Over the years, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter have starred in seven movies together, ranging from cult classics to unfortunate misfires. Both Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter have had impressive screen careers over the decades. The two actors have managed to balance critically acclaimed dramatic movies, blockbuster fare, and cult curios while also weathering their fair share of flops. From Depp’s iconic Pirates of the Caribbean franchise star Jack Sparrow to Bonham Carter’s irreplaceable Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter movies, the pair have more than made their unique marks on cinema in the last few decades.
However, Depp and Bonham Carter have also made an impressive seven movies together, and each of their collaborations has offered the duo a chance to explore new territory together. Most recently, Depp and former Terminator star Bonham Carter shared the screen in 2016’s Alice Through the Looking Glass. Before that, the pair were seen together in 2013’s western reboot The Lone Ranger, while a trio of Tim Burton collaborations preceded that blockbuster. Since the director was a frequent collaborator with both of the actors, it was inevitable that numerous Tim Burton movies would bring Bonham Carter and Depp together. However, their most underrated pairing came from Burton’s collaboration with another, less well-known director. Here are all of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter’s movies, ranked worst to best.
7. The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger got a lot of flack from critics, and the costly, infamous flop did deserve criticism for its lengthy runtime and drab visuals. However, The Lone Ranger isn’t as bad as many critics claimed and, as Quentin Tarantino noted, director Gore Verbinski’s effort does deserve credit for its moments of inspiration. However, the disappointing Lone Ranger remains Bonham Carter and Depp’s weakest screen outing by a comfortable stretch, particularly since their chemistry is wasted. Bonham Carter steals the show whenever she appears as Red, a brothel madam with a heart of gold and a leg of carved ivory. However, The Lone Ranger’s disastrous failure ensured that Red barely got to make an impression.
6. Alice Through the Looking Glass
Overstuffed and overlong, 2016’s Alice Through the Looking Glass saw over-ambitious director James Bobbin fail to recapture the whimsy of Burton’s earlier hit. Burton’s take on Alice in Wonderland was already a little too busy, but Alice Through the Looking Glass is an almost plotless mess that sees a helmer who made The Muppets work twice somehow squander Lewis Carrol’s creations. Bonham Carter is a lot of campy fun as the Red Queen but Depp is firmly on autopilot in his second appearance as the Mad Hatter, phoning in a grim Jack Sparrow impression that would make even the most forgiving fan cringe.
5. Alice in Wonderland
While better than its sequel, 2010’s Alice in Wonderland is an early case of Depp overindulging his self-consciously zany Jack Sparrow persona in a non-Pirates of the Caribbean project. The actor is not helped by his surroundings, as Tim Burton flattens his signature style into something more like Disney’s house aesthetic in an atypically drab incarnation of the classic story. Still, even the most pedestrian retelling of Alice in Wonderland overflows with the source material’s anarchic humor, and there are inspired moments in Burton’s movie, not least Bonham Carter’s Red Queen. Her performance elevates this effort, but the unnecessary CGI overload and unappealing grey color palette keep Alice in Wonderland low on her list of collaborations with Depp.
4. Dark Shadows
While Dark Shadows is imperfect (and the weakest horror remake from Chloe Grace Moretz), the offbeat television adaptation is still a stronger showcase for Tim Burton’s talents than his later Alice in Wonderland. Once again, Bonham Carter still steals the show in her supporting role as the perpetually drunk psychiatrist to a family of vampires, werewolves, and witches, but she has stiff competition from a vampy Eva Green and a hilarious, wild-eyed Johnny Depp. With an absurdly complicated storyline, it is tough to deny that there is too much going on in Burton’s take on the classic 70s soap opera of the same name. However, as chaotic as the plotting of Dark Shadows might be, Burton’s movie remains a lot of silly fun.
3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
If Dark Shadows tried to do too much, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has the opposite problem. Like Rob Zombie’s The Munsters, Burton’s Dark Shadows could have been better as a TV show, whereas his take on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory scarcely justifies its existence. Depp offers a different take on Roald Dahl’s famous antihero than Gene Wilder’s eerily calm Willy Wonka, but the rest of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory doesn’t stray far enough from its iconic 1971 inspiration. That said, even a shot-for-shot remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would be welcome when the result looks this good (although Bonham Carter and Depp’s lack of shared screen time marks this one down a place).
2. Corpse Bride
An underrated gem, 2005’s Corpse Bride proved that Depp and Bonham Carter had superb screen chemistry and put it to good use in a sweet, gothic atop motion animated fairy tale. The heartbreaking real-life inspiration of Corpse Bride is significantly sadder than the movie adaptation, but there is no denying that Burton and co-director Mike Johnson manage to eke some real pathos (and dark comedy) out of the outlandish story. Depp is in fine form as a meek, mild-mannered hero who accidentally marries the titular undead heroine, a thoroughly charming Bonham Carter. Visually stunning and ironically full of life, Corpse Bride only misses out on the top spot thanks to the quality of Depp and Bonham’s best collaboration to date.
1. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
2007’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is one of the darkest movie musicals ever, but Tim Burton does a magnificent job of capturing the Sondheim musical’s tricky tone. Depp and Bonham Carter’s strongest collaboration is also, not coincidentally, the movie that lets them share the screen for most of its runtime. The brutal (originally even darker) story of Sweeney Todd is enhanced by their effortless chemistry, and the bleak tale of revenge, misplaced love, and hidden secrets eventually culminates in a bloodbath that feels tragically earned despite its pitiless cruelty.
With a phenomenal supporting cast including a young Jamie Campbell Bower and a hammy villainous turn from Alan Rickman, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’s appeal isn’t limited to Burton’s flair for dark humor and gore. However, these elements do get a chance to shine in the Grand Guignol finale, a fusion of gore, tragic twists, and pitchy solos that could become ludicrous but end up surprisingly affecting. Firmly the saddest movie to come from Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is also their best work so far.
