Edward Scissorhands
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Edward Scissorhands is a 1990 fantasy film, directed and co-written by Tim Burton and written by Caroline Thompson. The film features Johnny Depp as the eponymous Edward, Winona Ryder as Kim Boggs and Dianne Weist as Peg Boggs.
The plot focuses on Avon lady Peg Boggs, who encounters a shy and quirky looking man named Edward in a decaying, isolated and highly ornate mansion located on a large hill, overlooking a brightly coloured American suburbia. The man, who has hands made of scissors—is adopted by Peg into her own view on the 'typical American' family. There he falls in love with Peg's teenage daughter Kim Boggs, however their innocent relationship could potentially threaten Kim's romance with Jim (Anthony Michael Hall) however Edward's presence eventually brings love to everyone in his newly adopted neighbourhood.
The film is a dramedy set in an exaggeratedly stereotypical vision of American suburban life that intentionally combines clichés from both the early 1960s and the late 1980s. It also has a central theme of the isolated, misunderstood major character, a theme that recurs in much of Burton's work. The concept, and many of the motifs, of Edward Scissorhands can be compared to the gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and the 1931 film of the same name, while Edward's appearance owes a seemingly intentional debt to the titular character of Hans Hoffman's Struwwelpeter. When released the film was a moderate box office success, while today it has become a cult fable for children and adults alike.
