Despite his popularity and success with critics and general audiences, not all of Tim Burton’s movies have been a hit with critics, and, surprisingly, his best and worst-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes weren’t directed by him. Tim Burton’s filmmaking career began in the 1970s with various short films, and he made his feature-film directorial debut in 1985 with Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. However, it was with Beetlejuice in 1988 that Burton could fully show his unique narrative and visual style that mixes horror, fantasy, comedy, and gothic elements.
Since then, Burton has brought his signature style to the superhero genre with Batman and Batman Returns, to stop-motion animation with Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie, to classics of children’s literature like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, sci-fi with Mars Attacks!, and a lot more. Of course, although Burton’s works have built a loyal fanbase and many are now cult classics, not all have been well-received by critics, and, interestingly enough, his best and worst-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes weren’t even directed by him.
Tim Burton’s Highest-Rated Movie On RT Is The Nightmare Before Christmas, But He Didn’t Direct It
Contrary To Popular Belief, The Nightmare Before Christmas Wasn’t Directed By Tim Burton
Tim Burton has served as a producer in different movies, some of which are wrongly believed to have been directed by him. Tim Burton’s highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes is The Nightmare Before Christmas, directed by Henry Selick and based on a story and characters created by Burton, hence why Burton’s name is added to the movie’s title. The Nightmare Before Christmas follows Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon), the King of Halloween Town who, tired of doing the same thing over and over again, decides to bring Christmas to Halloween Town.
At the time of writing, The Nightmare Before Christmas has a 95% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 92% audience score, giving it “fresh” labels. In addition to creating the characters and story, Burton served as a producer in The Nightmare Before Christmas. The movie has been praised for its animation, stunning visuals, story, music, and the performances of its voice cast. The Nightmare Before Christmas’ haunting, strange but enchanting visual style and its unique characters have further earned it the praise of critics, and it’s now a classic of both Halloween and Christmas.
Tim Burton’s Lowest-Rated Movie On RT Is Alice Through The Looking Glass, Which He Produced
Tim Burton Didn’t Return To Direct The Sequel To Alice In Wonderland
On the other hand, Burton’s lowest-rated movie to date also wasn’t directed by him, but he was still involved in it: Alice Through The Looking Glass. The sequel to the Burton-directed Alice in Wonderland was released in 2016, directed by James Bobin and with Burton as one of its producers. Alice Through The Looking Glass follows Alice (Mia Wasikowska) as she returns to Wonderland through a magical looking glass. Alice reunites with the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), who is acting stranger than usual. Alice then embarks on an adventure through time to save her old friend before time runs out.
Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland has a 50% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 55% audience score.
Alice Through The Looking Glass has a 29% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 48% audience score, both considered “rotten” ratings. While its visuals were praised, critics pointed out its underwhelming and messy story, bland characters, and lack of humor as the movie’s biggest flaws. Interestingly, Burton’s second lowest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes also wasn’t directed by him: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, directed by Timur Bekmambetov and produced by him, Jim Lemley, and Burton.
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6 Reasons Tim Burton's Alice Sequel Was Such A Failure
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Ed Wood & Dark Shadows Are The Best & Worst Tim Burton Directed Movies On RT
Tim Burton’s Best & Worst Movies On RT Are Very Different
The highest and lowest-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes directed by Tim Burton are Ed Wood and Dark Shadows. Released in 1994, Ed Wood is a black-and-white biographical comedy-drama about the career of the title cult filmmaker (played by Johnny Depp), specifically the time when he made his most famous works and his relationship with Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau). Ed Wood has a 92% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 88% audience score, with praise going towards Depp’s performance and how the movie celebrates Wood’s career instead of making fun of it.
The real Ed Wood was named the “Worst Director of All Time” in 1980.
Dark Shadows was released in 2012 and it’s based on the gothic TV soap opera of the same name. Dark Shadows is the story of Barnabas Collins (Depp), who broke the heart of a witch named Angelique (Eva Green), who then turned him into a vampire and buried him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas escapes and rejoins his family, but soon learns Angelique is his family’s business rival. Dark Shadows has a 35% critics score and a 46% audience score, with critics praising the movie’s visuals but finding it inconsistent, not funny, and overstuffed with characters, among other things.
Tim Burton’s darkest works have reached high scores with critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, as are Corpse Bride, Batman Returns, and Sleepy Hollow, while most of the movies he has produced but not directed have earned “rotten” scores. It’s to be seen how well Tim Burton’s upcoming projects will do with critics, especially as one is a remake of a 1950s sci-fi horror movie.
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Henry Selick directs The Nightmare Before Christmas, a stop-motion fairytale from the mind of Tim Burton. Jack Skellington is the king of Halloween and one of Halloweentown's most beloved citizens, but he longs for something more. When he stumbles across a magical door that leads him to discover Christmas, he makes it his mission to replace Santa Claus and bring festive cheer to his perpetually spooky hamlet.
Director Henry Selick
Release Date October 29, 1993
Cast Catherine O'Hara , Glenn Shadix , Ken Page , William Hickey , Chris Sarandon , Paul Reubens , Danny ElfmanRuntime 76 minutes
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Alice Through the Looking Glass is a fantasy adventure film directed by James Bobin and produced by Tim Burton. Released in 2016, it is a sequel to the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland. The film stars Mia Wasikowska as Alice, who returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save her friend, the Mad Hatter, played by Johnny Depp.
Director James Bobin
Release Date May 25, 2016
Runtime 113 Minutes
English (US) ·