Getting Away with It: An Artist's Blog about Art: A Dark and Strange Master

Ok, so Tim Burton is a lot of things: an actor, director, animator, and writer. He's also an artist who's dark and whimsical sketches have paved way for many a movie that's tickled the dark minds of horror film lovers everywhere. Burton started out with a dark mind as a kid, making short films in his backyard in Burbank, California. His first successful short film was a stop motion called The Island of Doctor Agor he filmed at age thirteen.

Burton graduated from a California university in the late seventies and became part of the animation staff at Walt Disney studios. Though he proved a valuable employee, he was eventually fired because of a short film called Frankenweenie, released on Halloween in 1984. Disney studios thought the film depicting a little boy trying to revive his dog who was run over by a car was too dark and morbid for children and didnt want their image tainted. This transition worked well for Burton who so longed to create solo projects. Through the years, he has created numerous successful films and befriended many famous actors such as Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Wynona Rider.

Tim Burton currently maintains a romantic relationship with Helena Bonham Carter and has dubbed Johnny Depp as the godfather of both his children.