WORTH THE RENT

By Bob Ross

From The Tampa Tribune, 12.13.1996

He was born 36 years ago in Burbank, Calif., not far from the Disney studios where he got his first film-related job, as an animator, in the early '80s.

As a child, Tim Burton watched weird movies whenever he could. Vincent Price was his idol, Roger Corman was a favorite filmmaker.

As a grown-up, Burton built his career on misfits, from cartoon types to tragic losers to real-life dreamers.

Indeed, Burton's newest movie, Mars Attacks! is his first feature that doesn't revolve around a confused or misplaced male protagonist.

We can prove it. Here are Burton's other films, all available on video:

Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp: (1984) This entry in the "Faerie Tale Theatre" series stars Robert Carradine, Valerie Bertinelli, Leonard Nimoy and James Earl Jones. It's a subtly hip, hourlong recap of the famous story about a young fellow who finds a magic lamp in a cave.

Frankenweenie: (1984) This half-hour horror parody earned Burton the beginning of a Hollywood career. The title character is a dog that's killed by a car and revived by its scientifically advanced owner. Barret Oliver plays the young experimenter, with Shelley Duvall (who produced "Faerie Tale Theatre") and Daniel Stern as his parents. Even this early work shows Burton's propensity for putting a comic spin on tragic situations.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure: (1985) Burton's zany, irresistible first feature starred Paul Reubens as the geeky grown-up with the kiddie attitude. Whether falling off his own bike or tangling with irate motorcyclists, Pee-wee gets the laughs while Burton keeps the pace. The jokes are so cool that most people have memorized at least two or three of them. Music by Danny Elfman, who went on to score most of Burton's subsequent works as well.

Beetlejuice: (1988) This ghoulish satire is about a New England couple (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) trying to posthumously protect their turf from tasteless yuppies (Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones). Winona Ryder plays the depressed daughter who befriends the troubled spirits, and Michael Keaton lights up the screen as the title character, a sleazy supernatural helper.

Batman: (1989) Michael Keaton reteamed with Burton for this blockbuster bat-hit about the comic-book caped crime fighter. Actually, Keaton quietly does his job while Jack Nicholson's Joker and Kim Basinger's Vicki get all the flashy attention. The film made a fortune, so of course we also got:

Batman Returns: (1992) Much darker and more confused than the first bat-flick, this sullen sequel still made a lot of money. But it didn't do a lot of repeat business. Maybe people didn't need a second look at Danny DeVito, as the villainous Penguin, slurping and chomping his uncut raw fish. On the other hand, Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman merits nine lives on the video shelf. Neither Burton nor Keaton returned for the 1995 entry, Batman Forever, or for Batman and Robin, due out this summer.

Edward Scissorhands: (1990) Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder starred in this sad sci-fi satire about a man-made young man whose creator (Vincent Price) died before he could build the boy real fingers. Talk about "shear" bad luck. Those razor-sharp digits made Edward useful, but not well accepted, in the suburbs. Much of this touching but dark allegory was filmed in the Carpenter's Run subdivision in southern Pasco County.

The Nightmare Before Christmas: (1993) This time, Burton's confused hero is a cartoon - a friendly but ghastly-looking stop-motion pumpkin king named Jack Skellington. He gets tired of promoting Halloween every year and accidentally discovers Christmas creatures in the forest next to his. Jack's macabre way of helping includes kidnapping Santa Claus. Lively songs and dazzling animation make this one well suited to repeated video sessions, especially during the holiday season.

Ed Wood: (1994) Burton's most advanced, fulfilling and brilliant film was, not surprisingly, a commercial dud that won lots of awards. It's about the persistent, uncompromising man commonly hailed as the worst American filmmaker of all time. Johnny Depp delivered a brilliant performance as the cross-dressing Wood, who made ultra-cheap, totally inept exploitation films that have become cult favorites because of their pure, fearless ineptitude. Martin Landau is also awesome as the washed-up horror actor Bela Lugosi, whom Wood befriended in the '50s. The supporting cast of this black-and-white gem includes Sarah Jessica Parker, Bill Murray and Patricia Arquette.