Many of us have gone through a “goth phase” at some point in our lives. For me, that phase started at the age of five. For this, I mostly blame the works of one Mr. Tim Burton, influential filmmaker, infamous weirdo, and master of the charming-macabre aesthetic that has colored an entire generation.
Like most arty types with a vision, Burton started out small, filming stop-motion shorts in his yard as a child. He attended the California Institute of the Arts and went on to work at Disney, where he quickly gained the attention of critics for short films he made, and continued to make after leaving Disney, such as Frankenweenie, an adaptation of the Frankenstein story told about a boy and his pet dog, which was one of my childhood favorites.
Burton’s first feature was Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, which was a box-office success and proved Burton could work his magic full-length films as well as shorts. It was Burton’s second feature, however, that holds a special place in my heart. Beetlejuice, released in 1988 (the year I was born), is a dark, twisted, hilarious little masterpiece that entrances me as much now as it did when I was too young to understand half the jokes. Perhaps it was the morbid, rebellious young heroine, or the idea of having ghost-friends who would levitate you to music if you got good grades, or perhaps it was the surreal cartoon-quality of the characters and the scenic design. Whatever it was, it colored my childhood, my life and my work as a designer indelibly.
After Beetlejuice came other greats, my personal favorites being The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman, Sleepy Hollow, and the highly underrated Mars Attacks! Burton’s films have a cohesive feel that is unique and captivating, whether or not you’re a little goth kid like I was. His more recent films, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland, do have a distinctly different flavor than “old school” Burton, I’ll admit, and many fans of his earlier works are on the fence as to how they feel about this new turn in his film making. Say what you will, but one cannot argue the fact that no matter how his films have changed, he is still doing what he did years ago: his films still transport the audience right smack in the middle of his own vivid and fantastical imagination, something we, as an audience along for the ride, can all appreciate. I certainly think my five-year-old self would approve.
Hannah Kittell graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2010, and works in costume design for stage, film and television. She is a native of Warwick, RI, and lives in New York City. Her work can be seen on her website at www.HannahKittell.com.
Special thanks go to the very talented Stylist Terry J. Wheaton, Model Amanda Gordon, Make-up by Jeni Teran, The incredible retouching of Mr. James Eves, and Photo Editor Raquel Vidal. Photograph by Steve Marsel
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