There are certain director/actor relationships that have come to define their careers. People immediately think of Robert De Niro or Leonardo DiCaprio with Martin Scorsese. John Ford and John Wayne made numerous films together. Jimmy Stewart and Alfred Hitchcock seemed to encapsulate thriller films to a T. Bill Murray has found his way into almost every Wes Anderson film that has been made.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Johnny Depp and Tim Burton went on a nearly unprecedented run of filmmaking together. From 2005 to 2012, Burton made five films, and Depp starred in all of them. Those are only some of the films they made together, as Depp’s unique ability to transform into strange and oddball characters suits Burton’s often playfully macabre style. A few of their movies were better received than others over the years, and one was Burton’s lowest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here are all 8 of their movie collaborations, ranked according to their Tomatometer scores.
8
‘Dark Shadows’ (2012)
35% Tomatometer
Burton thought it might be a good idea to revive a TV series from the late 1960s and bring it into the 21st century with Dark Shadows. The film follows the same story of the series where a vampire from the late 1700s, played by Depp, wakes up in the 1970s and has to assimilate to the times. The cast of the film is made up of famous names like Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Jonny Lee Miller, Eva Green, Bella Heathcote, Jackie Earle Haley, and Chloë Grace Moretz.
Depp’s character, Barnabas Collins, provides plenty of comedy while the film intertwines horror aspects into the plot. The movie was met with plenty of negative reviews, as critics felt that it never found its rhythm between campiness and horror thrills. Fans disliked it too, as it currently has a 46% audience score. But it made $245 million at the global box office.
7
‘Alice in Wonderland’ (2010)
51% Tomatometer
A much more famous remake, Burton put a live-action twist on Lewis Carroll’s classic for Alice in Wonderland. Filled with heavy CGI use and dipped in a plethora of bright colors, the film features Depp as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as Alice. Wasikowska beat out many actresses for the role, including Jennifer Lawrence and Cara Delevingne. It follows Alice through her time in Wonderland, meeting up with Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen, Anne Hathaway’s White Queen, Crispin Glover’s Knave of Hearts, Matt Lucas’s Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
The voice acting in the film features Alan Rickman as the Absolem the Caterpillar, Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit, Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat, Christopher Lee as the Jabberwocky, and Timothy Spall as the Bloodhound. The movie was a massive hit globally, earning over $1 billion worldwide. It was met with middling reviews from critics, as it sits with a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans saw it but gave it middle-of-the-road reviews as well, earning it a 55% Popcornmeter score.
6
‘Sleepy Hollow’ (1999)
71% Tomatometer
Gothic themes just seem to work for Burton and Sleepy Hollow is no exception. One of the most famous gothic tales, originally crafted by Washington Irving, was adapted in a film starring Depp as Ichabod Crane and Christina Ricci as his love interest, Katrina Anne Van Tassel. Depp plays Crane as a young man who is at the forefront of forensic science and has a playful quirk that he is squeamish around blood. The film has some serious horror themes, as the sight of a terrifying Christopher Walken as the Headless Horseman will ruin anyone’s day.
The movie is set in 1799 and, in classic Burton fashion, looks just as gothic and creepy as it should. Depp gives Crane a fun exuberance, and the film is carried by the chemistry between him and Ricci. It earned over $207 million worldwide and a 71% Rotten Tomatoes score. Fans enjoyed it even more, as it holds an 80% audience score.
5
‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ (2005)
83% Tomatometer
A recurring trend is the number of remakes that Burton and Depp have undertaken together. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory saw Depp do his best Gene Wilder impersonation and take on the role of the enigmatic Willy Wonka. Freddy Highmore plays Charlie Bucket in this reimagining of Roald Dahl’s classic book. Similar to Alice in Wonderland, the wild color palette stands out in this film as the vibrant hues and tones make Wonka’s factory pop.
