25 Greatest Tim Burton Characters Of All Time

By Mallorie Halsall / April 12, 2013

16. Juno (Beetlejuice)

The sharp-tongued concierge of the underworld, Juno serves new members of the undead club. We love Juno because she is a character all of us want to see when we die, a character who puts it into perspective for us. She helped alleviate the stress of dying for both protagonists, but also us as the ever present reality that death is coming eventually is the most terrifying notion we can withstand.

15. Norther Winslow (Big Fish)

Poet Laureate, Norther Winslow, is the personification of talentless celebrity. Adopted into the utopian society of Spectre, Winslow laps up luxury by wowing audiences with terrible poetry. He is a beautiful character because of his ability to convince others of his greatness by believing in his own greatness, which isn€™t all that great. One of the first lessons we learn is that if we believe we are good, others will follow suit. Another point that is made with Norther is an important one for all artists everywhere, possibly a subliminal message from Mr. Burton to his would be predecessors. Too much of a good thing can be bad for creativity. It is conflict and success that influence the greatest of stories and as a writer who writes what he knows, Norther€™s work suffers from the comfort of living in the perfect town of Spectre.

14. Joyce (Edward Scissorhands)

If Joyce were a painting, it would be called €œDesperation." She is the extreme of every human€™s ability to desire. She wants, above all, attention, as she is a lonely housewife on easter egg row. We like her because we think she is funny, we hate her because she is a liar and a would-be rapist, but over all, we sympathize with her because we know all to well what it is like to never be seen.

13. The Knave of Hearts (Alice In Wonderland)

One of the saddest characters Tim Burton has ever created, the Knave of Hearts is the ultimate sheep in wolf€™s clothing. His desire to fulfill the love of his life and meet all of her dastardly demands is what drives him to push through his genuinely good-natured soul. He then faces the overwhelming grief of rejection when his romantic attention is directed towards Alice. To cover up his tracks when the Red Queen finds out, he insists it was all Alice€™s doing and that she deserves to suffer for it. We have all done things that we are not proud of, but not all for reasons as strong as his. We feel for him, we relate to him, and we remember him for his ability to swallow his grief and carry on.

12. 9 (9)

9, the hero in the animated feature by the same name, has an amazing story that drives him through the post-apocalyptic world in search of other dolls created by the same man who fashioned him. He seeks to cure the world and restore humanity, even sacrificing himself to better the fight. His ability to forge ahead in dire situations and put his own mortality aside for the greater good was both inspiring and heartbreaking to us.

11. Delia Deetz (Beetlejuice)

Pride and greed run rampant in worst-mother-ever nominee, Delia Deetz. Ignoring her child to focus more attention on her own amateur artwork, Delia is both hated and loved by audience members for her inability to fear Beetlejuice or the ghosts of former tenants, Adam and Barbara Maitland. She wants exposure and fame, rather than a safe environment to raise her already strange daughter. Delia is the epitome of how greed can destroy us.