The first and most restrained character that Burton and Depp created together, the titular character from Edward Scissorhands is also the most charming. This film is a hilarious and clever take on suburbia, and proof that great suburban satire doesn't have to be set in the 1950s. The famous scene in which Winona Ryder dances beneath Edward's ice sculpture is as beautiful today as it was in 1990, and time has taken nothing away from the performances given by Dianne Wiest and Alan Arkin.

If a biopic about a director doesn't seem like a bankable premise, how about a biopic about the worst director of all time? It should have been box office poison, and it was. But it also turned out to be comedy gold. Ed Wood, director of the infamous Plan 9 from Outer Space, was completely insufferable and simply had no idea how clueless he was about filmmaking. His story gave Depp – in the title role - the chance to give one of his best performances, and Sarah Jessica Parker turned in what could be her absolute best. Meanwhile, the always fantastic Martin Landau won an Oscar for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi.

While arguing with Warner Bros. over the script for Batman, Burton made Beetlejuice, which remains perhaps his strangest film. Yet it became a hit with mainstream audiences and turned into something of a classic. The film is incredible if just for the fact that Michael Keaton completely transformed himself as Beetlejuice. The film also featured rising stars of the time Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, and Winona Ryder in only her third role, and it inspired an animated TV show that lasted four seasons.

As the title suggests, Big Fish is a tall tale about a man who may or may not have had an extraordinary life. John August, who later penned Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for Burton, adapted the Citizen Kane-esque story from a novel by Daniel Wallace. The film, which more than made up for Burton's forgettable remake of Planet of the Apes, features an incredible performance by Albert Finney, typically solid work from Ewan McGregor and Billy Crudup, and Marion Cotillard in her first role in an English-language film.

About two years after the release of The Nightmare Before Christmas, a stop-motion film that Burton produced but did not direct, he set out to work on Corpse Bride, his own stop-motion movie. But the production would be a ten-year process that allowed Burton to work on his live-action films at the same time. It helped that he had co-director Mike Johnson, who had made this famous Primus music video in 1996, to guide the actual puppetry for him. The film was the first to be shot with commercial still photography cameras, which resulted in shockingly high image quality and seamless animation.

After Disney executives fired Burton because they felt he had wasted their money making a short film called Frankenweenie, which Disney deemed much too dark for children, he got lucky when Paul Reubens saw the short and asked him to direct a Pee-wee Herman movie. Burton recruited Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo to create the score, beginning Elfman's long career as a film composer and Burton collaborator (he has composed scores for all but two of Burton's films). The fanciful and funny film and the Pee-Wee Herman character quickly became a sensation and Burton was tapped to direct Batman.

Though this adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical featured yet another fantastic performance (this one Oscar nominated) from Depp, it was Burton's fiancé at the time, Helena Bonham Carter, who stole the show. Despite not previously being known as a singer, Carter brilliantly portrayed the lovesick Mrs. Lovett and showed off her chops as a wonderful vocalist.

A rarity in the world of remakes, Burton's take on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was considered by many to be as good or even better than the original. Dozens of high-profile actors, such as Bill Murray and Brad Pitt, were considered for the role of Willa Wonka, while several directors, including Martin Scorsese, nearly signed on to helm the project. Ultimately, of course, it went to Burton, which meant that Depp inevitably would be getting, and therefore reinventing, the iconic role.

After the runaway success of Batman, Burton was initially hesitant to make the sequel. He told Warner Bros. that he would do so only if the studio granted him total creative control. Although the studio ultimately agreed, executives at Warner Bros. weren't thrilled about it. Nor were they thrilled with the final product, which they viewed as much too dark. Nevertheless, the Top 13 thinks, perhaps controversially, it was an improvement over the original. Villains can make or break a superhero movie, and Danny DeVito's turn as the Penguin is pitch perfect.

Burton's newest film is visually wonderful and fun, but perhaps somewhat disappointing when considered in the context of its iconic source material. The script misses much of Lewis Carroll's clever nonsense and, ironically, makes too much sense. The story is more about Alice and less about Wonderland than perhaps was expected, as Alice actually has a character arc, and an awesome one at that. Like several other Burton films from the past decade, the show-stealer is Helena Bonham Carter, this time as the Red Queen.

Jack Nicholson's Joker may have been surpassed by the late Heath Ledger, but the overall tones of Burton's and Chris Nolan's versions of the Batman story are vastly different, and Nicholson played the role exactly how it was conceived in Burton's rendition. Though Burton's Batman has not aged well, it did far precede the comic book movie craze and was a massive hit at the time, remaining one of the highest grossing films of all time when adjusted for inflation.

Burton's films are known for their imaginative art direction, and this film became his first to win an Oscar in that category (Sweeney Todd was his second). After a pair of box office duds, Sleepy Hollow brought Burton renewed financial success, in part due to a memorable marketing campaign featuring the slogan "Heads will roll." Depp co-stars as Ichabod Crane with a very blonde (like many of Burton's leading actresses) Christina Ricci, and a menacing Christopher Walken as the Headless Horseman.

Though Mars Attacks! definitely has its hilarious moments, the joke gets a bit stale by the film's end. Nevertheless, this black comedy and science fiction hybrid film based on a set of cult trading cards is worth watching for the star-studded cast, notably featuring Jack Nicholson, who plays two roles, Danny DeVito, Michael J. Fox, Jack Black, Pam Grier, and a young Natalie Portman.