The Questyen

After rewatching Pee-Wee's Big Adventure recently my wife and I decided to watch through all of Tim Burton's films. So over the last month or so we watched through all 19 of his full length directed films. His 3 most recent films we hadn't seen before. I expected to have bigger highs and lows but I really only actively dislike the bottom 3 on my list and the top 7 are the ones I would consider very good to fantastic. The overwhelming majority of his films are not great or bad just merely average which is fairly disappointing since he started out with such potential. Here is my ranking:

1. Big Fish (2003)
2. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985)
3. Beetlejuice (1988)
4. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
5. Ed Wood (1994)
6. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
7. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
8. Corpse Bride (2005)
9. Frankenweenie (2012)
10. Dumbo (2019)
11. Alice in Wonderland (2010)
12. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
13. Dark Shadows (2012)
14. Batman Returns (1992)
15. Mars Attacks (1996)
16. Batman (1989)
17. Planet of the Apes (2001)
18. Big Eyes (2014)
19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Mondo Kane

Ed Wood
Pee-Wee
Beetlejuice
Batman
Big Fish
Corpse Bride
Batman Returns
Sweeney Todd
Edward Scissorhands
Big Eyes
.
.
.
Dont really care for anything else.

PatD

Ed Wood
Batman (1989)
Beetlejuice/Edward Scissorhands (tie)
Big Fish

...and I'm done!

Count Dooku

Looking at the list, the thing that stands out is that half of them really aren't very good

1. Big Fish (2003) for the emotional impact, which is unusual for Burton
2. Ed Wood (1994) his most solid story-telling
3. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985) it just wants to be funny and it is
4. Edward Scissorhands (1990) beautiful in parts, over-indulgent in others
tie 5. Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) gotta give him credit for kick-starting the genre that has defined popular movies since
6. Beetlejuice (1988) very creative and fun, in and out in 90 min
If we were including The Nightmare Before Christmas that would be #7

Coral

Ed Wood
.
.
.
Big Eyes
Big Fish
,
,
.
Everything else grouped together one one big pile of crapulance.

The Cow

Beetlejuice
Batman
Mars Attacks

RichC2

Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice
Mars Attacks
Ed Wood
Big Fish
Batman
Edward Scissorhands
Sleepy Hollow

IBJoel

Batman
Batman Returns
Beetlejuice
Mars Attacks!
Pee Wee
Edward Scissorhands
Frankenweenie
Sweeney Todd
Dark Shadows
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Planet of the Apes
Alice in Wonderland

I can't rank Big Fish, since I haven't seen it in 10 years, but probably above/below Pee Wee?

Inhumans99

Not going to rank but shocked I have seen 13 Tim B films as that is probably the most films I have seen by a specific director. There are tons of Spielberg films I have not seen, and others from well known directors like him who are pretty prolific but I have seen at least 13 Tim Burton films (maybe even 14, as I think I Netflixed Sleepy Hollow back in the days when I had not yet transitioned to all-streaming through Netflix)...go figure.

Mike86

I actually haven’t seen as many of his films as I thought. There are some especially notable ones I haven’t watched such as Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (never much into Pee-Wee in general), Edward Scissorhands, and Ed Wood. I kinda stopped paying attention to him a long time ago.

I’ve seen:
Beetlejuice
Batman
Batman Returns
The Nightmare Before Christmas (yes, he didn’t direct it, but it’s basically his movie)
Sleepy Hollow
Big Fish (though not for a long time)
Alice in Wonderland

Of was what I’ve seen I like most of them aside from Alice in Wonderland. I think The Nightmare Before Christmas is overplayed and I don’t love it as much as many do, but it’s still good. I got sort of tired of his whole goth style and seeming to feel the need to make everything overly weird.

The Questyen

I've heard enough stuff from Henry Selick about how Tim Burton was only on set during the filming of Nightmare Before Christmas for a few days out of the 2 years it took to make the film that I feel comfortable not counting it as a film he directed. Burton was definitely involved in the early stages but was working on Batman Returns when the majority of Nightmare Before Christmas was being made.

