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Tim Burton and Romance – An Unlikely but Effective Pair

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This article contains movie spoilers for many of Tim Burton’s films. Proceed at your own risk.

There are many films that combine two or more genres that one would think should not work together. Sometimes this works to brilliant effect while other times not so much. In some cases, these kinds of films make the audience wonder what the creators were thinking. Two genres that may not always fit together and is quite unusual are romance and horror. Can this unlikely combination ever work? Can the genres ever complement each other?

For some moviegoers, myself included, this is the right kind of recipe needed to hold interest. The romance can serve as a break from the horror and unrelenting suspense while the suspense and horror can add some thrills to a love story people have seen millions of times. Sometimes the mixture of these genres is just what some audiences need to be invested in the movie from beginning to end. Personally, I can never watch straight up horror films, they must have another genre mixed in, such as comedy or romance, and I can make it through the movie without having nightmares later.

One filmmaker who is often known for mixing these two genres together fairly well is Tim Burton. I have been a fan of Tim Burton’s for many years and though not all of his films are perfect or masterpieces, I still think he has made his mark in Hollywood, specifically in how his films rarely fit into Hollywood molds. If one watches enough Tim Burton movies, whether he is directing, writing, producing or some combination, one will notice how he likes to use the same tropes over and over again and this is evident in the romances that are present in many of his films.

Love at first sight

Photo: Sony Pictures
Photo: Sony Pictures “They say when you meet the love of your life, time stops, and that’s true.”

Though I am not a huge fan of this particular trope, I like it sometimes and sometimes I think it can work. In Big Fish, I like how the concept is shown when Edward Bloom sees the love of his life, Sandra, at the circus and time literally stops as he walks toward her and all they focus on is each other.

Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation “Isn’t she beautiful?”

When Peg takes Edward to her house and shows him the photographs of her family, Edward pauses at the picture of the daughter Kim. Peg describes what she is like, implies her age, and says when Edward can meet her. When she asks him if she is beautiful, Edward gazes at Kim’s photograph and expresses happiness, possibly for the first time since his creator died, when he smiles a little.

Photo: Warner Bros.
Photo: Warner Bros.

In Corpse Bride, when they first meet, Victoria shows Victor true kindness when she compliments his piano playing. During their wedding rehearsal, Victoria is the only one to show him patience, calm and understanding even when he makes so many mistakes trying to get through the rehearsal correctly. On Victor’s part when he first meets Victoria, he shows her kindness, respect, and even acceptance when she confides her childhood dream of marriage to him and her subtle desire to learn to play the piano. During the setting of the film, women were virtually meant to be seen and not heard. As a result of their repressed environment, many men would scoff at Victoria’s dreams and probably discourage them. Victor never did. These few hours of knowing each other and their tender, earnest moments were all it took for these characters to want to be together. Victor even says so to Victoria in a scene later in the film. “This morning I was…terrified of marriage. But then, on meeting you, I….felt I should be with you always, and that out wedding could not come soon enough!” Victoria says she feels the same.

Many of the romantic leads are often underdogs and people others may find weird

Photo: Geffen Company
Photo: Geffen Company
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Photo: Warner Bros.
Photo: Warner Bros.

 

Photo:
Photo: Paramount Pictures

His characters go through great lengths and obstacles to be with the ones they love

Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

In Edward Scissorhands, not only must Edward endure Kim’s original jerky boyfriend but also Kim and Edward face the prejudice and fear of the town.

Photo: Geffen Company
Photo: Geffen Company And will we ever end up together? No, I think not, it’s never to become. For I am not the one.

In The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sally doubts she will ever end up with Jack because he is so focused on his Christmas goals and seems oblivious to her affections. Her song has always been one of my favorites in the film and perfectly illustrates her emotions and her character.

Characters show their love in heartwarming ways

Photo:
Photo: Paramount Pictures

In Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane subtly shows his affection for Katrina by holding her hand and gazing up at her.

Photo: Sony Pictures
Photo: Sony Pictures

In Big Fish, Edward plants Sandra’s favorite flowers in the yard in front of her house and woos her like a gentleman.

Not all gestures of love are grandiose

Photo: Geffen Company
Photo: Geffen Company

In The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sally gives Jack a gift basket with a lovely butterfly potion in a wine bottle. The gift brightens up Jack’s night but Sally, who is much too shy to face him, runs off before he can thank her.

When characters find love, they hold onto it in life and in death

In Beetlejuice, Adam and Barbara do not panic after finding out they are dead. Instead, Adam says being together is heavenly even in death and their tedious bureaucratic system.

Photo: Geffen Company
Photo: Geffen Company

Love is blind

Photo: 20th Century Fox
Photo: 20th Century Fox

Though I am not a fan of Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes and I am sure many others would like it erased from their memory, the above picture does help make the point, no matter how uncomfortable it makes some viewers.

Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

In Edward Scissorhands, Kim is one of the few who see past his deformities and sees his inner beauty and innocence.

Photo: DreamWorks Pictures & Warner Bros. Pictures
Photo: DreamWorks Pictures & Warner Bros. Pictures

In Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Mrs. Lovett shows her love for Sweeney in various ways despite him being more focused on his revenge. Her love for him sometimes blinds her to the consequences of their actions and thanks to a selfish decision she makes, they both end up getting hurt.

Portrays love even in old age

Photo: Sony Pictures
Photo: Sony Pictures

In Big Fish, despite all the hardships Edward and Sandra stay together and share an incredibly sweet moment in the bathtub.

Photo: Geffen Company
Photo: Geffen Company

In Beetlejuice, Adam and Barbra are summoned to entertain the living. Even when they rapidly decay, they still look at each other with deep love.

Even in hopeless and complicated situations, people can find love

Photo: Warner Bros.
Photo: Warner Bros.

Gotham is possibly one of the most dangerous and hopeless cities around. But despite that, Vicki Vale could not help but be enamored by the dark knight.

Photo: Warner Bros.
Photo: Warner Bros.

One cannot get more complicated then Bruce Wayne/Batman and Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Despite the complications, the feelings they have for each other grow even when they are in their spandex.

Characters are willing to sacrifice anything for those they love, even if that ultimately means letting them go

Victor and Victoria Photo:
Victor and Victoria
Photo: Warner Brothers

In Corpse Bride, Emily lets Victor go so he can be with the woman he truly loves and is alive.

Edward and Kim kiss Photo: Twentieth Century Fox
Edward and Kim kiss
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox

In Edward Scissorhands, Kim moves on to live a normal life but part of her hearts still belongs to Edward. Meanwhile, Edward lives up on the hill and creates ice sculptures of her and everything else that he feels is wonderful. It is so sweet and fluffy one could call it cavity inducing.

What’s your favorite Tim Burton love story? Sound off in the comments…

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By on October 11th, 2015

About Moriah Burbank

Moriah was born and raised in the state of Alabama, with its blistering summers and winters with no snow. In childhood, she had great difficulty learning how to read and write due to her learning disability. This developed into an eventual hatred of reading and writing that lasted for a few years. With the tireless and dedicated work of her mother, who was homeschooling her at the time, and the help of a tutoring center Moriah was eventually able to learn how to read and write and her enjoyment of the activities only grew with the discovery of audio books. It was with a great irony that by the time she grew into teenage hood and young adulthood she had developed a respect and love for reading and writing, now even reading and writing for her own enjoyment and relaxation. Moriah is currently studying at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, earning her Doctorate in Psychology.

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