About Disney, Burton said to the Times that, “You’re strapped to a table all day and you have to draw. I just flipped out.” Luckily, Burton often drew his own pictures and even wrote a short film that Disney was kind enough to fund. That film was “Vincent,” a stop-motion animated film about a lanky, strange child named Vincent Malloy who thinks he’s Vincent Price. Price also narrated the film. It evoked a lot of Edgar Allan Poe. That was in 1982. ”It was great, a very nice thing to do,” Burton said.
In 1983, Burton directed his first live-action short for Disney, rendering his own version of “Hansel and Gretel.” It was made for the Disney channel, although the company clearly had little faith in the project; it aired only once, at 10:30 p.m. on Halloween night, and then was hidden in the Disney vault. Thanks to some spirited freelance archivists, the special is now available on YouTube if you search for it.
It seems there was no bad blood, or at least Disney was willing to offer Burton another opportunity, for in 1984, the young director made the live-action short “Frankenweenie.” “Frankenweenie” was about a young boy named Victor Frankenstein who tragically loses his pet bull terrier to a car accident. Inspired by his science teacher, the boy uses electricity to bring his dog back to life. The dog will eventually be chased through the streets to a remote windmill, just like in “Frankenstein.” This time, however, the windmill is part of a miniature golf course.
Shelley Duvall, Daniel Stern, Paul Bartel, and a young Sofia Coppola all appeared. The short was considered too grim for Disney, and Burton was notoriously fired.
