THE
OUTSIDER
None of the protagonists of Tim burton films belongs in the "normal" world represented within the film: Burton's heroes create their own reality in which different rules apply. The clearest example of this is Burton's first film Vincent, in which the main character consciously cuts himself off from the world of his parents, who would prefer to see him playing outside or going to baseball games like "normal" children. Instead, he creates his own fantasy world of horror film images where their rules do not apply. Victor Frankenstein's isolation in Frankenweenie is less complete, but he also deliberately excludes his parents once he plans to bring Sparky back to life.

Characters like Batman and Catwoman are outsiders mostly because of their split personalities that are too complicated for anyone, even themselves, to understand. But sometimes Burton characters' outsider status comes from being too simple. Edward Scissorhands for instance is an outsider because of his good-natured naivete and his unusual appearance. In spite of his good intentions he always ends up hurting people from wanting to touch them. Therefore he finally realizes that his attempts to fit in will always fail, for most people will never be able to see past his appearance, and he retreats back into his own world.

Jack Skellington gives the same concept an interesting twist: he does not feel at home in his own world, where he knows he belongs, and only after his failed attempts to change into something he cannot be does he accept his place within Halloweenland. His problem is similar to that of Ed Wood; he is unable to view himself from the outside, to understand how he is perceived by others. Jack thinks he is bringing joy to the children on Christmas Eve, while in fact he is scaring them out of their wits, and Ed Wood believes he is producing great cinema, while he is being laughed out of every studio. But whereas Jack finally learns to understand who and what he really is, and is able to accept that, Ed Wood is stuck inside his own world until the very end, without a clue as to how he is viewed from the outside. It is this very lack of insight that gives him almost unlimited faith in himself and in his work, but it is also what makes him a tragic and ultimately alienating figure.