Miss Peregrine Burton Film Analysis

In the world, society teaches people to fear the unknown. Tim Burton uses many techniques to show a misfit character and would agree that there are many misfits in the world. In Burton’s films he shows that those misfits are looked down on and shamed upon. In Burton’s films he uses the style elements of misfit protagonists and snobby antagonists to convey to the viewers that society wrongly teaches people to fear the unknown.

In the films of Tim Burton, the antagonists are always troublesome, self-absorbed, and ill-mannered, while the protagonists are always the outsiders. Burton, director of many movies such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands, Frankenweenie and much more, makes the protagonists outcasts because “‘It’s important to feel like you live or understand the character.’ [...] Like young Victor, Burton grew up feeling isolated in the suburbs, with emotionally-distant parents and a beloved dog, bullied in school and probably a bit depressed…”(Hollywood Reporter). The great contrast between the protagonists and the antagonists convey the tone for how he perceives the world and the people in it. In the films Edward Scissorhands and

Princess films are beloved classics that range from the beloved Disney franchise, to live action films such as the Princess Diaries, to historical tales as those seen is polish films. No matter what the format or genre these films typically have a prince searching for his love the princess and contain recurring scenes. The film The Princess Bride offers a new comedic approach to this classic genre. While scholars have explored how princess films are able to succeed through the use ideas such as nostalgia or nationalism, The Princess Bride succeeds through the use of comedy. Through the use of comedic devices such as mistaken identity, absurdity, and good old-fashioned slapstick comedy, The Princess Bride is able to parody the traditional

Edward Scissorhands, written by Tim Burton, tells the tale of a young man who is lovable, childlike and sensitive, bewildered by the humanity around him, yet is terrifying- someone who has scissors, the deadly weaponry, for hands. Many viewers may read this film as a “Tim Burton” type of fairytale which includes both an alternative aspect and romance. However, through the presentation of mise-en-scene in this film, Burton drives in a much more serious subject of social criticism by establishing two different understandings of life in the movie.

Tim Burton’s gothic drama film Edward Scissorhands explores what is immoral with our society. A present issue with humanity is people who are different are encouraged to conform. In addition, society plays by the rules and follow societal norms rather than listening to their hearts. Most importantly, humans are cruel and exploit those who are vulnerable for their own benefit. Through the use of film techniques, Burton proposes the faults in humanity and the brutal nature of humans.

Tim Burton’s fictional worlds are ones of clear compartmentalization, quite often between literal shades of black and white. Through visual contrasts the audience is not only drawn into the plot, but also given explicit messages about how to interpret the actions and motives of the characters. His macabre art style and purposeful storytelling both hint at his rejection of the status quo; throughout his stories he reinforces the idea that normality is not synonymous with morality through the use of stark lighting contrast, yin and yang style settings, and costumes that are polarly different.

Tim Burtons gothically themes fairytale like story of an uncommonly gentle man in the film Edward Scissorhands, allows, through the eyes of Edward himself, the audience’s unconscious to live his emotions vicariously, allowing the exploration of our own society and anxieties. To analyse the heart of this film it must be looked at Edward’s own childhood misfortunes and consequences, the system of the society that deems him an unholy monster, and typical American relationships of the 1950’s.

The film ‘Edward Scissorhands’ by Tim Burton, is a modern day fairy tale which follows the story of Edward, a young man that is taken out of isolation and introduced into a new way of life. Although the film is for entertainment, that is not its sole purpose. The film has deep and rich themes, which convey many important messages to the audience. Some themes of the film include; conformity, appearances versus reality and individuality.

Burton once said, “I think the atmosphere that I grew up in, yes, there was a subtext of normalcy. I don’t even know what the word means, but it’s stuck in my brain. It’s weird. I don’t know if it’s specifically American, or American in the time I grew up, but there’s a very strong sense of categorization and conformity.” This experience of having to conform is reflected in Burton’s work. For example, in Edward Scissorhands Edward, who dressed in dark colors, conformed to the neighborhood by putting on brighter colored clothes and changing his style. Using lighting, angles, and sound Burton’s unique style conveys that one should not have to hide one’s differences to be accepted.

