I trust a Tim Burton doorway only slightly more than a suspicious basement staircase. These 120 questions visit striped suits, crooked rooftops, misunderstood outsiders, stop-motion skeletons, headless riders, enormous top hats, and several suburban neighborhoods that desperately need a homeowners' association meeting.
Keep watching with our movie trivia, Batman trivia, and Halloween trivia.
Early Life, Short Films, and Breakthrough Movies
Q: Where was Tim Burton born?
A: Burbank, California, a suburban landscape later echoed in his work.
Q: In what year was Tim Burton born?
A: 1958, on August 25.
Q: Which college trained Burton in character animation?
A: California Institute of the Arts, commonly called CalArts.
Q: Which studio hired Burton after CalArts?
A: Walt Disney Productions hired him as an animator and concept artist.
Q: What is the title of Burton's 1982 stop-motion short?
A: Vincent, about a boy who imagines himself as Vincent Price.
Q: Who narrates Vincent?
A: Horror-film legend Vincent Price, one of Burton's childhood heroes.
Q: What is the boy's full name in Vincent?
A: Vincent Malloy, a polite child with gloriously macabre fantasies.
Q: Which 1984 Burton short follows a resurrected dog?
A: Frankenweenie, originally filmed in live action.
Q: What is the resurrected dog's name?
A: Sparky, brought back by young inventor Victor Frankenstein.
Q: What was Burton's feature directing debut?
A: Pee-wee's Big Adventure, released in 1985.
Q: What missing object launches Pee-wee's journey?
A: His beloved red bicycle, stolen early in the movie.
Q: Who plays Pee-wee Herman?
A: Paul Reubens, who also cowrote the film.
Q: Which roadside attraction hosts Pee-wee's famous dance?
A: A biker bar, where he performs to Tequila.
Q: Which composer first scored a Burton feature?
A: Danny Elfman on Pee-wee's Big Adventure.
Q: Which 1988 film established Burton's supernatural comedy style?
A: Beetlejuice, a story about ghosts hiring an unruly bio-exorcist.
Q: Who plays Betelgeuse in Beetlejuice?
A: Michael Keaton, buried beneath wild makeup and an even wilder personality.
Q: How must Betelgeuse be summoned?
A: Someone must say his name three times.
Q: Who are the recently deceased homeowners?
A: Adam and Barbara Maitland, played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis.
Q: Who is the Deetz daughter able to see the Maitlands?
A: Lydia Deetz, played by Winona Ryder.
Q: Which phrase does Lydia use to describe herself?
A: Strange and unusual, unlike ordinary people who cannot see ghosts.
Q: What book guides the Maitlands through death?
A: The Handbook for the Recently Deceased.
Q: What song accompanies the possessed dinner scene?
A: Day-O, the Banana Boat Song performed by Harry Belafonte.
Q: What creatures inhabit Saturn in Beetlejuice?
A: Giant sandworms that prowl the strange desert afterlife.
Q: Which actor plays designer Delia Deetz?
A: Catherine O'Hara, whose sculptures become part of the haunting.
Q: Which actor plays interior decorator Otho?
A: Glenn Shadix, wearing costumes as memorable as his séance.
Q: What is Betelgeuse's profession?
A: He calls himself a bio-exorcist who removes living people for ghosts.
Q: Which 1989 blockbuster made Burton a major studio director?
A: Batman, starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson.
Q: Who composed the score for Batman?
A: Danny Elfman, whose main theme became closely associated with the hero.
Q: Which musician supplied songs for Batman?
A: Prince, who released an album tied to the film.
Q: Who plays photojournalist Vicki Vale?
A: Kim Basinger, opposite Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne.
Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, and Ed Wood
Q: Who plays Edward Scissorhands?
A: Johnny Depp, beginning a long creative partnership with Burton.
Q: Why does Edward have scissors instead of hands?
A: His inventor died before he could attach the planned human hands.
Q: Who plays Edward's inventor?
A: Vincent Price, in his final feature-film role.
Q: Who brings Edward into the pastel suburb?
A: Avon saleswoman Peg Boggs, played by Dianne Wiest.
Q: Who is Edward's love interest?
A: Kim Boggs, played by Winona Ryder.
Q: What artistic talent first wins over the neighborhood?
A: Edward trims hedges into elaborate topiary sculptures.
Q: What beauty service does Edward perform with his blades?
A: He cuts dramatic hairstyles for the neighborhood women and their dogs.
Q: What does Edward carve to create falling snow?
A: An ice angel, whose shavings drift over Kim as she dances.
Q: Where was the suburban neighborhood filmed?
A: Tinsmith Circle in Lutz, Florida, with homes repainted in pastel colors.
Q: Who plays Kim's cruel boyfriend Jim?
