I think it’s obvious that I’m a big Tim Burton fan. I’ve written about a few of my favourites like Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. I’ve also seen other Burton films like Batman and Big Fish about a hundred times.
So when I finally got around to seeing the Tim Burton exhibition at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, I was not at all disappointed.
It was worth the price of admission ($22.75), and worth getting yelled at by a security guard when I tried to take a picture with my iPhone.
There are some amazing pieces on display: Edward Scissorhands’ suit, puppets from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and plenty of letters and sketches from Burton’s personal collection.
I really like this review of the exhibition written by Lauren Flanagan. Here is the last paragraph:
In closing it should be noted that I’ve never been a diehard Tim Burton fan. I would consider myself more of a casual admirer. I haven’t seen Pee Wee’s Big Adventure since my age was in single digits (and for the record I remember being terrified of it), and I’ve never seen Sweeney Todd, Planet of the Apes, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But what I have seen I’ve always appreciated. That said, I’ve been to more museum and art gallery exhibits than I can remember. But never have I been to an exhibit where I stopped and examined every single piece in such detail. Sketch after sketch, prop after prop, I was drawn to every single item and felt the need to give each one close inspection. They’re that intriguing. All-in-all it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I don’t think you have to be a major Burton fan to appreciate it. A fondness for the macabre on the other hand is something of a prerequisite.
The show runs until April 17th, 2011.
Go check it out!