BURTON: Tim Burton releases another strange and eerie movie, based on a popular book series by Ransom Riggs.
By Chloe Vega, Staff Writer
On September 30, American writer and producer Timothy Walter Burton (professionally known as Tim Burton), released his newest movie, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” based on Ransom Riggs’ popular trilogy.
“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” follows troubled teenager Jacob Portman as he ventures to investigate his grandfather’s mysterious death. During his journey, he is introduced to the realm of “peculiardom,” a part of the world consisting of people with fantastic abilities. Jacob and his new friends must now escape from their pursuers, the “wights,” eyeball eating monsters hungry for “peculiars.”
Many would think that creating a movie about children with unique peculiar abilities would be right up Burton’s alley, but as of recently, Burton has been somewhat unsuccessful, in comparison to past movies, specifically with his latest works “Frankenweenie” (2012) and “Alice Through the Looking Glass” (2016). “Frankenweenie” grossed $81,150,788, and his latest film, “Alice Through the Looking Glass” grossed $277,442,381. Even without large success from his past films, it would be of no surprise if Burton is not worried about having one of the largest-grossing movies as long as he can continue doing what he loves.
Burton portrayed most of Rigg’s book well, effectively using his skills to communicate eerie, strange and somewhat creepy scenes throughout the film. With Asa Butterfield, Eva Green, Samuel L. Jackson and Dame Judi Dench in his cast, Burton successfully created an exceptional film communicating the majority of Riggs’ novel with the audience. He keeps viewers engrossed with plenty of metaphors and allegories, also integrating his signature stop-motion style within the computer-generated imagery (CGI). Viewers are engaged by a plot that is as realistic and creepy as possible.
Burton communicated the story accurately for the majority of the film, until the very end. His film hinted that there may not be a sequel, as he stretched to tie up loose ends with a neat bow. After a dramatic confrontation with the enemy, the film quickly transitions into a rushed ending, reaching for that happy ending. Viewers were confused by the hurried and confusing conclusion. Hopefully, for fans of both the books and the movie, a sequel will continue to demonstrate Ransom Riggs’ outstanding world of peculiardom.