New Tim Burton documentary explores his love for dogs

By Sophia Soto | Last updated Mar 17, 2025 9:07 AM ET

One topic in Tara Wood's new four-part documentary about the work and life of Tim Burton is how dogs would be featured in "all of his creative projects." Burton even had a photography series with his late dog, and film editor Chris Lebenzon shared that he and ex Lisa Marie picked up the Chihuahua on a street in Tokyo and that Poppy was "always with him."

"He loves dogs. Pepper was his childhood dog," Helena Bonham Carter explained in the documentary. "He's always felt at ease with dogs. He said very early on in our relationship that he was a dog, so maybe that's where he came from — dog land."

Later on, Bonham Carter commented that the director is "entirely visual" and doesn't need words, which is "why he relates to a dog."

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One film that clearly shows Burton's love for dogs is Frankenweenie, which came out in 2012 and was an adaptation of his 1984 short film.

"The film is based on a memory that I had when I was growing up and with my relationship with a dog that I had," he expressed to U.K. Screen. "The great thing about expanding Frankenweenie is that thinking about other things that were personal, like the other kids that I remember and the teachers and the kind of place, so I put a lot of memories of things into the whole."

He then continued to say, "But there was always a spectre that it [his dog's life] wasn’t going to last and I think that’s what linked it to the whole Frankenstein mythology for me. It was taking something personal and relating it to those kind of films, which meant a lot to me."

The new docu-series will include interviews with many actors who worked with Burton throughout his career, including Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, and Jenna Ortega. The first episode was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Sophia Soto

Sophia Soto is a writer and interviewer with a passion for all things entertainment. She is a Senior Reporter at The Nerds of Color and contributes to Yardbarker, Screensphere, Den of Geek, What to Watch, Nerdtropolis, and Temple of Geek. You can see her past work on Remezcla, Young Hollywood, Looper, Paste Magazine, Primetimer, Soundsphere, and Starry Constellation Magazine

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