly dramatic, over the top features, such as his hat, hair, and bow tie are to show his large, boisterous personality. His ratty old clothes makes us see his little sense of self, which accentuates, but doubles with his madness, selflessness. This progresses the storyline of the mad hatter as we learn his past throughout the story. Lastly, in The Nightmare Before Christmas the main character, Jack is seen in abnormal attire. First he is wearing white stripes, something Burton states as “grounding”. This character is seemingly “out there” and very imaginative and could use some necessary grounding. He wears lots of black which shows the darkness within, as in he lives in Halloween town and, therefore, is filled with inner darkness. His tight fitted clothes shows how skinny and boney he is. This, and his dark smile on his white face, make him …show more content…
For example, in the movie Edward Scissor Hands Burton uses a pastel colored, cookie cutter suburbia to make Edward stand out. The colored house contrast Edwards’s dark, ominous exterior to their fraudulence fences and their luscious landscaping. Also in the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Burton uses the sickeningly sweet concealment of a chocolate factory to secretly kill four ill-mannered children. This is contrast because if it was not for the brightly colored interior, filled with an assortment of edible trinkets then the children would be too weary to taste the delectable treats. Lastly in the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas Burton uses contrast to of a snowy, jolly, brightly lit town to make Jack stand out. The Christmas colors everywhere and the content town circled around a large fir shows that this town is different from the one Jack would have imagined. All of these contrasts help the story proceed. And without Burtons exquisite use of details, all of these contrast would be incompetently