"You don't know whether chimps are going to kill you or kiss you. They're very open on some levels and much more evil in a certain way."

"I had never really done something that was more of a horror film, and it's funny, because those are the kind of movies that I like probably more than any other genre. The script had images in it that I liked ."

"Anybody who knows me knows I would never read a comic book. And I certainly would never read anything written by Kevin Smith."

"...you always have to feel like it's gonna be the greatest, even if it's a...you know...piece of crap."

"They thought the Charlie character should be more proactive and that Wonka should be more of a father figure, and I'm sitting there thinking 'Willy Wonka is not a father figure! If that's your idea of a father figure, yikes. Willy Wonka's a weirdo.'"

I've always been misrepresented. You know, I could dress in a clown costume and laugh with the happy people but they'd still say I'm a dark personality.

At the end of Beetle Juice Beetlejuice morphs into a bizarre creature with a merry-go-round on his head, this featured a smiling skull which later became Jack Skellington.

The Nightmare Before Christmas had been a pet project of his since his days as an animator at Disney.

His former fiancée Lisa Marie (1992-2001) was his inspiration for The Nightmare Before Christmas’s Sally, he also says she was his muse and was often paid homage to or was actually in his films.

Now is engaged to Helena Bonham Carter (October 2001-present) who gave birth to their son, Billy Ray in London on October 6th 2003.

In 2001 he brought a house next door to his girlfriends which is now connected by a tunnel.

Nearly everywhere he goes, he carries a pocket-size sketchbook and a small watercolor kit.

He usually dress in black, because he doesn't like spend too much time matching colors.

Younger brother Daniel Burton is also an artist.

Was voted the 49th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly, being the youngest director on this list of 50.

He once said he never remembers his dreams, apart from five recurring dreams, one of them involving the girl he was in love with when he was a teenager and another involving his parents' bedroom.

Played water polo and swam for Burbank High School in California.

Ranked #6 on Tropopkin's Top 25 Most Intriguing People [Issue #100]

Member of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997