Tim Burton has created such a unique body of work, so much so that it’s very difficult to compare his work to any other films apart from his own.
Honourable mentions: The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach. Haven’t seen Mars Attacks! or Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, therefore it would not have been fair to rank them.
Which one will make it to number one?
10. Corpse Bride (2005) – Could easily be described as a mix between The Nightmare Before Christmas and Sleepy Hollow. It follows the atmosphere of Sleepy Hollow and incorporates similar crazy characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Fans of those two films will not be disappointed by this one.
9. Sleepy Hollow (1999) – A creepy, gothic film. Depp gives a great performance. The Headless Horseman, portrayed by Christopher Walken, is particularly menacing. Heads will roll…
8. Frankenweenie (2012) – I wouldn’t exactly advise children to view this film, as it could be seen as quite disturbing for an animation. Very different from the rest, unique, and underrated.
7. Beetlejuice (1988) – A very good dark comedy. The humour is constantly flowing here and there, and Burton’s style literally leaks off the walls. Simply a film only Burton could execute.
6. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) – Does exactly what it is set out to do – to entertain. Great cast, marvellous settings and sticks firmly to the original narrative, adding Burton-style along the way.
5. Big Eyes (2014) – For those of you who appreciate cinema as an art, I highly recommend this film. The colours featured in this film are exceedingly vivid and vibrant, as if you are watching a painting. It’s certainly one of the most creative films I’ve seen in a long time. I haven’t heard many people talking about this film, in fact, it is very underrated. A thought-provoking watch.
4. Alice in Wonderland (2010) – Despite there being many people who didn’t particularly like this film – I genuinely loved it. Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp played their roles exceptionally well. Had the weird and wacky Tim Burton feel all the way through. I am not usually a big fan on Disney’s live-action films, as the majority turn out to be just average. I feel that this one however, brought a great twist. Not at all a classic, but in my eyes, it’s definitely still worth a watch! Not to mention, the cinematography and animation was very well executed.
3. Edward Scissorhands (1990) – A fine performance from Johnny Depp can salvage an entire film, but his work is not this film’s only asset. The entire cast is strong, and enough whimsy, humour is possessed to make it a cinematic classic.
2. Batman (1989) – Nothing short of fantastic and I recommend to anyone who likes a sense of adventure, humour and a good old-fashioned battle between the good, and the evil. Keaton gives a great performance. Jack Nicholson executes the Joker. Personally, I found him more frightening than Heath Ledger, though at the same time I preferred Ledger’s style of performance. Either way, they were equally as good as one another – I am still unable to decide. Each of the action sequences and stunts were gripping. Here, Tim Burton certainly showed off his ability in mastering dark directing.
1. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2010) – Favourite Tim Burton film of all-time! As I had mentioned previously, this film is not for everyone. If blood makes you queasy and your eyes tend to roll when characters sing, this is not the film for you. But it’s a masterpiece. Consider it sold.
Are you a Tim Burton Fan? Which of his films are your favourites? Let me know below in the comments section!
Georgina Reviews 
I am a huge fan of Burton. I presume this includes films he produced as well seeing as you mentioned James and The Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas so here are my top 10.
10. 9
9. The Nightmare Before Christmas
8. Frankenweenie
7. Beetlejuice
6. Sleepy Hollow
5. Batman
4. Edward Scissorhands
3. Ed Wood (although it is historically inaccurate)
2. Sweeney Todd: The demon barber of fleet street
1. Big Fish
Honourable mentions: Hansel and Gretel, Big Eyes and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.
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Thanks for commenting – great to read your choices! Good to see another Burton fan too! I must get around to watching ‘9’, I must have missed that one completely! Nice choices!
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He didn’t direct 9, only produced it. I have to admit the press for it was very poor which is probably why you missed it.
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Great list, glad to see Batman up there – one of my absolute faves!
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Me too – an all time classic and one of the best superheroes of all time. Not forgetting the Joker! Thanks for reading!
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I loved Edward Scissorhands and Alice in Wonderland!!!!! No one could do what Burton did with those films. He’s one of my favorite directors!!
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Great post! I did a top ten list of his films as well – we have quite different taste in his stuff. Edward Scissorhands is my number one by a LONG way. I also had Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure very high – maybe at number two. I did really enjoy Sweeney Todd, though. 🙂
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I will certainly check out your list! They are all very hard contenders – that’s just what you get from a great director! It took longer than usual to decide on the order myself! Haha! And thank You! 🙂
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My favourite Burton film would have to be The Nightmare Before Christmas, the music and animation is just spectacular and honestly it’s one of my favourite films just in general. I recently got round to watching Big Eyes and really enjoyed it, even though it wasn’t in his typical style.
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The Nightmare Before Christmas is certainly captivating to the eyes and ears! Glad you enjoyed Big Eyes! It was a very underrated film if you ask me, deserved a lot more attention, it was very unique, and as you stated, not his typical style!
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Great list I think Big Fish and Big Eyes are my favourites
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Batman? Always preferred Nicholson. I haven’t seen the full film with Ledger, but I’m kinda put away by the overdone makeup and stuff. It’s just not my style, sorry. I think Jack Nicholson just nails it in every way possible.
My choices for favorite Burton films are probably The Nightmare Before Christmas and Batman. Sweeney, while being adapted from the Sondheim musical, freaked me out quite a bit. I prefer to just listen to a soundtrack or cast recording of Sweeney without the visuals. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was my first Burton film, and so it is also one of my favorites.
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I love Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory best.
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Batman for me. I love his version of the character and the iconic villain. I also put it down to Burton that Batman went back to being a dark, serious character again – thankfully!
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nice list! I regret to say that I haven’t actually seen many Burton films! definitely have to check some
of these out! regarding batman- I liked Nicholson as the joker (although no one can surpass ledger in my opinion) but I just didn’t like Keaton! but who knows, maybe a second watching will
prove better!
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