Although most of Tim Burton’s movies tell complete stories and leave little to speculation, there are a variety of theories about his movies, of which some completely change the stories of the characters and the meaning of the movies. After starting his career as a filmmaker with short films, most notably Vincent and Frankenweenie, Tim Burton made his feature-film directorial debut in 1985 with the adventure comedy Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. Three years later, Burton gave the audience a better taste of his unique style with Beetlejuice, marking the beginning of his legacy as a director with an affinity for horror fantasy.
Since then, Burton has brought original stories to life, such as Edward Scissorhands and Corpse Bride, and has also borrowed some popular characters, as he did for his Batman movies, the musical slasher Sweeney Todd, and Sleepy Hollow. Even though Burton’s movies are contained stories, some viewers have found creative ways to connect some of them, and while many of them don’t leave much room for speculation, viewers have also come up with theories that, if true, would completely change Tim Burton’s movies.
10 Willy Wonka Originally Released 4 Golden Tickets (& Kept The 5th For His Town)
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
In 2005, Tim Burton brought his version of Roald Dahl’s classic novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In it, eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) places Golden Tickets in five random Wonka Bars around the world, and those who find them, win a full tour of Wonka’s factory. The tickets are found by Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Mike Teavee, and Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore), the latter finding it the day before the tour.
Charlie also lives in the same town where the factory is located, which sparked the suspicion of some viewers. A theory posted on Reddit suggests Wonka originally released only four Golden Tickets in order to increase sales, knowing that once the fifth one was found, sales would drop dramatically. With the date of the tour fast approaching, Wonka then released the final ticket in the town he lived in, so the winner would be able to attend the tour. Wonka was very meticulous, so the theory makes sense.
9 Lydia Deetz Is Kim Boggs’ Granddaughter
Beetlejuice & Edward Scissorhands
Winona Ryder starred in two of Tim Burton’s most popular movies – Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice – and though they are unrelated, a theory shared on Reddit brings them together. Edward Scissorhands begins with an old Kim Boggs telling her granddaughter the story of Edward Scissorhands (Johnny Depp), so the theory suggests the little girl was a young Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice. Lydia became obsessed with the story of the man with scissors and started copying his style, dressing in all black and becoming a recluse.
8 Edward Scissorhands Is A Failed Recreation Of Sweeney Todd
Edward Scissorhands & Sweeney Todd
Edward Scissorhands is the story of an unfinished artificial humanoid with scissors instead of hands who was created by a lonely inventor (played by Vincent Price). Sweeney Todd is the story of a barber and serial killer (also played by Johnny Depp) who murders his customers with his barber blades. A theory posted on Reddit suggests that Edward’s inventor was a fan of Sweeny Todd and tried to recreate him when building Edward, hence why they’re both pale, with messy hair, have the same face, and are skilled with blades, so much so that Edward tried to make a living out of cutting hair at some point.
7 Charlie & The Chocolate Factory Is A Snowpiercer Prequel
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
Another Charlie & The Chocolate Factory theory takes Charlie Bucket’s story out of Burton’s universe and links him to Boo Joon-ho’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi action movie Snowpiercer. The theory explains that Charlie Bucket, inspired by his mentor Willy Wonka, created his own empire of oppression and experiments, but his took a much more sinister turn.
Charlie took the name “Wilfred” in honor of Wonka and created the train Snowpiercer, where he used people for his twisted experiments, exploited children to make the train work (like Wonka did with the Oompa Loompas), and instead of using chocolate bars, he used protein blocks. The experience at Wonka’s factory, both during and after the movie, might have been a lot more traumatic for Charlie than it seemed.
6 Batman Returns’ Max Shreck Became Beetlejuice
Batman Returns & Beetlejuice
Tim Burton explored Gotham City in Batman and Batman Returns, and the latter introduced the villain Max Shreck (Christopher Walken). Shreck was a wealthy industrialist who made a deal with the Penguin and who was also responsible for Selina Kyle’s transformation into Catwoman. Now, a theory shared on Reddit links Max Shreck to Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) by suggesting they are the same person, based not just on Shreck’s actions when he was alive, but on his physical appearance, too.
