Tim Burton summons star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Last Updated on October 1, 2024

Tim Burton, who turned goth into chic and made nightmares fun, has received a much-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice now out in theaters (read our review here), there was no better moment for his showtime.

Tim Burton received his star – the 2,788th on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – on Tuesday, with a crowd gathering to show off their love for the filmmaker. Also in attendance to pay tribute were frequent collaborators Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, who of course all worked together on 1988’s Beetlejuice and its much-anticipated sequel.

In his speech, Michael Keaton remembered their greatest box office achievement, 1989’s Batman, which was the second of four collaborations, preceding the aforementioned Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Dumbo (although he’d probably rather forget about that one). Keaton, as many do, gave Tim Burton credit for showing the box office potential of comic book movies. “There are a lotta people making a lotta money out there with their superhero movies because of his choice and his vision of what those movies can be.”

Winona Ryder – who also worked with Tim Burton on 1990’s Edward Scissorhands and lended her voice to Frankenweenie (the full-length adaptation of his delightfully wicked short) – went a more sentimental route in her speech, acknowledging the powerful role he had in her early career. “You affirmed my voice, you reinforced my confidence to be myself, to go against the tides of conformity. Your creative inclusiveness showed me what true artistic collaboration looked like. In other words, you make being a weird girl not just OK but something to celebrate and even kind of cool.”

Tim Burton has a storied career that found him garnering the attention of Disney early on. And while his distinct style didn’t quite fit their brand all of the time and the studio eventually got rid of him (for the time being, at least), he built clout and soon established a fringe audience. His first feature was Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure before laying the foundation for his legacy with Beetlejuice and Batman. Burton had an incredibly strong run through the ‘90s with films like Edward Scissorhands, my personal favorite Ed Wood and the underrated Mars Attacks!, just to name a few.

While some of Tim Burton’s adaptations – chiefly Alice in Wonderland, Dark Shadows and Dumbo – didn’t stick the landing with his core fanbase, there’s no denying his visual style has made a mark on the industry.

What is your favorite Tim Burton movie? Tell us why it’s your fav in the comments section below!