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Tim Burton (born August 25, 1958Tim Burton is an American film director, poet and designer known for his off-beat and quirky . His films often portray a highly stylized world visually reminiscent of cartoons which could be the result of his beginnings as a Disney animator. He reached movie stardom directing the first Warner Brothers Batman film.

In 2006, Burton was nominated for an Academy Award for the film

He was born in Burbank, California, the first of two sons to Bill and Jean Burton. Burton described his childhood self as quirky, self-absorbed and highly imaginative. He found home life and school difficult and he escaped the reality of everyday life by watching horror and low budget films, to which he will later pay tribute in his biography of Edward D. Wood, Jr. Another film figure of importance in Burton's childhood is Vincent Price, whose filmography would deeply influence the upcoming director career.

Following high school, he won a Disney scholarship to attend the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. He studied animation for three years and was then hired by the Walt Disney Studios as an animator apprentice. The first film he worked on was Ralph Bakshi's adaptation of , for which he is uncredited. Later, Burton's job was to draw for "The Fox and the Hound", which wasn't exactly the direction he had wanted to go at the time. He later commented on the refusal of Disney to use his design for "Fox and the Hound" on the fact that contrary to the general cute look of the movie characters, his designs made them "look like roadkills". Burton was not happy during his Disney period, yet it was during this period that he wrote and drew the poem and illustrations that would be the basis for his celebrated Nightmare Before Christmas.

, a six-minute film about a young boy who flashes from reality into a fantasy where he is Vincent Price, with Price himself providing narration. This was followed by the live-action short , starring a young Barret Oliver (as well as Sofia Coppola in a minor part). The film, shot in black and white, was a reenactment of the frankenstein myth where the mad scientist was replaced by a young Victor (Oliver) reanimated his dead dog after he was killed in a road accident. The film was deemed unsuitable for children due to its "gruesome" concept and was quickly shelved.

Despite being unknown to the public, Burton's projects attracted the attention of the film industry, and after seeing frankenweenie, TV-hostActor Paul Reubens (better known as Pee-Wee Herman), hired Burton to direct the movie rendition of his tv show. The movie, (1985), was made on a budget of $7 million and grossed more than $40 million at the box office. Burton was a lifelong fan of art-rock band Oingo Boingo and asked member Danny Elfman to provide the music for the film. Since then Elfman has provided the score for all but one Burton film. Ed Wood was scored by Howard Shore.

After "Pee-Wee", Burton participated in the TV series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", directing the episode "The Jar". He then went on to direct his second movie, (1988) starring Michael Keaton in the title role. The dark-humour comedy was another hit for Burton, grossing $80 million and bagging an Academy Award for best makeup.

Burton's ability to produce hits with low budgets impressed studio executives and he received his first big budget film (1989). The production of the film, the biggest of all time in 1989, went on with difficulties. Burton's choice of casting Michael Keaton as the caped crusader was not well received by fans. However, by the time film production wrapped, a batmania frenzy took over (thanks to the biggest marketing campain in movie history at this date), and , which started his collaboration with Johnny Depp. Depp, a teen idol at the end of the 80s due primarily to his work on the hit TV series 21 Jump Street, was cast in the title role of Edward, the creation of an eccentric and old fashion inventor (Played by Vincent Price, his last appearance on screen before his death). Edward looked human, but because unfinished, is left with scissors in places of hand. Set in suburbia, the film is largely seen as Burton's autobiography of his own chidhood is Burbank's suburb. Price at one point said that "Tim is Edward".

By the end of "Edward", Burton finally agreed to direct a sequel to on the condition that he would be granted total control. The result was the movie "Batman Returns", which featured Keaton returning as the Dark Knight, Danny De Vito (as the Penguin), Michelle Pfeiffer (as Catwoman), and Christopher Walken. The movie's dark and gothic feel, as well as the SM styling of Catwoman's costume left audiences confused and puzzled which lead to a lower box office hit. This was compounded by Burton's decision to focus the storyline more on the villians instead of Batman. "Batman Returns" grossed $160 million, much less than expected, and Burton left the Batman franchise from this point (he returned as a producer for batman forever).

