Throughout the decades of his collaborations with Disney, Tim Burton has directed and produced 10 movies, and here are all of them ranked worst to best. Tim Burton’s filmography has ranged a variety of studios and genres, with each of his films feeling distinct all while maintaining the signature design and tone that are key to Burton’s works. Tim Burton has worked on some legendary projects with Disney, which is why he has rightfully earned the legacy he currently has. However, not all of Tim Burton’s Disney films have been hits, meaning that the 10 movies vary on a scale from bad to good.
Tim Burton is a legendary director who is now known for his macabre and comedic films, but he didn’t start out directing major hits like Batman and Edward Scissorhands. As it turns out, Burton started at Disney, where he was an animator on films like The Fox and the Hound, TRON, and The Black Cauldron. While there, Burton worked on several short films, although they were deemed too dark for Disney’s standards. Thus, Burton parted ways with the company, with him only returning to make The Nightmare Before Christmas and his other Disney classics after the success of films like Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, and Batman.
10 Alice Through The Looking Glass
Tim Burton produced
Out of all of Tim Burton’s collaborations with Disney, the 2016 film Alice Through the Looking Glass is by far the worst one. Although Burton didn’t return to direct the sequel to his 2010 hit, he was a producer on the film, meaning that he had a hand in the outcome of the project. Alice Through the Looking Glass doubled down on the weirdness of its predecessor, but without Burton at the helm, it just didn’t work nearly as well. That combined with the fact that the film used lesser-known bits from Lewis Carroll’s book led to Alice Through the Looking Glass having a weak story without many shining moments.
9 Dumbo (2019)
Tim Burton directed
Tim Burton essentially kicked off the immensely successful trend of Disney live-action remakes, meaning that it only made sense for the studio to bring him back to the director’s chair for the 2019 remake of Dumbo. However, this one didn’t go over nearly as well as Alice in Wonderland, with it losing much of the magic and charm of the animated original. In the original film, Dumbo is a silent protagonist, with the movie relying on stellar animation to express the character’s thoughts. Since the elephants are hyperrealistic in the remake, however, Dumbo was far more uncanny than he was cute.
8 Hansel & Gretel (1982)
Tim Burton directed
The second short that Tim Burton directed while at Disney was an adaptation of Hansel and Gretel, with the film featuring Tim Burton’s signature creepy style. Although the film aired on the Disney Channel once, it quickly became lost media due to Disney thinking it was too scary and Burton being upset with how it turned out. However, nearly the entire film was found in 2014, and while it does have its charm, it definitely has some rough patches that aren’t seen in Burton’s other directorial efforts.
7 Alice In Wonderland (2010)
Tim Burton directed
When Disney decided to bring the wacky world of Lewis Carroll’s novels into live-action, one director was clearly a great fit for the project: Tim Burton. Burton’s style doubled down on the darkness and weirdness of the original story, leading to a unique tone that hasn’t really been recreated since. While some of the CGI isn’t the best and the film’s epic mythology doesn’t quite mesh with Carroll’s world, Alice in Wonderland is mostly a success, with it being one of the better Disney live-action remakes.
6 Frankenweenie (1984)
Tim Burton directed
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Another one of the short films Tim Burton made while working at Disney was 1984’s Frankenweenie, with it being the most popular of his short films due to it getting a feature film adaptation. The comedic short tells the story of a boy who brings his dog back to life, with it mostly being a parody of Frankenstein. The short features some surprisingly big names, with it having performances from The Shining‘s Shelly Duvall and Home Alone‘s Daniel Stern. While not as ambitious as Burton’s later works, Frankenweenie is still a great time.
5 Frankenweenie (2012)
Tim Burton directed
An animated feature film adaptation of Frankenweenie was released in 2012, with Tim Burton returning to direct. While Frankenweenie greatly expands on the story of the original film, it manages to recapture the spirit of the short, making it a great time throughout. The 2012 film is also animated through the use of stop-motion, giving Frankenweenie an even more interesting art style that makes the entire film a visual treat.
4 James & The Giant Peach
Tim Burton produced
Tim Burton produced Disney’s 1996 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic story James and the Giant Peach, with the film being one of the best adaptations of the legendary author’s work. While Henry Selick directed the film, it definitely bears the fingerprints of Burton’s signature style, which helps give James and the Giant Peach its unique tone. The fantastic story and beautiful animation have caused James and the Giant Peach to become a stop-motion classic.
3 Vincent
Tim Burton directed
Tim Burton’s first short film was 1982’s Vincent, with it laying the groundwork for everything that was to come from the director throughout his prestigious career. Burton’s directorial debut follows a creepy young child who secretly dreams of being like the actor Vincent Price, with the short exploring the boy’s morbid daydreams. The creepy aesthetic and stop-motion animation would become staples of Burton’s later work, but rarely is it done better than in Vincent.
2 Ed Wood
Tim Burton directed
Although Ed Wood isn’t thought of as a Disney film, the movie was actually produced by Touchstone Pictures, a company that is owned by Disney. The film follows Johnny Depp as the real-life cult filmmaker Ed Wood, with it being a strange but fantastic new direction in Tim Burton’s filmography. Ed Wood is often overlooked when examining Tim Burton’s career due to its niche subject matter, but it is one of the director’s best films, especially when narrowing it down to just his collaborations with Disney.
1 The Nightmare Before Christmas
Tim Burton produced
Ironically, Tim Burton’s best collaboration with Disney wasn’t even directed by Burton, with it being Henry Sellick’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. The stop-motion masterpiece is based on Tim Burton’s three-page poem, with it perfectly adapting the concept into a feature film. Henry Sellick’s direction and animation, Danny Elfman’s music, and Tim Burton’s creativity have led The Nightmare Before Christmas to be a Christmas staple and a classic film, with it being Tim Burton’s best collaboration with Disney.
