The general impression has ended up pigeonholing Tim Burton in the crazy but very emotional and moving fantasy even in its darkness or in its sinister moments. Less is discussed ability to create highly humorous productions, sometimes loaded with bad slime and very direct satire as well as uninhibited. An art where it has not been lavished so much, but it is the same or more accurate.
Though it’s not so much that he hasn’t dropped in for more overtly hilarious movies as the fact that he hasn’t been given nearly as many opportunities to make them. And that is because each one has been generating its poorest results at the box office. His very personal ‘Ed Wood’ ran into a wall, although he was warmly criticized. ‘Mars Attacks’ didn’t get any, it only had later affection as a work of worship.
space invaders
An almost case of history repeating itself. The film, available on HBO Max, is based on a series of collectible cards that caused rejection by parents’ associations for their violent and grotesque content. These series had both invading aliens and dinosaurs, both with the potential to be made into a movie by Burton at a time when he was synonymous with success.
Although before him it was already Alex Cox trying to get his own version out in the eighties. budget forecasts they made it totally unfeasible, especially for Orion Pictures and a relatively unsuccessful artist like him, so Warners got the rights at Burton’s request in the 1990s. Of course, with the intention of reducing the budget to 60 million dollars (it would end up exceeding 70).
Since ‘Jurassic Park’ had already been released and they wanted to avoid comparisons, making ‘Dinosaurs Attack’ was ruled out at that time, which was one of the possibilities for the project. The irony is that the delay in the project would cause ‘Mars Attacks’ to be compared to another alien invasion movie like ‘Independence Day’, a phenomenon of such impact that undermines the possibilities of a more parodic and casual proposal.
Because Burton was clear about what he was doing. After his heartfelt love letter to fifties science fiction and to misunderstood dreamers like Ed Wood, ‘Mars Attacks’ was going to be their own version of this kind of movie. The exaggerated human behaviors (here with a more harmful intention to point out absurdities in our behavior), the practical effects or the designs are quite close to that classic approach to the genre.
There are also several aspects that made it so commercially unviable as a special work. The first is your unleashed humor, probably the most hilarious Burton has done in his career. In another order is the choral aspect of the function, with many stars but none taking special prominence, not even Jack Nicholson with his double role, one of them being the president.
‘Mars Attacks’: badass and absurd science fiction
Then there is the decision not to make the dialogues or the intentions of the invaders understandable, one of the aspects that made studio executives tremble the most but was a red line for the director. Making them enigmatic adds randomness to the threat, making that there is no more explanation than the whim of a superior race willing to unleash chaos. Nihilism to explain human suffering.
All in one amazing collection of destruction and stupidity, with the same punk spirit that Cox was looking for but with a greater focus on the masses. They rejected it, of course, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of his most special and hilarious films, a whirlwind as charming as a hooligan that continues to cause joy to this day. It’s a shame that Burton can no longer access this kind of macarrismo, but still something remains in ‘Wednesday’.