Since society judges people based on how they are on the outside, people often feel that to be happy, they have to conform to society’s standards. There are people who are affected by the rules of society, and there are those who are not. Tim Burton is one of these people, because he went against the grain, and decided that he didn’t need to go along with society to be happy. Burton uses imagery, long shot, and juxtaposition in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Edward Scissorhands to show that people don’t have to conform to society’s standards to be content.

A style of lighting where a scene is flooded with shadows and darkness, creating suspense or suspicion is called low key lighting. For example, in his movie Edward Scissorhands, the scenery of the mansion where Peg explores and then later discovers Edward is dark and creepy. This shows that the low key lighting gave the audience a sense that Edward is scary when he really is friendly. Another example from his movie Edward Scissorhands is when Edward and Jim argue and fight in Edward’s dark and creepy mansion. This illustrates the dim and sad lighting that Tim Burton loves to use is displayed when they are fighting.

The plot of the movie Cinderella Man, was set during the Great Depression. James Braddock, who is Cinderella Man is a boxing champion. James has to give up boxing due to breaking his hand in the ring. James and his family no longer have a lot of money and he has to go get a job. Thousands of people are outside of this workplace wanting a job and a man comes out and only picks a few and lucky enough, James was one of them. He is unable to get work everyday and there was a cancellation by another boxer that allowed him to be able to get back in the ring. No one thought he would be able to do it, but he came through and was winning. The man he was fighting had already killed two others while in the ring. He eventually was able to

In my essay I am going to reference two films, Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Vincent (1982), directed by Tim Burton. Edward Scissorhands, is Tim Burton’s take on the Frankenstein story. We can clearly see the influences that have appealed to Tim Burton in the classic Frankenstein (1931) was not the character’s monstrousness appeal but the sense of sad sorrow that audiences sympathized to in Boris Karloff’s performance. Whereas in Tim Burton’s vision, we see a “Special” character as the Frankenstein Monster, in the similar way that we call people with disabilities Special. And then we have Vincent, a short stop-motion animation. The short film itself is an entertaining aspect of a suburban boy named Vincent who recites Edgar Ellen Poe and categorizes with Horror film star, Vincent Price. With similarities to Edward Scissorhands, the main character is a chance for Tim Burton to represent himself on the screen as a tortured boy, outsider and artist. I am going to discuss how cultural and psychological concerns are represented through characterization, art direction, cinematography, and sound. I will support my discussion by analyzing a reflection on both the similarities and differences between the two films, and whether a distinctive “Burton” signature (aesthetics, cultural and psychological concerns) is evident.

In the words of Tim Burton, “One person’s craziness is another person’s reality.” This is the truth for the magical movies he has put together. Burton grew up different from others; he was an outcast from the people around him. Enjoying B movies, he would watch them a great deal. Out of all the characters, Burton preferred the monsters or strange creatures. Some inspirations to him are Edgar Allen Poe, Roald Dahl, and Vincent Price. He frowns upon conformity, for he prefers individuality. What is normal to Burton could be completely wild to another. In Tim Burton’s distinctive films, he uses symbolism and the comparison of individuality and conformity to emphasize the purity of an outsider.

Tim Burton once said, “My parents suffered from that ideal of a perfect nuclear family. They found that a difficult pressure, I think”. Tim Burton is a famous filmmaker who sometimes incorporates his life into his films. Tim was an odd child in that he liked being alone and spending his time in a graveyard. In his childhood, he was the outsider in a “perfect” world. People can judge him on his odd and different childhood. That is what he tries to teach in his films. In both Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Edward Scissorhands, Burton reveals that society wrongly judges those who do not fit in.