He wrote the original story for and produced, but did not actually direct, (1993), originally meant to be a children's book in rhyme. The film was directed by Henry Selick and written by Michael McDowell and Caroline thompson, based on burton's original story. Burton collaborated with Selick again for (1995), though he had nothing to do with the production. He believed that the title sounded "like a tattoo you get when you're on drugs".

His next film, (1994), was of a much smaller scale, depicting the life of Edward D. Wood Junior, alledgedly the worst movie director of all time. Again starring Depp in the title role. The film is a homage to Burton's childhood's low budget movies and a bit of an autobiography can be seen in the director's struggle for recognition in adversity. The film was the one and only film which didnt feature an Elfman score. Burton and Elfman had just finished The Nightmare Before Christmas, a film which elfman got deeply involved in, to a point where Burton felt he was about to lose his creative control.

The creative duo reunited for (1996). Based on a popular science fiction trading card series, the film was a spoof of blockbusters such as Independence Day and used B-movie imagery from 1950s sci-fi fims. Panned by critics and audience alike, the film still managed to gather a fan base from its TV runs and dvd exploitation. The film, along with Burton's next project .

Sleepy hollow was released in 1999, again starring Depp (as Constable Ichabod Crane), a host of burton regulars in supporting role (michael gough, jeffrey jones and christopher walken among others) and Christina Ricci as Van Tassel (an obvious addition to burton actors, who had yet to appear in one of his films). Mostly well received by critics, and with a special mention to Elfman gothier than ever score, the film won an academy award for best art direction as well as two BAFTAs for best costumes and production designs. A box office success, rebounding after mars attack demise, sleepy hollow also was a turning point for tim burton. Along with change in his personal life (separation from Lisa Marie), tim burton change radically in for his next project, leaving haunted forrest and colorful outcast behind do go on directing a remake of Planet of the apes.

"Apes" was a commercial success, grossing $68 millions in its opening weekend, but it also antagonised fans, especially those dating back from the pee-wee times. The film was a significant departure from burton . There was much debate about wether the film was really burton's, or if he was just a hired gun who did what he was asked to do.

(2005), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.

In addition to his film work, he has also written the book , a book about misfit children such as Oyster Boy, Match Girl, Stainboy (who used to have his own flash cartoon series on atomfilms.com), the Girl Who Turned into a Bed, and other such "freaks".

In 1989, he married Lena Gieseke, a German artist. They divorced shortly after the filming of Batman Returns. He also dated Lisa Marie for a time. He is currently engaged to Helena Bonham Carter (since 2001) and lives in London. They have a son, Billy-Ray Burton, born in October 2003.

. It is an adventure story loosely based on the life of Robert Ripley and would star Jim Carrey. It will be produced by long time Burton collaborator Richard Zanuck.

In January 2006, the website Moviemusicals.com reported that Burton may reteam with Johnny Depp on an adaptation of the musical . Burton has long had a desire to direct a film based on the musical, which was developed at Warner Bros. when it fell apart. Since then Sam Mendes was attached to an adaptation set up at DreamWorks but then dropped out leaving the way clear for Burton to once again take the reins.

Frequently shows dead dogs, clowns, sheep, twisted trees, jack-o-lanterns and scarecrows in his films.Has a regular cast of actors with whom he repeatedly works, which includes Michael Keaton, Johnny Depp, Jeffrey Jones, Winona Ryder, Glen Shadix, Deep Roy, Christopher Lee, Paul Reubens, Danny Devito, Christopher Walken, Jack Nicholson, Missi Pyle, Lisa Marie, and Helena Bonham Carter.He had a little fun with bizarre photography featuring his ex-girlfriend Lisa Marie and his pet chihuahua Poppy, whom the couple found in Japan in the middle of the road.Worked on The Muppet Movie (1979) as an Additional Muppet performer. can also be seen in Singles (1992) from director Cameron Crow.