Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder in Edward Scissorhands Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

"It was somewhat new territory at the time," he says. "There weren't a lot of dark comics at that time. They were a little nervous about it. We went over to England to get away from all of the kind of hype that was going on at the time, so we were just able to have focus and make the movie and be away from everything."

THE TWO EDS
Following Batman, Burton was able to pursue a more personal project that had been floating around in his imagination since his teen years: Edward Scissorhands.

"I had done some drawings that were reminiscent of the character. I didn't know what it meant then. Just after years of not having a girlfriend and total isolation, it was the sort of character I felt [I understood]. I always liked the idea of fables or folk tales and Frankenstein stories," he says.

So Burton decided he would create a new fairy tale about a lonely creature left with scissors in place of hands when his creator dies before he is able to complete his work. Burton claims he had a "rough idea" about the visualization of Scissorhands but it only came into being when he got Depp involved: "You like to develop it with the actors always…I have always liked actors that like to be spontaneous and have a good idea about what they want to do, but then save it until the set. I have been very lucky to work with actors that like to work that way. I quite like to work with actors that are very good at improv, so that is all part of the communication and just saving it and seeing what happens on set."

The larger productions of Batman Returns and The Nightmare Before Christmas were once again followed by a film of smaller, more intimate proportions, a sympathetic black-and-white biopic of schlock director Edward D. Wood, Jr., which also starred Depp in the title role.

"I had seen Ed Wood films," Burton recalls. "I read his biography, and I realized that there's such a fine line between success and failure. When he's talking about Plan 9 [From Outer Space], you would think he is talking about Star Wars. He had such an enthusiasm for the films that he did. And I felt his enthusiasm. You have to love what you are doing; even if it is the biggest piece of crap in the world, you still go into it loving it wanting it to be great."

Burton again reunited with Depp for Sleepy Hollow, following a Depp-less Mars Attacks! In Burton's take on Washington Irving's beloved story, Ichabod Crane is no longer a school teacher but rather a creepy detective with a passion for forensic science. For the role of Crane, Depp wanted to don a huge prosthetic nose like the character in the Disney animated classic.

"He always wants to change his appearance," Burton notes. "I don't think he had done Pirates yet. So we were still in box office hell. People always liked us, but they were always like: 'Oh Jeez. Here comes another bomb! Okay! Watch out! Everybody duck for cover!' So we talked about it and we finally decided: 'Okay. You can't wear the nose. But you can play an action hero like a 13-year-old girl.' So that is what he based his character on."