From Pee-wee to Peregrine: Why Tim Burton Still Matters

He is the director who turned goth culture into a box office phenomenon. Over the course of his 30+ year career, Tim Burton has managed to create some of the most striking images of outcasts with bawdy fashion sense who live in strange-looking worlds. No director has had quite the same impact on modern cinema like him, and it shows in both his lasting popularity and the imitators who want to make money off of his style. This will also include a look into his collaborations with Danny Elfman and Johnny Depp, and how they impact how audiences see his work.

But does he matter? The following essay will explore all 18 of his currently released films as director and the impact that he has made as an auteur, a studio director, and even the Hollywood system itself. This isn't intended to be a biographical account of his career, but an interpretive essay on his contributions to cinema.