[Limelight] Tough on the Outside but Moist on the Inside...

50 Years of Fantasy and Horror Master Director Tim Burton's Journey
Most Movie Characters Like 'Edward Scissorhands' Are Bizarre and Distracted
Overflowing with the Dead, Evil, and Abnormality, Yet Opening the Door Connects to Humanity, Goodness, and Joy
"When Entering Another World, Boundaries Are Felt... Surface Layers Are Quickly Stripped Away"
'The World of Tim Burton' Special Exhibition Featuring Over 520 Storyboards, Sketches, and Photos

Fantasy and Horror Film Master Director Tim Burton

"One day, Mr. Smith heard joyful news. Mrs. Smith was going to become a mother, which meant Mr. Smith was going to be a father! But the great joy was somehow wrong. It wasn’t a person who was born, but a robot. It was neither warm nor cute, and it had no skin. Instead, it was covered with cold, thin tin cans. Wires and tubes were sticking out from its head. It just lay there staring, neither alive nor dead. (…) Mrs. Smith despised her husband, and he felt the same. He could not forgive her infidelity. Having an affair, and with kitchen utensils no less. And the robot boy grew up to become a young man. Sometimes he was mistaken for a trash can."

This is part of ‘Robot Boy’ written by director Tim Burton. It points to a cruel and sad fate. And that’s not all. Most of the protagonists in Burton’s films struggle alone in a world that does not accept them. Their forms are all strange and chaotic. Filled with extreme and symbolic images, they create another world. The dead, evil, sorrow, abnormality, and unreality overflow. Yet, it is not a disconnected space. Just one door opens to freely connect with humans, goodness, joy, normality, reality, and freedom. It’s just that everyone hesitates or shies away.

One of the works that well represents a sad and absurd reality is ‘Edward Scissorhands.’ It is a fairy tale-like story about Edward (Johnny Depp), a boy abandoned by the world. The scientist who created him (Vincent Price) died without being able to give him hands. Edward has large scissors attached to his wrists. He touches and feels things with them. He is unable to contact or communicate with others. He cannot control his own body. Therefore, he cannot properly reveal himself and ultimately causes discord with people.

Movie 'Edward Scissorhands' still cut

Edward’s essence is that of an isolated teenage boy. He lived alone in a Gothic-style mansion on a hill until a cosmetics saleswoman (Diane Wiest) found him and brought him home. Living in the suburbs, he reciprocates by doing what he can well, such as tending the garden for the warm-hearted townspeople. Everything was a blessing until people showed active interest.

Director Burton stated, "On the surface, it’s a story about experiencing pain among those around you and growing through it. When you go to another world, you can feel people’s boundaries. It takes quite some time to reveal yourself. In this film, they greet each other with ‘Oh, hi. How are you?’ right away. That’s very superficial. It inevitably gets peeled away quickly."

Movie 'Edward Scissorhands' still cut

He early foreshadowed a gloomy atmosphere through production design. The suburban residential area is a representative example. The surfaces of the houses are painted in various colors such as green, pink, and sky blue, but all are dull. The windows are small, making them look less friendly. They evoke masks, giving the impression of hiding something. These feelings are condensed from what Burton experienced growing up in a suburban town.

"People live so close together, but you can’t know their true selves at all. You never know when they might change. It’s impossible to be close to someone and keep a distance at the same time. That’s the suburban residential area. It really hides everything. Maybe people hide those incomprehensible aspects under the name of normality."

The special exhibition "The World of Tim Burton" conveys both humor and horror through twisted tongues, wandering eyes popping out, and grotesque clowns. Familiar characters from films such as "Vincent (1982)" and "Frankenweenie (2012)" also evoke memories and dreams. Photo by Jonggil Lee

‘The World of Tim Burton,’ held at the Design Exhibition Hall on the B2 floor of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza Learning Center in Seoul until September 12, offers a retrospective journey. The destination is the source of Burton’s works. It shows over 520 pieces including notebooks, drawings, sketches, paintings, studies, photographs, and character models from the past 50 years. There is no trace of realistic depictions as they appear. Each is newly interpreted and expressed according to personal emotions. For example, characters are a mix of features from humans, animals, and mythical figures. Burton later infused sympathy to complete the foundation of his unique style: Gothic landscapes, devilish clowns, and characters who struggle alone in a world that does not accept them.

Burton describes them as if they were fairy tales, calling himself "a person who looks ugly on the outside but is beautiful inside." Most audiences think similarly. Thanks to Johnny Depp’s simple yet elegant acting and the classic narrative, they accepted and understood Edward as Burton himself. He made the most personal film based on a fairy tale structure while expressing universal themes.

Movie 'Edward Scissorhands' Sketch

In 1990, Burton revealed his own approach to filmmaking in the American women’s magazine ‘Mirabella.’ It was a new interpretation of the driving force behind his rich imagination and fantastic visual effects. It also contained his hope that someone would pioneer a new art genre with dreamy yet grotesque films beyond himself.

"Children draw or engage in creative activities because they want to express themselves. For themselves, to show who they are. Honestly, I’m afraid of others watching my films. I always disliked it. How should I say it? I feel like I might break. Because I’m clumsy at expressing myself in words and also bad at various other things, I want others to see me as I am. When I stop creating works, that hardly happens. Of course, people only care about success or failure, not seeing you as you are. It’s quite sad to be known as someone different from your real self."