We all know that Tim Burton loves pancake white makeup, black eyes, spirals and stripes — but those are not the only things he loves to feature over and over again!


You'll see the same handful of characters, plot devices, and even facial expressions over and over again, throughout Tim Burton's films. We've rounded up some common Tim Burton tropes and sorted them into categories, for your next drinking game.

Here are 10 things that turn up in almost every Tim Burton movie.


10) The Pudgy Weasel

Never trust a smiling face with a bit of weight in a Burton movie.

Otho - Beetlejuice

Beadle - Sweeney Todd

Limbo - Planet of the Apes

Tweedledee / Tweedledum - Alice in Wonderland

Augustus Gloop - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Francis Buxton - Pee Wee's Big Adventure

Finis Everglot - The Corpse Bride

The Penguin - Batman Returns



9) The Flashback

What better way to explain your character's pain, than with a flashback!

Emily sings about her nasty death - The Corpse Bride

Ichabod Crane dreams of his busty mother's death - Sleepy Hollow

Willy Wonka has hilarious flashbacks to his sad candy-free past - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The entire movie Big Fish is one flashback after the other

Sweeney Todd remembers his flaxen-haired family before they were taken away from him - Sweeney Todd

Bruce Wayne dreams of his parents - Batman

Alice remembers her Wonderland past and the Hatter his Wonderland war - Alice in Wonderland



8) The Same Actors

Burton loves to dip from the same well all the time. While some actors (Winona Ryder) have appeared in two or three Burton movies, these guys pop up over, and over again.

Johnny Depp

Helena Bonham-Carter

Christopher Lee

Jeffrey Jones




7) The Monster

The thing that goes bump in the night. Hardly ever the main character or real menace, these monsters are built to threaten, propel or set boundaries for Burton's cast. But each one is pretty spectacular.

Oogie Boogie - The Nightmare Before Christmas

The Headless Horseman - Sleepy Hollow

Sand Worm - Beetlejuice

Jabberwocky - Alice In Wonderland



6) The Impossibly Kind Parent Figure

Someone needs a hug! The Burton world is stuffed with insanely wonderful parent figures. That's not to say all the other parents are bad, but for each absentee father or neurotic artist, there's usually one elderly character ready to pick up the pieces and tuck you into a soft waterbed.

The Inventor - Edward Scissorhands

Peg/Bill - Edward Scissorhands

Barbara/Adam - Beetlejuice

Karubi - Planet of the Apes

Alfred - Batman/ Batman Returns

Elder Gutknecht - Corpse Bride

Grandpa Joe (really the whole Bucket family) - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory


5) The Witch

Whether misunderstood or just no good, Burton loves to throw in a sassy witch to stir the pot. Each one of these ladies is an intimidating creature on their own. With great powers that they use to get what they want.

Angelique Bouchard - Dark Shadows

Lady Van Tassel - Sleepy Hollow

The Witch - Big Fish

Mrs. Lovett - Sweeney Todd

The Red Queen - Alice in Wonderland

Catwoman - Batman Returns


4) Nightmare Face

Horrific, bug-eyed scare jumps that make the audience jump out of their chairs. You never actually get to see Michael Keaton's "nightmare face" in Beetlejuice, but there are plenty more to pick from in that movie.

Large Marge - Pee Wee's Big Adventure

Max Shreck's Kiss with Catwoman - Batman Returns

The bug-eyed witch in the woods - Sleepy Hollow

Barbara rips off her face! - Beetlejuice

The horrific Smilex transformation in Batman, which is also the name of the toothpaste company Charlie's father works for in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!


3) The Punky Rebellious Young Lady

The misunderstood ladies trapped in a world of their own. These rebels are often the voice of reason in Burton's mad, mad world.

Lydia Deetz - Beetlejuice

Ari - Planet of the Apes

Carolyn Stoddard - Dark Shadows

Alice - Alice in Wonderland

Sally - The Nightmare Before Christmas

Emily - Corpse Bride




2) The Blonde Ingenue

The other side of the lady coin in Burton's world. This director's obsession with the innocent, blonde ingenue is so strong he's be-wigged countless brunettes to get that perfect bleached from all sins look. In fact Dark Shadows might be the first Burton movie where the innocent love interest isn't blonde (Corpse Bride doesn't count, since Victoria's hair was some sort of light grey).

Sandra Bloom - Big Fish

Katrina Van Tassel - Sleepy Hollow

Kim - Edward Scissorhands

Johanna - Sweeney Todd

Vicki Vale - Batman

Daena - Planet of the Apes

The White Queen - Alice In Wonderland




1) The Skittish Outcast

Burton has built his entire career on the twitchy outcast.

Edward Scissorhands - Edward Scissorhands

Beetlejuice & Lydia - Beetlejuice

Pee Wee - Pee Wee's Big Adventure

Mad Hatter - Alice in Wonderland

Ichabod Crane - Sleepy Hollow

Willy Wonka - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Ed Wood - Ed Wood

Sweeney Todd - Sweeney Todd

Barnabas Collins - Dark Shadows