A: Anthony Michael Hall, working against his earlier teen-comedy image.
Q: Which holiday frames the end of Edward Scissorhands?
A: Christmas, contrasting festive suburbia with Edward's isolation.
Q: In what year was Edward Scissorhands released?
A: 1990, between Burton's two Batman movies.
Q: Which villains appear in Batman Returns?
A: Catwoman, the Penguin, and corrupt businessman Max Shreck.
Q: Who plays Selina Kyle and Catwoman?
A: Michelle Pfeiffer, dressed in a stitched black costume.
Q: Who plays Oswald Cobblepot and the Penguin?
A: Danny DeVito, transformed with prosthetics and elaborate makeup.
Q: Who plays Max Shreck?
A: Christopher Walken, whose character was created for the film.
Q: Where was the Penguin raised?
A: Beneath Gotham in the abandoned Arctic World of the city zoo.
Q: What animals pull the Penguin's funeral procession?
A: Emperor penguins slide his body into the water.
Q: Which holiday season surrounds Batman Returns?
A: Christmas, complete with snow, lights, and a dangerous tree ceremony.
Q: In what year was Batman Returns released?
A: 1992, three years after Batman.
Q: Which 1994 Burton film celebrates a notorious filmmaker?
A: Ed Wood, a black-and-white biographical comedy-drama.
Q: Who plays director Ed Wood?
A: Johnny Depp, wearing Wood's trademark smile and angora sweaters.
Q: Who plays Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood?
A: Martin Landau, who won an Academy Award for the role.
Q: Which actor plays Bunny Breckinridge?
A: Bill Murray, as Wood's friend and would-be performer.
Q: Which infamous movie does Ed Wood struggle to make?
A: Plan 9 from Outer Space, later famous for its production flaws.
Q: What visual format does Burton use for Ed Wood?
A: Black-and-white cinematography evoking Wood's own low-budget films.
Q: Which actor portrays television psychic Criswell?
A: Jeffrey Jones, delivering florid predictions and narration.
Q: Who composed Ed Wood instead of Danny Elfman?
A: Howard Shore, during a temporary break in Burton and Elfman's partnership.
Q: Which creature feature inspired Ed Wood's octopus scene?
A: Bride of the Monster, filmed using a prop without a working motor.
Q: What award did Ed Wood win for its makeup?
A: The Academy Award for Best Makeup, awarded to Rick Baker's team.
Stop-Motion Worlds, Musicals, and Fantasy
Q: What role did Burton have on The Nightmare Before Christmas?
A: He conceived the story, produced the film, and created its characters.
Q: Who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas?
A: Henry Selick, an important distinction I will defend at holiday dinner.
Q: Who is Halloween Town's Pumpkin King?
A: Jack Skellington, a skeleton bored with his annual routine.
Q: Who loves Jack Skellington?
A: Sally, a rag-doll creation of Doctor Finkelstein.
Q: What holiday town fascinates Jack?
A: Christmas Town, discovered through a tree-shaped doorway.
Q: Who is Halloween Town's gambling villain?
A: Oogie Boogie, a burlap sack filled with insects.
Q: Who composed the movie's songs and score?
A: Danny Elfman, who also provided Jack's singing voice.
Q: Who provides Jack's speaking voice?
A: Chris Sarandon, while Elfman handles the songs.
Q: Which trio kidnaps Santa Claus?
A: Lock, Shock, and Barrel, Oogie Boogie's masked young henchmen.
Q: In what year was The Nightmare Before Christmas released?
A: 1993, through Disney's Touchstone Pictures label.
Q: Which 2005 stop-motion film did Burton codirect?
A: Corpse Bride, codirected with Mike Johnson.
Q: Who voices Victor Van Dort?
A: Johnny Depp, playing a nervous groom with piano skills.
Q: Who voices the Corpse Bride?
A: Helena Bonham Carter as Emily, a murdered young bride.
Q: Who is Victor's living fiancée?
A: Victoria Everglot, voiced by Emily Watson.
Q: How does Victor accidentally marry Emily?
A: He places a ring on her skeletal finger while rehearsing his vows.
Q: Which stop-motion feature remade Burton's 1984 short?
A: Frankenweenie, released as a feature in 2012.
Q: What visual format distinguishes 2012's Frankenweenie?
A: Black-and-white stop-motion photography.
Q: What town houses Victor and Sparky?
A: New Holland, a suburb with a highly competitive science fair.
Q: Which Japanese movie monster inspires a giant turtle?
A: Gamera, echoed when Shelley grows enormous after resurrection.
Q: Which 1996 film destroys landmarks with gleeful aliens?
A: Mars Attacks!, based on a Topps trading-card series.
Q: What sound do the Martians repeatedly make?
