Tim Burton timeline

On August 25, cinema aficionados celebrate the birthday of edgy and surrealist film director, producer, and animator Tim Burton. Considered as one of Hollywood’s most successful filmmakers, he has defined his trademark visual style by bringing together the 19th and 20th century European art and American culture concepts. The dark world and storyline of his productions revolve around protagonists that are freaks or loners, which might seem unappealing in terms of cinema commercialism, yet they have built a strong cult following.

To wish a happy birthday to the creator of iconic characters such as Edward Scissorhands, Jack Skellington and Beetlejuice, we present you the Tim Burton Timeline – a visual chronological summary of his most notable life events and most popular movies.

Before going for feature-length movies, Mr. Burton started as an animator at Walt Disney studios, directing well-received short films such as Frankenweenie or Vincent. His big screen debut came with Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, a comedy made on a budget of $8 million that grossed over $40 million in North America.

This established Burton as a skillful and profitable director able to produce hits on a low budget, and it soon led to him receiving his first big budget movie, Batman. Although the production was plagued with problems due to Burton’s cast choice, the end result became one of the biggest box office hits of all time and proved to be a huge influence on future superhero films.

From then onwards, the Burbank-born director bolstered his unmistakable visual universe defined by the merge of Gothic architecture with L.A. suburban landscapes, German expressionism-influenced décor, and costumes with a Victorian flavor or inspired by Dr. Seuss’ stories and cartoons.

The Tim Burton chronology was created with Office Timeline, a simple add-in for PowerPoint that helps you design elegant timelines, Gantt charts and other similar visuals with ease. The image is free to copy and share, and you can edit or restyle it with the free trial of the tool.

Download the Tim Burton Timeline for PowerPoint here.