Tim Burton has been successful in finding his way through the creative world for over forty years, mainly since 1988’s Beetlejuice dragged us willingly into the Neitherworld and, in a twisted way, we’ve never wanted to leave. While the description ‘Burtonesque’ can be used in other filmmakers inspired by his work, I imagine he doesn’t especially like the term, yet there’s no doubt that the imaginative worlds he’s created are wonderfully unique – and if imitated, that’s usually a positive thing. His merging of Gothic horror with fantasy, alongside comic comments on lives inside, and outside, of suburbia, have launched antiheroes like Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, he’s left an indelible mark by changing superhero films forever with 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns, not forgetting wide-scope storytelling with Big Fish, Mars Attacks! and Sleepy Hollow, as well as the animation and stop-motion work of the likes of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie to consequentially created a genre unlike any other, and that’s just mentioning his movie making.
The World of Tim Burton is currently running at the Design Museum in London, it’s not too short a walk from High Street Kensington Underground Station, and I headed along last week to get inside the mind of the mighty Burton, and it surpassed my hopes and expectations. While he’s certainly had peaks and troughs of success, that inimitable aesthetic has always impressed me, and I still even recall my brief meeting with the man himself, and even had a chance to shake his hand and say ‘thank you’, despite nearly completely geeking out and being generally in awe – and he was very gracious in return.
Whatever your individual level of Burton fandom, I immensely advocate The World of Tim Burton at the Design Museum, not just for the filmic side either because although this certainly has its main focus on his talents in that arena, but there’s also a virtuously beautiful dark deep dive into the designs of his filmmaking alongside a closer look at how the productions came to be, alongside with a first-hand look into his books, sculptures, photography and more, and beyond again.
Starting at the beginning, which we don’t always have to do, the exhibition takes us back to those early days of a young Burton, and what’s particularly interesting is how much we get to see and learn about Tim growing up, and his success even in a smaller town sense. We crawl inside his mind to see how it develops through his artwork, and you’ll learn of how his envisioned his characters in a much more literal way than anticipated, and you come away thinking that he’s even more of a special talent than you already recognized.
For me, there’s something so normal about his weirdness, and the exhibition shows you that he was actually quite lucky that he was able to expand and create when he was younger, including local fame and bin lorry designs as a kid (and other competitions), because the world would be a lot duller without his vision. Inspired by Vincent Price and the era of all things monster, you get to see his personal growth into his art and how he eventually found his own place in the industry.
I particularly enjoy seeing firsthand his sketches on paper napkins, fully framed and displayed, and there are so many, all referencing different things but all inventing or cathartically sharing something he’s needed to expel from his imagination. You can embrace and immerse in the beautifully melancholic weirdness as much as you like, and I mean that in all the best ways. I wonder if Tim had grown up in an era like now, if he’d been differently received, but he also broke out of the suburbia of his youth, embracing his talents and thankfully other creatives of the time saw that potential and let him have a free reign, even if there’s a middle moment where Disney really didn’t know what to do with him, he still rebuilt, realigned his mind, and kept on.
Amongst this, you also get an early look at sketches from the likes of The Black Cauldron and a vast selection of other creative output he either worked on or put out ideas for. You’ll see that early Disney-training, and then what it becomes as he (thankfully) couldn’t hold onto his own desires and that need to create characters that are the visual representation of mood, emotion, and mental health – in so many varying ways – are all on display.
I also enjoyed seeing the recreation of his working desk, and how he likes to take the setup on the road, for when the creative sketching brain takes hold. And once you get inside further, you’re witness to a breakdown of most of his film in different sections, where the original props or costumes still exist – although I’d loved to see a bit more from Big Fish – you’ve still got those original outfits from the likes of Edward Scissorhands, Wednesday, Mars Attacks!, Alice in Wonderland, Sleepy Hollow and even Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman suit from the outrageously great Batman Returns – as well as an epic wall of designs from that iconic sequel – plus model work from the likes of Frankenweenie and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The World of Tim Burton also offers the original ideas behind Superman Lives with Nicolas Cage, a film that never came to fruition and could have been unique, plus Tim Burton’s art work away from film and television, showing his experimentation with sculpture, with photography, with his other book and poetry work, such as The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories, alongside a very Burton Stain Boy physical artwork, involving Christmas, that you just have to discover for yourselves. (Look inside the model house)
And all these, alongside my photos, is still a little snippet of the joy you’ll find at The World of Tim Burton. It’s accessible for super fans, everyday fans, and any film fans – in fact, I think you’d also find a whole new admiration for his level of insight, invention, and sheer creative talent beyond the ordinary. Burton has encouraged generations of artists and filmmakers, and people who don’t feel like they’re part of the ‘usual’ societal structures, and out of an era where that was much harder to achieve. You can’t underestimate his perseverance and creative output, yet he remains ground level, because he’s happy to step out of the limelight, and let his work do the talking for him – and that’s worth admiring here, as you look back and beyond this everyday wonderdome of bizarreness.
So, the thing is, my odd, wonderful friends, there’s so much to see that you kind of want it to go on forever… and I shall return!
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