Shreck used striped suits throughout Batman Returns, just as Beetlejuice does, and according to the author, Beetlejuice’s green hair, mold, and decaying appearance are a result of the sewer water on Shreck at the time of his death by electrocution. If so, Beetlejuice is a bigger evil mastermind than initially thought.
5 Willy Wonka’s Candies Are Made Of Children
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
In addition to not releasing all the Golden Tickets at the same time and traumatizing Charlie Bucket, another Charlie & the Chocolate Factory theory suggests Willy Wonka was a serial killer – and even worse, he used children in his candy recipes. Many viewers have argued that it’s a bit too curious how Wonka’s factory seems like personalized traps for the kids, and it might be because Wonka planned to use them to make his famous candies. Surely, this theory is debunked at the end of the movie when the kids leave the factory with their parents, but this could be what young Charlie imagined happened to them.
4 Edward Scissorhands Is A Cenobite
Edward Scissorhands
Another Edward Scissorhands theory takes a sinister turn by connecting it to Clive Barker’s Hellraiser. Also posted on Reddit, the theory suggests that the inventor of Edward didn’t actually build him, but he “fixed” him. Before the events of Edward Scissorhands, the inventor got his hands on the Lament Configuration and solved the puzzle, letting Pinhead and the Cenobites in. The inventor somehow managed to subdue one of the Cenobites and decided to “fix” him and turn him into his son. The scissors, then, were part of Edward’s Cenobite form, but the inventor died before he could finish fixing him.
3 Beetlejuice Wasn’t Dead In the First Movie
Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice follows the Maitlands, a recently deceased couple who, in a desperate effort to scare the new inhabitants of their home away, contact Beetlejuice, a ghost and freelance bio-exorcist. Beetlejuice has a rotten appearance, with green hair and decaying skin, leaving no doubt that he was already dead… but a theory suggests he was actually alive up until the end of the movie, when he was eaten by a sandworm. Beetlejuice was then sent to the waiting room in the afterlife, and as the author of the theory (posted on Reddit) explains, if he had already been dead, he wouldn’t have been sent to the waiting room.
The theory adds that the Maitlands dug Beetlejuice up as he was trapped there by an authority in the Neitherworld after he, as a living man, somehow entered the Neitherworld. Juno found him and kept him close as an assistant, but when he got into trouble, she trapped him so he wouldn’t cause more chaos.
2 The Dogs Connect Burton’s Animated Movies
The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, & Frankenweenie
Although The Nightmare Before Christmas wasn’t directed by Tim Burton, it’s often included in theories about his works as he wrote the story and produced the film. One of the most popular theories about Tim Burton’s movies says that The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and Frankenweenie are connected through their dogs – Zero, Scraps, and Sparky – , which are the same dog.
The theory says that, after Frankenweenie’s Victor brought Sparky back to life, the dog eventually started losing his skin, becoming Corpse Bride‘s Scraps. When Scraps passed away, he became a ghost, thus turning into The Nightmare Before Christmas‘ Zero. The theory is further supported by another popular one about Burton’s movies, which links the dog’s owners.
1 Victor Frankenstein, Victor Van Dort, & Jack Skellington Are The Same Character
Frankenweenie, Corpse Bride, & The Nightmare Before Christmas
Perhaps the most well-known theory about Tim Burton’s movies is the one that connects The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and Frankenweenie by explaining that their main characters are the same person. Frankenweenie’s Victor Frankenstein grew up to be Corpse Bride’s Victor Van Dort (why he changed his last name is a mystery), and when Victor died, he became Jack Skellington (again, why his name changed is unknown). The theory doesn’t work due to the time settings of Frankenweenie and Corpse Bride, but if it was true, it would make Victor/Jack the most interesting and pretty much immortal character in Tim Burton’s universe.
