Tim Burton is one of the most acclaimed directors in the world. His unique vision has brought us such memorable characters as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissiorhands and Jack Skellington of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Timothy William Burton was born August 25, 1958 in Burbank, California. Home to many film and television studios -- NBC, Warner Brothers and Disney As a introverted child, Tim found pleasure in painting, drawing, and movies. He loved monster movies. One of his heroes was actor Vincent Price, who would latter become the voice of Vincent in Burtons first animated short.
After high school in 1976, Burton attended the California Institute of the Arts. Burton entered the Disney animation program in his second year, thinking it would be a good way to make a living. In 1979, he was drafted to join the Disney animation ranks.
Burton had been brought in to work on The Fox and the Hound, but did not enjoy being an animator. He found the Disney style restrictive ,tedious and boring. The studio decided to put Burtons talents to use as a conceptual artist, designing characters for The Black Cauldron, but none of Burtons character designs were used for the film.
Burton was finally given creative freedom to produce his own ideas in the animated short Vincent and a live action short Frankenweenie, in addition to the poem and artwork that years latter would become Burtons animated feature length masterpiece, The Nightmare before Christmas.

Paul Reubens, the man behind Pee-wee Herman, was shown Burtons short, Frankenweenie. He knew right away that Tim Burton was the perfect choice to bring Pee Wees’ Big Adventure to the big screen.

Three years following the surprise success of Pee Wees’ Big Adventure, Burton was offered the screenplay for Beetlejuice. The film was well received, leading Warner Bros to give Burton the job directing an eagerly awaited comic book adaptation that had been years in the planning. Batman sparked controversy with the casting of Michael Keaton as the Dark Knight, despite all the hype and studio interference, Burton still managed to put his own stamp on the film and it remains one of the most influential Hollywood movies of the last few decades. It's box office gross of over $250 million is also one of the highest in the studio's history.

Edward Scissorhands was the first time Burton had full creative control over a feature film, having written the story and also produced the movie. The film was a hit with moviegoers and critics, and marked the beginning of Burton being taken seriously as an artist.

In 1992 Burton directed the sequel Batman Returns, not as big a hit as the first film and suffering a backlash from parents who considered it too dark and twisted for younger Bat fans.

Burtons next film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, was a unique combination of all the things that make a Burton classic, memorable characters, the Danny Elfman soundtrack and Burtons magical abilities to draw the viewer into his unique world. The film continues to be a favorite as merchandise bearing the likenesses of Jack, Sally and all the other great characters are still big sellers.

Burton returned to smaller film making with his next project, Ed Wood, An affectionate tribute to the supposed worst filmmaker of all time Burton received the best reviews of his career, as well as two Oscars.

Mars Attacks!, an indirect tribute to Ed Wood’s films was a box office disappointment, but has become a cult classic. Three years later Sleepy Hollow, became Burtons first real horror film with Johnny Depp starring as the sheepish Eckabod Crane.

Planet of the Apes was to be Burtons next film, though the film was visually stunning and featured several strong performances as well as Rick Baker's astonishing ape makeup, it fell short of movie goers expectations.

Burton's next project, Big Fish was an adaptation of the novel by Daniel Wallace. Perhaps the theme of a man trying to reconnect with his dying father resulted in this being Burton's most personal and emotional film in years, and it earned respectable reviews and box office.

With Johnny Depp cast as Willy Wonka, Burton directed Charlie in the Chocolate Factory, lavish sets and a Danny Elfman score helped to bring new twists to the classic tale. Soon after the release of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the long awaited stop action feature length film, Corpse Bride was debuted to delighted Burton Fans.

Corpse Bride introduces a new group of Burton characters, Vincent the startled groom drawn into the colorful world of the afterlife, where skeletons step lively to a Danny Elfman score. Beautifully animated, Corpse Bride allows us to see the continuing evolution of one of the great artist of our time, Tim Burton.