A: Ack ack, delivered with alarming confidence and very little diplomacy.
Q: What music proves deadly to the Martians?
A: Slim Whitman's Indian Love Call makes their heads explode.
Q: Which 1999 film adapts Washington Irving?
A: Sleepy Hollow, starring Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane.
Q: What profession does Burton's Ichabod Crane have?
A: New York police constable and early forensic investigator.
Q: Who plays Katrina Van Tassel?
A: Christina Ricci, opposite Depp's skeptical investigator.
Q: Who plays the Headless Horseman's living form?
A: Christopher Walken, with Ray Park performing many physical scenes.
Q: Which 2003 film explores Edward Bloom's tall tales?
A: Big Fish, adapted from Daniel Wallace's novel.
Q: Who plays young Edward Bloom?
A: Ewan McGregor, while Albert Finney plays the older Edward.
Q: Which musical did Burton adapt in 2007?
A: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Q: What does Mrs. Lovett bake beneath Sweeney's shop?
A: Meat pies containing the unfortunate victims from the barber chair upstairs.
Later Films, Wednesday, and Hard Burton Trivia
Q: Who plays Willy Wonka in Burton's 2005 film?
A: Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Q: Who plays Charlie Bucket?
A: Freddie Highmore, reunited with Depp after Finding Neverland.
Q: Who composed the Oompa-Loompa songs?
A: Danny Elfman, who also sang their varied vocal parts.
Q: Which actor plays all visible Oompa-Loompas?
A: Deep Roy, multiplied through visual effects.
Q: Which 2010 Burton film revisits Wonderland?
A: Alice in Wonderland, with Mia Wasikowska as an older Alice.
Q: Who plays the Mad Hatter?
A: Johnny Depp, in enormous orange hair and changing eye colors.
Q: Who plays the Red Queen?
A: Helena Bonham Carter, digitally given an oversized head.
Q: Which creature must Alice defeat?
A: The Jabberwocky, voiced by Christopher Lee.
Q: Which 2012 film adapts a supernatural soap opera?
A: Dark Shadows, with Depp as vampire Barnabas Collins.
Q: In which decade does Barnabas awaken?
A: The 1970s, after nearly two centuries buried in a coffin.
Q: Which singer appears as herself in Dark Shadows?
A: Alice Cooper, whom Barnabas mistakes for an ugly woman.
Q: Which 2014 film tells painter Margaret Keane's story?
A: Big Eyes, starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz.
Q: What did Walter Keane falsely claim?
A: He claimed credit for Margaret's paintings of children with enormous eyes.
Q: Which 2016 film features children with unusual abilities?
A: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
Q: Who plays Miss Peregrine?
A: Eva Green, whose character can transform into a peregrine falcon.
Q: What repeated day protects the peculiar children?
A: September 3, 1943, preserved inside a time loop.
Q: Which 2019 Disney remake did Burton direct?
A: Dumbo, expanding the animated circus story in live action.
Q: What physical feature lets Dumbo fly?
A: His enormous ears, initially hidden because others ridicule them.
Q: Which actor reunites with Burton as ringmaster Max Medici?
A: Danny DeVito, previously the Penguin in Batman Returns.
Q: What television series did Burton executive-produce and direct?
A: Wednesday, centered on Wednesday Addams at Nevermore Academy.
Q: Who plays Wednesday Addams in the series?
A: Jenna Ortega, who devised much of Wednesday's viral dance.
Q: How many first-season Wednesday episodes did Burton direct?
A: Four, including the premiere and the Rave'N dance episode.
Q: Which actor plays school principal Larissa Weems?
A: Gwendoline Christie, head of Nevermore Academy.
Q: What 2024 sequel returned Burton to the Deetz family?
A: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, released thirty-six years after the original.
Q: Who plays Lydia's daughter Astrid?
A: Jenna Ortega, reuniting with Burton after Wednesday.
Q: Which three original stars return as Deetz characters?
A: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara.
Q: Which costume designer is a frequent Burton collaborator?
A: Colleen Atwood, an Academy Award-winning designer on many of his films.
Q: Which visual motif appears across many Burton characters?
A: Pale faces, dark eye sockets, spindly bodies, stripes, and unruly hair.
Q: Which Burton film starred Mark Wahlberg as an astronaut?
A: Planet of the Apes, released in 2001.
Q: Which actor plays Ichabod Crane and Barnabas Collins?
A: Johnny Depp, Burton's most frequent leading-man collaborator.
How Did You Score?
If you knew Vincent Malloy, Boo'ya Moon is thankfully not here, the Rave'N episode count, the deadly Slim Whitman song, and exactly who directed Nightmare, your Burton credentials are strange and unusual. That is the nicest possible compliment.
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