Tim Burton: Ranking His Movies From Worst To Best

By T.J. Barnard /

Once a director of glorious creative endeavor, there is arguably no filmmaker working today who polarises opinion like Tim Burton. Renowed for his visually appealing, quirky, offbeat, gothically-aligned films - and for his frequent collaborations with both Johnny Deep and his wife, Helena Bonham Carter - Tim Burton has made an admirable 16 pictures over the course of 27 years. His journey as a feature filmmaker started with Pee-wee's Big Adventure back in 1985, of course, but as a younger man, his passion for character animation culminated in his short film Stalk of the Celery Monster - one which ran at just 1.5 minutes and was drawn laboriously in pencil. The film was inspired enough to get him noticed, and Burton was offered an apprenticeship at Walt Disney Studios. The rest is history. In the minds of many movie-goers, Tim Burton's name has become increasingly synonymous with "has been," though many still admire him for his deeply personal, creative and inventive films that span a variety of styles and genres. Whether the Tim Burton ship has officially sailed is yet to be decided, and the debate as to whether his films are merely distinctive as opposed to intelligent or meaningful is on-going. Love him or loathe him, Tim Burton remains one of Hollywood's key players and an auteur in every sense of the word. Join us as we take a look back across his vast filmography and rank his movies from worst to best.