Halloweenie with Tim Burton

‘All Hallows’ Eve‘ is nearly upon us and it is that time again when we prepare to be ‘Trick or Treated’, attend costume parties, carve pumpkins and traditionally celebrate Halloween.

It has now also become custom to take in the latest horror at the cinema. or getting a handful of spooky DVDs, popping some corn and hiding behind the cushions at home to scare ourselves senseless!

For those of you that love the lighter fun touch of dark, gothic and macabre fantasy films. American film director Tim Burton, has given us plenty that are a ‘must-have’ to take us through the bewitching hour – with this year being no exception.

Released on DVD at the start of the year, ‘Frankenweenie‘ is going to be a big hit for families. Special screenings have already started playing at selected cinemas and shops are busy selling costumes of Sparky and many of Burton’s amazing characters we have all come to love.

Over the years, I have been fortunate to work on many of Tim’s films. Creating the title sequences for classics such as ‘Batman‘, and in recent years – ‘Sweeney Todd‘, ‘Dark Shadows‘ and of-course ‘Frankenweenie‘. So here’s a selection of our favorite Burton films to help you go bump through the night:

BEETLEJUICE
A recently deceased young couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who become ghosts haunting their former home and an obnoxious, devious “bio-exorcist” named Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) from the underworld who tries to scare away the new inhabitants (Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Jones, and Winona Ryder) permanently.

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
The story of Jack Skellington, a being from “Halloween Town” who opens a portal to “Christmas Town” and decides to celebrate the holiday, with some dastardly consequences. Stars Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Ken Page and Glenn Shadix.

SLEEPY HOLLOW
A film adaptation loosely inspired by the 1820 short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving and stars Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci, with Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, and Jeffrey Jones. The plot follows police constable Ichabod Crane (Depp) sent from New York City to investigate a series of murders in the village of Sleepy Hollow by a mysterious Headless Horseman.

CORPSE BRIDE
When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her. An all-star cast including Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
The infamous story of Benjamin Barker, a.k.a Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett. Also stars Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.

DARK SHADOWS
An imprisoned 200 year old vampire, Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection from his jealous ex-lover, Angelique Bouchard, played by Eva Green.

FRANKENWEENIE
Young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences.
‘Frankenweenie‘ is a black and white 3D stop motion animated comedy-horror family film and is a parody of and an homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein based on Mary Shelley‘s book of the same name . It is the perfect way to put a spark into the dead of night.

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