Edward ScissorhandsandBatman Returnsare certainly not Christmas films in the traditional sense. However, they both feature a Christmas setting that is given a gothic touch, perfect for those looking for a bit of darkness to balance out the holiday cheer. They also come from director Tim Burton, who inadvertently created a Christmas double-feature whose approaches feel connected in more ways than one.
After directing 1989’sBatman, which proved to be hugely successful, Burton decided to craft a film that was deeply personal to him. Releasedin 1990,Edward Scissorhandswas partially conceived from Burton’s own childhood upbringing in the suburbs of Burbank, California, and a drawing that the director created as a teenager that represented his feelings of isolation while living in the area. The drawing was that of a thin and solemn man that had long blades for fingers. What became the film, which focuses on an unfinished humanoid who has scissor blades for hands that is taken in by a suburban family, was a deeply personal story to Burton, and he still references it as his most personal and favorite work.
Both Films Focus on Tragic and Misunderstood Characters
FollowingEdward Scissorhands, Burton directed 1992’sBatman Returns, and his major stipulation for returning for the sequel was that he would have more creative control. As a result, the finished product feels less like aBatmanmovie andmore like a Burton filmbecause the filmmaker focuses on elements that informed his work onEdward Scissorhands.Batman Returnsputs more of a focus on its tragic figures (Danny DeVito’s Penguinand Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman) while wrapping up the narrative in his signature atmospheric production design that is given an assist by setting the film during the holiday season. WhileBatman Returnsuses Christmas more throughout its runtime,Edward Scissorhands’visual aesthetic is almost that of a winter wonderland. There is beauty in both films' visual palettes, but there is also darkness and loneliness that permeates almost every frame of both productions.
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Together, these films make for an unconventional Christmas double-feature because they don’t have the obvious joy associated with most movies viewed during the holiday, such asHome Alone,Elf, orA Christmas Story, to name a few. InEdward Scissorhands, the title character (Johnny Depp) is a tragic but beautiful soul who is trying to adjust to a world that is equal parts fascinated with him and yet doesn’t understand him.
In many ways, it seems like Burton’s work on that film influenced how he would approachBatman Returnsbecause he poured most of his focus into The Penguin, a villain that Burton envisioned as a more sympathetic character. The Penguin is no doubt a villain, but he’s an isolated figure, much like Edward, whose tragic backstory gives him more depth. In fact, the director pays more service to both villains, as Catwoman is another antagonist whose origin story makes her more flawed than outright villainous. Burton seems to identify with darker and misunderstood characters, and they take center stage in bothEdward Scissorhandsand theBatmansequel.
Most of the elements that make both films similar enough for a seamless Christmas-time viewing come down to their technical attributes. The most obvious similarity is Danny Elfman’s score, whose beautiful pieces of music are used in both films.Elfman and Burton go hand in handwith each other and these projects would be their fourth and fifth time collaborating. As Burton has calledEdward Scissorhandshis most personal work, Elfman has also expressed this about the score he crafted for the film.Scissorhandsis his most whimsical and emotional score, and it gives the movie an almost fairytale sound that elevates the emotional weight of every scene.
Take the “Ice Dance” sequence, which features Kim (Winona Ryder) dancing around in the snowfall as Edward shears away creating an ice sculpture in her likeness. The scene, on its own, captures the winter holiday spirit as Edward creates a beautiful snowfall for Kim that she glides through as if she’s elegantly dancing in a ballet. Variations of this music are also used during the film’s closing moments as an older Kim, now talking to her granddaughter, explains that she believes Edward is still out there because, before his arrival all those years ago, it never snowed, and now it does. Even though some of the film is decidedly dour, moments like this go straight to your heart and lift your spirits.
The Music and Visuals Create a Dark Winter Wonderland
Elfman’s score forBatman Returnsis bigger in its scope than his music forScissorhands, but some of his music choices for theBatmansequel are reminiscent of his work on the 1990 film. That’s not to say that Elfman recycled his music fromEdward ScissorhandsinBatman Returns,but since they were done back to back, it feels as if his musical cues for the former influenced the more tragic themes of the latter. The Batman theme that opensReturnshas shades of the signature theme he made for the 1989 film, but it has an added carol-like style that adds to the film’s darker Christmas setting.
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The production designand visuals for both films also make them compatible in many ways. While the suburban homes and setting inEdward Scissorhandsare far more colorful than anything inBatman Returns, the dark manor where Edward resides is in line with the world Burton would help create in theBatmansequel. This becomes more obvious as the film draws closer to its climax on Christmas. There is beauty in the aforementioned “Ice Dance” sequence, but the movie takes on a darker visual tone as the town begins to turn on Edward, and he’s forced to retreat to his home. It’s a visual style that would become a signature for Burton as he uses deep blues and grays to create a chilly environment for his projects.
WithBatman Returns, Burton took what he learned fromEdward Scissorhandsand expanded it for a film that had a much larger scope.Batman Returnslooks much different from its predecessor and certainly has a style that is more Burton than the character’s DC Comics origins. The visuals are beautiful but bleaker than that of the first film and its more gothic style meshes well with the Christmas setting. Gotham City looks like a snow globe come to life in this entry, and even though he had more money to work with onBatman Returns, you can see some of the humble visual beginnings happening inEdward Scissorhands.
Edward ScissorhandsandBatman Returnsmight seem like an unlikely pairing on paper, but they have more in common than meets the eye.Edward Scissorhandsis Burton’s most personal film, while he was given more creative license onBatman Returns, so both films are passion projects for Burton. If an unconventional Christmas movie double feature is what you’re looking for, it doesn’t get much better than Burton’s dark, twisted, yet beautiful world.Stream both movies on Max.