Mabuse

Ed Wood
Beetlejuice
Pee Wee
Edward Scissorhands (recently rewatched this and I liked it way more than I did as a youngster)
Batman Begins
Mars Attacks

and everything else is just downright bad. Alice in Wonderland is one of the very worst movies I’ve ever seen in the modern era.

shizawn

I've seen a good number of Burton films, but it seems like there's only a few that I've seen more than once. So I'll just rank those for now.

1. Beetlejuice
2. Sleepy Hollow
3. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

There are others I remember enjoying, but I'd really need to watch them again to see where they'd rank.

clckworang

1. Ed Wood
2. Beetlejuice
3. Batman
4. Batman Returns
5. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
6. Edward Scissorhands
7. Sleepy Hollow
8. Mars Attacks
9. Frankenweenie
10. Corpse Bride
11. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
12. Big Fish
13. Dumbo
14. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
15. Planet of the Apes
16. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
17. Alice in Wonderland

I haven't seen Big Eyes or Dark Shadows.

Daytripper

Sleepy Hollow
Edward Scissorhands
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
Ed Wood
Beetlejuice
Batman/Batman Returns
Frankenweenie
Big Eyes
Big Fish
Sweeney Todd

Didn't care much for the rest.

Hokeyboy

Of what I've seen?

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
Beetlejuice
Sleepy Hollow
Edward Scissorhands
Dark Shadows
Sweeny Todd
Ed Wood
Batman Returns
Batman
Mars Attacks
Willy Wonka
Planet of the Apes

tanman

1. Nightmare Before Christmas

2. Big Fish (2003)
3. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
4. Batman (1989)
5. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
6. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
7. Batman Returns (1992)
8. Corpse Bride (2005)
9. Frankenweenie (2012)
10. Dumbo (2019)
11. Alice in Wonderland (2010)
13. Beetlejuice (1988)
14. Mars Attacks (1996)
15. Planet of the Apes (2001)

I don't really remember the last two. I remember not liking them very much.
Big Fish on top for me though. It came as a real surprise for me. It's just a wonderfully told story with Tim Burton's fantastical whimsy unusually grounded in a very intimate story about the relationship between a boy and his father. And how you're left guessing how the two worlds are related and to what degree just to find out that in the end it doesn't really matter.

Count Dooku

Based on the reactions here, I might have to give Sleepy Hollow another look. Didn't think much of it when I saw it, but I liked Ricci with lomg blonde hair.

BrewCrew

Of the movies that I have seen:

1. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
2. Big Fish
3. Edward Scissorhands
4. Beetlejuice
5. Ed Wood
6. Dumbo
7. Frankenweenie
8. Batman
9. Batman Returns
10. Mars Attacks
11. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
12. Sleepy Hollow
13. Sweeney Todd
14. Planet of the Apes
15. Alice in Wonderland

I was also surprised how many of his movies I have seen. Pee Wee was the first I saw and still the best IMHO. Big Fish was the biggest surprise as I wasn't expecting much but really hit home with the father/son relationship and even more now that I have two sons. Some like Dumbo and Frankenweenie I probably rate higher just because my kids like those movies and I like watching with them. I need to revisit Sleepy Hollow and Sweeney Todd, just did not like them at the time, maybe I wasn't in the right mood to watch them. Alice in Wonderland is the only one I hate. I keep on meaning to watch Corpse Bride but never have.

inri222

1. Ed Wood
2. Batman
3. Batman Returns
4. Edward Scissorhands

Don't care for the rest.

tanman

Honestly I think Beetlejuice is overrated. I know it's sacrilege to say as much of a cult favorite it's become. I just watched it maybe 10 years ago so not when it originally came out so maybe that's why I didn't get the hype.

GoldenJCJ

I would say the same thing about Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. That movie is damn near unwatchable to me. Of course, I also find Pee Wee Herman insanely annoying, always have, despite the fact that I was the exact right age when he was at the height of his popularity.

IBJoel

I can handle him in the movie, but I agree that the show drove me a little nutty. I found Big Top Pee Wee to be basically unwatchable. Maybe I need that early Burton touch?

tanman

You know, I've never watched that one either. I remember Pee Wee's playhouse and liking that well enough but never had any interest in watching the movie. Plus we didn't go to the movies that much back then and my parents would certainly not have spent the money on that movie. It does get a lot of love as a cult classic though.