LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Tim Burton: Michael Keaton
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Burton turned his attention next to "Mars Attacks!" (1996), a big budget special effects bonanza that spoofed the grade-Z sci-fi thrillers of the 1950s and 1960s. Boasting an all-star cast – including Annette Bening, Glenn Close, Michael J Fox and Jack Nicholson in a dual role – the film combined live-action with superb animation to tell its overly self-satisfied, ultimately one-note tale of an alien invasion of earth. Fabulous production design could not carry the day... proving that Burton's unquestioned visual genius needed to be a strong supporting character to a strong narrative. Its box office failure was due in part to the success of the similarly themed blockbuster, "Independence Day" (1996), released some five months earlier. Though not branding the wunderkind an overnight pariah, certainly studios were more cautious whether or not Burton’s delightfully demented vision would continue to sell.
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Elfman and Burton reunited for Mars Attacks! (1996). Based on a popular science fiction trading card series, the film was a hybrid of 1950s sci-fi flicks and 1970s all-star disaster flicks -- an anarchic cacophony of clever satire and goofy mayhem. Coincidence made it an inadvertent spoof of the blockbuster, Independence Day, made around the same time and released five months earlier. Although the film boasted an all-star cast, including Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan, Michael J. Fox, Sarah Jessica Parker, Natalie Portman, Lukas Haas, Glenn Close and Rod Steiger, among others, the film received mixed reviews by American critics and was mostly ignored by American audiences. It was ... more successful abroad, and later managed to gather an American fan base from its television airings and DVD release.
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In 1984, Burton created a unique version of the Frankenstein story with the live-action short Frankenweenie. Impressed with Frankenweenie, Paul Reubens commissioned Burton to direct the wildly inventive comedy Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985). The success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure brought about other opportunities, including the 1988 ghost story Beetlejuice starring Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, and Geena Davis. Often considered the prototypical Burton film, Beetlejuice was recognized for its visual flair and interwoven themes of fantasy and horror.
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In 1985, Burton's first feature film Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, was a box-office hit and the director was praised for his original vision. Beetlejuice (1988), a supernatural comedy starring Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin and Winona Ryder, was another critical and financial success.
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It’s still a bit surprising that Warner Brothers was willing to hand over a major franchise opportunity like the adventures of DC’s Dark Knight to Burton, but his vision of Gotham City was the one to beat. Plus, it’s hard to imagine that anyone else could’ve envisioned Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne, but damned if it doesn’t work.
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Michael Keaton