Burton on Drawing, Parenthood, Kids' Shows

Tim Burton spoke with AOL's ParentDish to discuss his recent book of art (which includes over 1,000 illustrations), drawing with his kids, and being a parent, among other relevant topics:

ParentDish: Hi, Tim.
Tim Burton: If you hear screaming children, I apologize.

PD: I was just about to say the same thing! How old are your kids?
TB: My daughter [Nell] is almost 3, and my son [Billy Ray] just turned 7. At the moment, they are having their normal brother/sister fights. The usual. We've all been through it.

PD: Your book is beautiful.
TB: Publishing is such a strange world. We met publishers and they told me, "Well, it's not going to make any money." And I said, "We're not doing it to make money." So we thought of going through such an unenthusiastic process, it'll be more fun to do it independently. Then you know what you're doing and what you're getting. The process was more of a fun, hands-on experience. It was quite a lot of fun to be a part of. It's more tangible like making a movie.

PD: What are you working on now?
TB: The most tangible thing is a stop motion version of "Frankenweenie," the short film I did many, many years ago. I wanted to try and go back and capture the spirit of the drawings. That's the thing that's happening right now and I'm also working on a thing called "Dark Shadows," which is close to happening. We'll see.

PD: I remember reading how you said it's hard for you to get projects made and I was shocked. You're Tim Burton!
TB: It is strange; it's probably a good thing. I learned that pretty early on. Each project is its own organism. Some happen and some don't. There's always something. It does keep you humble, keeps you grounded.

PD: Do you still draw?
TB: Oh, yeah. It's something I like to do. Even though I don't necessarily do it for a living anymore, it's still enjoyable. It's still part of the process of exploring ideas. I try to do it when I travel.

PD: Are your kids interested in drawing?
TB: Yeah. My son has a monster book and I'll draw a shape and he'll draw some of it and we go back and forth. It's fun. You know, you kind of learn a lot from them because you kind of go back to the roots of why you like drawing. It's great; it's creativity and therapy and exploration.

PD: Do you ever go to a restaurant and offer to draw a picture instead of paying?
TB: (Laughs.) No, actually I'm pretty private about it. I used to be able to go into a dark corner of a bar and quietly sketch. It's gotten harder and it's something that I actually miss.

PD: If you combed your hair you'd be unrecognizable.
TB: No. I wear a white leisure suit.

PD: Your kids must have posh accents.
TB: Yeah, that's a bit scary. They're like, "Daddy, daddy." (Says with an upper class British accent.) I've been here over 10 years and I haven't adopted a fake English accent.

PD: I assume you're getting your tux cleaned for the upcoming royal wedding.
TB: (Laughs.) Yes, we're all very excited over here. I've got my cup and my bowl and all my memorabilia ready.

PD: Don't mock. I love that stuff.
TB: I've met them (Prince William and Kate Middleton), actually. They're very, very nice so I wish them all the best. As strange as a life that they must have, they're strangely down to earth.

PD: Did you ever draw puppies and kittens? Your stuff is pretty dark.
TB: I worked on Disney's "The Fox and the Hound" for a year. That used up my quota of cute animals. I had trouble drawing them from the beginning. That's why I didn't work on further cute animal pictures.

PD: Do you vomit seeing cute animal movies?
TB: No, no. With my kids, I've been watching my share of cute animal pictures. Some are awful, but I like in a funny way, and some are just awful. Most kids' stuff is kind of weird, anyway.

PD: What are your kids' favorite shows?
TB: My boy likes "Scooby-Doo," which is good because that's what I liked. My daughter, she likes "Peppa Pig" (an English show), which is OK. I don't mind Peppa. "Max & Ruby," I can quite stomach. That one really drives me nuts.

More on the MoMA Burton Exhibition

An oil painting called "Blue Girl with Wine."

From November 22nd, 2009 until April 26th, 2010, visitors can come to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and see an exclusive exhibition of Tim Burton's artwork. Over 700 drawings, puppets, paintings, costumes, and more will be visible, many of which have never been shown to the public before. Also on display will be some of his artwork and student films prior to his professional career.

“There is no other living filmmaker possessing Tim Burton’s level of accomplishment and reputation whose full body of work has been so well hidden from public view,” said Ron Magliozzi, MoMA’s Assistant Curator. “Seeing so much that was previously inaccessible in a museum context should serve to fuel renewed appreciation and fresh appraisal of this much-admired artist.”


An untitled drawing for Burton's book, "The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy."


"Everybody draws," Burton said. "I just never stopped when the teachers told me to.

"It's easier for me to think things through visually instead of verbally, so it's like a diary in that way," he added. "I have so many drawings. I never look at the stuff - I just keep doing it."

In conjunction with the Tim Burton exhibition, a series of films that inspired the filmmaker will be presented including “Jason and the Argonauts” (Don Chaffey, 1963), “Frankenstein” (James Whale, 1931), “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (Robert Wiene, 1920), “The Pit and the Pendulum” (Roger Corman, 1961), “Nosferatu” (F. W. Murnau, 1922), “Earthquake” (Mark Robson, 1974), and several others.

Click MoMA's official link for more information.

Variety Interviews Tim Burton

Tim Burton was interviewed by Variety on Friday, August 24th, 2007. In the interview, Burton discussed musicals, Sweeney Todd, and Johnny Depp.

Burton said that his favorite musical truly is "Sweeney Todd," because he isn't much of a fan of many musicals. "I do remember liking 'Guys and Dolls,'" the director recalls, "In that one, they don't burst into song. There's a design in the language that fits together with the music and they work together. I don't think that's the case with a lot of musicals."

The filmmaker had seen "Sweeney Todd" performed before, and adored it. "I saw it in London when it first played here. In fact, I saw it several nights in a row." But Burton did not pursue the idea of bringing "Todd" to the big screen at first. "Things happen and you drift into other things. But it is strange; I was looking at some sketches I did many years ago, and the sketches looked like Johnny and Helena in the film. Not that this would have happened several years ago. They weren't old enough."

Burton went on to say that "Sweeney Todd," "doesn't seem like a musical." He continued, saying, "In fact, it's like a silent movie with music. Like an old horror movie. The emotions come through. Johnny enjoyed that silent-actor style of acting. It was liberating."

The director remarked on Depp again. "I told Stephen: 'I know Johnny. I know he wouldn't say yes if he couldn't do it.' "