Edward Scissorhands is Tim Burton’s favorite film that he has ever created. It holds a special place in his heart as well as ours. Everything about this 90s classic is filled to the brim with colorful whimsy (and we’re not just referring to the crazy hairstyles Edward thinks up throughout the film).
Yet what makes the film so special is the fact that it has a big heart. At the end of the day, it is a love story about two people who seem to have been searching for their whole lives to find each other. Without further ado, here are 10 details about the film that you probably didn’t know about!
10. EDWARD’S PERSONA IS BASED OFF OF A DOG
Yeah, you read that right. Caroline Thompson who wrote the screenplay for the classic 1990 film had based the character off of her beloved pet dog who had passed on six years prior to filming. Thompson hadn’t had much experience working on screenplays before Edward Scissorhands so she was unaware of “set etiquette” that suggests writers should not speak to actors.
Yet when Johnny Depp was struggling to understand the character of Scissorhands, Thompson explained to him that the character’s persona was based on her loving dog. It was then that Depp immediately understood his role and could then portray the character with ease.
9. EDWARD’S HAIR IS BASED OFF OF ROBERT SMITH’S
Perhaps this isn’t too surprising for fans of the 80s rock band but Edward Scissorhands’ wild black hair is a replica of The Cure’s frontman, Robert Smith’s. Burton is a longtime fan of the English band and had originally planned for Smith to take over the film’s soundtrack. Unfortunately, the gothic musical icon was too busy working on his album Disintegration to help out. At the time, Smith had never heard of Burton, so the cards just weren’t in their favor. Luckily, Burton already had a strong connection with Danny Elfman who ended up doing the soundtrack to Scissorhands.
In regards to Burton’s obsession with The Cure, he stated in his 2009 tribute to the band, “I just wanna say when I was chained to a desk, and I was f*cking depressed this music was the only thing that saved me. I just want to thank you for inspiring me.”
8. THE REASON BEHIND THE BEAUTY OF THE SET DESIGN
There is the reason the typical suburban world in Edward Scissorhands looks so whimsical and beautified. This is because it is all meant to be seen through Edward’s eyes and it proves how much of an idealist he really is. He sees the world as lovely and optimistic rather than glum and average. Perhaps this further proves that his character is based on a loveable dog!
Believe it or not, the neighborhood that the characters reside in is not a built Hollywood set. It is a real town in Florida and the neighborhood allowed Burton and the crew to film there. Who know!
7. FORGOTTEN 90S ROMANCE
Some younger Tim Burton fans are unaware of the fact that Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder were the “it” couple that ruled the early 90s. Depp has even stated during their courtship that “There’s been nothing in my 27 years that is comparable to the feeling I have when I’m with Winona.”
He even got a tattoo that said “Winona Forever” which he later replaced with “Wino Forever” after their unfortunate split. According to Burton when speaking of the couple, he said: “It’s almost like Winona took Johnny’s soul, Johnny’s love.”
6. EDWARD’S CHARACTER IS INSPIRED BY AN OLD DRAWING
Burton struggled with loneliness and isolation growing up. Living in California, he was constantly surrounded by a peppy community of people that he struggled to relate to. Because of this, it caused him to spend most of his time in his own head, using his imagination and creativity as an escape outlet.
One of those creative escape outlets was utilized through his drawings. He had drawn a picture in his early 20s of a man with scissors for hands. Thus, Edward Scissorhands was born.
5. HE IS ALSO BASED ON TIM BURTON
Burton has claimed that a lot of the personality traits from Edward Scissorhands are reminiscent of himself. For example, the famous director claims that he never knew what to do with his hands which is clearly the case for the character he has created. Burton has also claimed many times that he felt like an outsider growing up and that people would most often leave him alone, causing him to feel isolated from the rest of the world. You can clearly see this with the titular character who is constantly observing others on the outside looking in.
Plus, there’s that hair. They’ve both got that “just woke up from a wind tunnel-chic” hairdo.
4. IS THAT A BACKSTREET BOY CAMEO?
Backstreets back alright! How much more 90s can this film possibly get? Turns out it easily can because if you notice the little blonde kid in the background of one of the outdoor scenes you will be pleased to know that this is a young Nick Carter from the famous 90s boy band.
He can be spotted on a slip n’ slide in front of one of the neighboring houses and funnily enough, the musician is uncredited in the film yet he has confirmed that it is, in fact, him in the scene. How great is that?
3. EDWARD BARELY SPEAKS THROUGHOUT THE FILM
Edward is often praised throughout the movie for his extreme mystery and soft-spoken nature, but just how reserved is he? Turns out very. In fact, despite Edward Scissorhands being the titular character of the film, he only says a total of 169 words throughout the entire movie.
Don’t let this fool you into thinking Johnny Depp had an easy-breezy time playing this role. It was quite the opposite actually, especially considering his heavy leather costume being worn at all times despite the 100-degree Florida weather. At one point, Depp even passed out from the heat yet he was able to continue filming like a champ.
2. TIM BURTON’S SIGNATURE BLACK AND WHITE STRIPES
A handful of Hollywood directors have little visual signatures that they infuse into almost all of their films. One of Burton’s visual signatures is black and white stripes. This can be seen on a handful of his characters’ clothing, including Jack Skellington, Beetlejuice, Sweeney Todd, and Tweedle-dee/Tweedle Dum.
In Edward Scissorhands, you can spot his signature black and white stripes on Anthony Michael Hall’s shirt collar during one of the dinner scenes. If it wasn’t for his classic black and white stripes, Hot Topic would most likely be out of business!
1. KIM’S CHARACTER IS DESIGNED AS A JOKE
Winona Ryder has received the crown as the “goth icon of the 90s”, which is what makes it so funny to see her play the peppy bubblegum cheerleader in Burton’s film. Her role as Kim was a bit of a practical joke on Burton’s part because it was such direct contrast to Ryder’s usual style and look.
Originally, Winona was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to pull off the role of the girly blonde cheerleader, but as they started filming she was able to ease into it. Burton claimed it was hilarious to see Ryder “walk on the set wearing this little cheerleader outfit and a Hayley Mills-type blonde wig, looking like Bambi.” We find it pretty amusing as well.
