Last week I read a piece in The Guardian about how Wes Anderson and Tim Burton have both begun to wear thin stylistically. This came not long after listen to the folks on the Extra Hot Great podcast make a similar negative comparison to Tim Burton in their discussion of Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom. I’ve heard people complain about Wes Anderson’s apparently stunted growth as a filmmaker ever since The Life Aquatic came out in 2004 and always found it somewhat off-base, but now I finally understand why. Never before had I heard the comparison to Burton, but now that I have it all makes sense. All the complaining. All the jabs at Anderson for falling on stylistic crutches and repeating themes. I have similar complaints about Burton.
There is a difference, though, between Wes Anderson and Tim Burton. While Wes Anderson continues to tell stories informed by a stylistic lens, Tim Burton has effectively stopped telling stories, favouring instead the ability to treat his production like a stylized playground. Where one ends and the other begins is difficult to tell, but it’s an important distinction nonetheless. Click to read more.
