September 6, 2016

(*This originally ran as a print article in the Tim Burton tribute issue from Birth. Movies. Death. Original art by Erin Gallagher.)

Looking over the vast filmography of Tim Burton, it’s easy to see that he’s visually one of the most unique, living working directors with a very distinct style and voice. In retrospect, it’s hard to imagine a time when you wouldn’t instantly recognize a movie as one of Burton’s from watching a mere few frames from it. But as a kid, I came to know of the director because I loved BATMAN, and I went to see the 1989 feature, based on the world famous DC Comics character, at least 5 times on the big screen, never once realizing that this was from the same guy that had given us PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE.

By the time BATMAN RETURNS rolled around, he’d already released EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and my budding teenage movie-loving mind was finally starting to comprehend that I was watching the work of an auteur. At that point, his director credit at the top of a film was enough to get me excited to check it out. But I’d rarely go back and revisit one of his movies after seeing it theatrically. There’s just too much to watch out there!

Sometime last year, Amazon did one of their infamous Gold Box Deals for the “Tim Burton Collection” Blu-Ray boxed set, and as a voracious collector of physical media, I took advantage. The set, featuring primarily work from his first decade as a filmmaker, along with CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and CORPSE BRIDE thrown in for good measure, gave me the opportunity to go right back to the very beginning of his career. PEE WEE is still just as funny, indelible and quotable as I remember. BATMAN, while still great for its nostalgic factor and for arguably having the best Bruce Wayne / Batman in Michael Keaton, doesn’t really hold up as an accurate comic book adaptation of its source material, nor does it fit the traditional Tim Burton style we’ve come to know and love him for in his subsequent films. It actually might be the least Tim Burton-esque movie of his career. But hell, I still love it. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS is when he really started to come into his own and tell stories that very obviously had his heart and soul at the center of them. And then there’s the rare exception to the rule, the one and only sequel in his filmography, BATMAN RETURNS.

Something struck me that had never been so obvious while I re-watched BATMAN RETURNS. This is by far one of the most Tim Burton movies that Tim Burton ever made. Even more so than EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, BATMAN RETURNS showcases everything that makes Tim Burton who he is, all within the confines of a dark superhero drama.

Let’s start with the characters themselves. The first movie had already established Batman’s look, and because of Keaton, his demeanor as well. Art directors Terry Ackland-Snow, Nigel Phelps and Les Tomkins managed to transform their London shooting locations into the fictitious city of Gotham for the first movie. So a lot of the groundwork for the Batman world had been established for that first film outside of Burton’s complete influence. Remember, he was at the time such a long shot and odd choice to helm this big budget studio movie, who knows how much creative control he had over it; especially with a looming release date. But having proved himself with its massive success upon release, the studio basically let him do whatever he wanted for BATMAN RETURNS and his trademark style can be seen starting with his take on the comic’s iconic characters and the newly revamped Gotham.

Burton’s drawings are very Burton. You see one of his sketches and you can immediately identify it as his. Had the Penguin not existed in the comics, Burton’s version would ideally have appeared in any one of his future features as an original character. And considering how radically different the Penguin that both Burton and Devito created is, he might as well be a new character. Same goes for his version of Catwoman.

Gotham during the Christmas holiday, most certainly has adopted a more gothic look than we saw in the original. And speaking of gothic, let’s talk about the music. Firstly, the scores of Dany Elfman has become synonymous with Tim Burton’s movies. It is, in itself, its own character. And while he defined Batman for the decade that followed with his main theme, it’s really BATMAN RETURNS that has some of the most ambitious and gorgeous of Elfman’s compositions. Seriously, it is wall to wall music, from start to finish. It’s at times beautiful and mournful, and yet hopeful and optimistic. A lot of the score somehow simultaneously captures both the melancholy and excitement that surround the Christmas season, something he started with his score for EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and again reprised in his main theme for SCROOGED. But here in BATMAN RETURNS, it is a complete, lengthy score full of life, and at a creative peak for both composer and director. Look – I love their collaborations both before and after BATMAN RETURNS, but man, it’d be tough to top what they did here.

Also, besides Elfman’s music, the one and only musical artist on the soundtrack is Siouxsie and The Banshees, one of Burton’s favorite bands, delivering an original tune titled “Face To Face,” co-composed by Elfman.

One of the other prominent things in this movie is Burton’s sense of humor, completely on full display. Let’s just take this on exchange of dialogue between Batman and Catwoman in the middle of a fight.

“Did somebody say ‘fish?’ I haven’t been fed all day.”
“Eat floor. High fiber.”
“Hey stud, I thought we had something together.”
“We do.”

On paper, if you read that on its own as you just did, could you ever imagine two well distinguished actors like Keaton and Michelle Pheiffer pulling off that dialogue? And selling it as well as they do? Or Danny Devito’s Penguin randomly suggesting, “could be worse. At least I’m not gushing blood from my nose!,” before viciously attacking his weenie PR person and nearly biting the tip of his nose clean off. Somehow, Burton is the only person on the planet that could make these crazy things be funny and work in a Batman movie! He’s always been a quirky character himself. But of all his films, BATMAN RETURNS is the one that showcases his brand of humor more than any of his other films.

One of the main reasons we have to bow down and give respect to Burton is that in this film, he manages to deliver what I consider the best cinematic Batman moment of all the live action films. Its right as Red Triangle Gang begin their assault on Gotham’s tree lighting ceremony. Commissioner Gordon asks, “well, what are you waiting for? The signal!” Bruce Wayne is sitting silently in a dark room when the Bat signal comes on and illuminates his den. He stands in front of it as if this is what he was waiting for all along. His purpose. To get to work, and be the Batman. Tim Burton’s Batman.

*Rob Galluzzo is the senior editor for Blumhouse.com. He also co-hosts the weekly horror podcast Shock Waves and kicks off every single day with a damn fine cup of coffee.