Tim Burton‘s latest film release is a return to something he’s not done since the 1980s, and it bodes well for the future. After some struggles in the 2010s, which included critical and commercial misfires (Dark Shadows, Dumbo), Burton is bouncing back this decade, largely by returning to what’s always worked for him. That included the long-awaited Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which had strong reviews and equally strong box office, and, of course, Wednesday, which has became one of Netflix’s biggest shows of all time.
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As part of Wednesday Season 2, Burton directed the short film The Tale of the Skull Tree. It factors into the show’s plot, taking place in the first episode of its sophomore outing, but was also released separately online – making it his first animated short since the original Frankenweenie in 1984. That’s a very welcome return, but is also hopefully just the beginning of something bigger: back in July, the director told MILENIO [h/t World of Reel] he was working on a new animated movie: “I am working on something as an animated project. So, hopefully I’ll have the script soon and take it from there. It’s something I’m very excited about.”
Little else has yet been revealed, but it’s hard not to be excited – especially after watching The Tale of the Skull Tree. The Wednesday short is classic Burton: perfectly dark, gothic, creepy, and gorgeously animated using stop-motion. It harkens back to his 1980s shorts like Vincent and the aforementioned Frankenweenie, and also calls to mind full-length projects such as Corpse Bride as well. This is also something of a trend for Burton, as Beetlejuice 2 also had a fantastic stop-motion sequence (depicting what happened to Charles Deetz).
Burton is one of the strongest, most important directors in animation and, alongside Henry Selick, has been a vital creative force in developing stop-motion and keeping it alive. And yet, it’s been 13 years since he last made a feature-length animated movie (the expanded version of Frankenweenie), which is far too long. The 1990s gave us The Nightmare Before Christmas (which Burton didn’t direct, but did help create), the 2000s gave us Corpse Bride, and the 2010s gave us Frankenweenie, so a Burton animation for the 2020s would only be right, and great to see.
This would also fit with the feeling of Burton being back close to his best. We might never get a run like the late-80s into the early-90s (Beetlejuice–Batman–Edward Scissorhands–Batman Returns–Ed Wood is a five-movie streak almost any director would envy), but he’s doing strong work that feels like classic Burton. Crucially, unlike some of his big studio efforts of the 2010s, it does so without just coming off as a cheap pastiche that aims for the style but doesn’t capture the substance.
A new animated movie would really just cap this off, and be a logical next move for the director – likely after his remake of Attack of the 50ft Woman. That’s another that feels like an ideal step for him, going back to the kind of 1950s B-movies that Ed Wood himself made and influenced Burton with. But a full return to animation, given just how long it’s been and how good he clearly still is at it, would be even more exciting.
Wednesday Season 2, Part 1 is currently streaming on Netflix. Part 2 will be released on September 3rd.
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