Unlike Alice in Wonderland, Burton shot this mostly on sets and had actors perform their stunts. The film also stars Missi Pyle, Noah Taylor, David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Adam Godley, AnnaSophia Robb, Christopher Lee, and Deep Roy as each Oompa Loompa. The movie was a critical hit, earning an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans were much more negative toward the film, as it has a 51% Popcornmeter score. It made over $475 million worldwide at the box office. It would have been interesting to see how well it would have done if Dwayne Johnson had been cast as Wonka, which was a possibility.
4
‘Corpse Bride’ (2005)
84% Tomatometer
Shot at the same time as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride is a stop-motion animated film starring Depp as Victor, a Victorian man who is about to marry Victoria, played by Emily Watson. During his wedding rehearsal, a number of screwups lead to him fleeing and entering a forest where he decides to practice his vows for the next day’s ceremony. He places the ring on a tree root during his practice, but it turns out the root is the finger of a deceased woman named Emily, played by Helena Bonham Carter.
Victor must navigate the underworld with Emily and aim to rescue Victoria from marrying the wrong person in his absence. Burton created the characters alongside Carlos Grangel and based them off a Jewish folktale. He directed the movie alongside Mike Johnson. The movie was lauded for its bittersweet nature and its stunning visuals. It earned an 84% critics score and a 77% audience score. The movie made $118 million worldwide.
3
‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ (2007)
86% Tomatometer
If there was ever a musical that suited Burton’s style, it’s Sweeney Todd. Based on the stage musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, it features Depp as the titular character, a man who has his family ripped away by an evil judge who stole his wife from him. Sweeney Todd returns to London to exact revenge on those who wronged him and meets a kindred spirit in Mrs. Lovett, played by Helena Bonham Carter.
The film features terrific performances from Depp, Carter, Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin, and Sacha Baron Cohen as Pirelli. Despite working with many of his regulars, many of them prove to be worthy singers, elevating Burton’s musical into a highly entertaining affair. It has an 86% critics score and an 81% audience score. Sweeney Todd made $153 million at the box office.
2
‘Edward Scissorhands’ (1990)
90% Tomatometer
The first collaboration between the duo is still arguably their most iconic. Edward Scissorhands is such a unique film and has stood the test of time as an endearing movie about accepting people who may be a little different. Depp plays the titular Edward, a humanoid with scissors for hands. He is taken in by a suburban family, played by Dianne Wiest, Alan Arkin, Robert Oliveri, and Winona Ryder, and folds into society in any way he can.
Scenes of him trimming hedges, carving ice sculptures, and cutting hair are some of the most memorable. Depp nearly dropped out of auditioning for the film out of fear that he wouldn’t land the role. But his subdued performance and his chemistry with Ryder, along with the splashiness of colors, make Burton’s film seem dreamlike. The movie was a massive hit, earning $86 million against a $20 million budget. Critics and fans adore it, as it has a 90% Tomatometer and a 91% Popcornmeter score.
1
‘Ed Wood’ (1994)
92% Tomatometer
An homage to a unique filmmaker in his own right, Ed Wood was Burton’s second collaboration with Depp. Depp plays Wood, a famous B-movie filmmaker who tries to climb up the ladder of Hollywood in the 1950s. The screenplay by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski highlights Wood’s journey, and Depp’s energetic take on the role makes Wood’s never-say-never attitude shine through.
The cast includes Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi (a role for which he won an Academy Award), Sarah Jessica Parker as Dolores Fuller, Wood’s girlfriend, Patricia Arquette as Kathy O’Hara, Wood’s wife, Jeffrey Jones as The Amazing Criswell, Bill Murray as Bunny Breckenridge, and Lisa Marie as Vampira. Burton shot the film in black and white, and the movie was praised for its performances and makeup styling, for which Rick Baker won an Oscar. The movie has a 92% critics score and an 88% audience score, but performed woefully at the box office, earning just $13.8 million against an $18 million budget.
Release Date
October 7, 1994
Runtime
127 minutes
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