Tim Burton Opens a ‘Weird, Beautiful Funhouse’ at London’s Design Museum

by · WWD
Tim Burton and curator Maria McLintock at the London exhibition, which showcases 600 items from the director's body of work.Courtesy of the Design Museum / Matt Crossick / PA Media Assignments

LONDON — Just in time for Halloween, the Design Museum in London has unveiled “The World of Tim Burton,” which charts the Goth director’s meteoric career, and showcases his personal archives.

The Design Museum is the final stop for the show, which has toured the world for a decade. The show will run from Friday to April 21.

“It’s like walking around in a weird, beautiful funhouse, which I love,” said Burton ahead of the exhibition’s opening. He conceded, however, that there’s something slightly mortifying about one’s adolescent artwork being on public display.

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“It’s like seeing your dirty laundry put on the walls or something,” said the director. “I can’t overly look at it because it slightly overwhelms me.”

The show opens with Burton’s earliest works — drawings of spindly boys metamorphosing into multicolored monsters. It was a clear rebellion against growing up in the boring suburbs of Burbank, Calif. 

The exhibition begins with Burton’s earliest works, including a children’s book manuscript he submitted to Disney in high school. It was gently rejected by the company.Courtesy of the Design Museum / Rob Harris

“As much as I think about the horrors of suburbia, there were also beautiful things that could spawn, spur your creativity and make you think about things,” Burton said.

Asked if his feelings toward cookie cutter cul-de-sacs had changed over time, he said, “Burbank made me want to watch monster movies, for some reason. These places, I think, shape who you are. I still have very fond, disturbed feelings, about the whole thing,” he continued.

According to the show’s curator, Maria McLintock, what sets the London version of the show apart is how it unpacks the methods behind Burton’s wonderfully macabre oeuvre.

“Michelle Pfeiffer was stitched inside the suit every day for filming, which is wild,” McLintock said of the actress’ “Batman” catsuit, so delicate it had to be displayed laying flat.Rob Harris

“There’s a focus on process,” McLintock said. “Tim has a very thoughtful, involved and handmade process that was central to this show.” 

Moving through the exhibition, visitors are able to look at Burton’s napkin sketches, sculptures and watercolors that laid the groundwork for his most famous titles, including “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Mars Attacks!” and “Beetlejuice.”

There is lots of film paraphernalia, too, including intricate ensembles made by Burton’s longtime collaborator, the costume designer Colleen Atwood. 

It’s a sprawling exhibition that gives a full sense of Burton’s genre-spanning influence. His drawings even inspired Alexander McQueen’s seminal fall 2002 “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” collection.

Despite traveling the world for a decade, more than 32,000 people have purchased tickets to the London show. It has drawn the biggest advance ticket sales in the Design Museum’s history.

The show is being presented in partnership with Harvey Nichols. The British retailer will unveil Burton-esque Christmas windows on Nov. 1, featuring five sculptures from Burton’s private collection.