Sound Masters: Edward Scissorhands

Tim Burton has wowed audiences with his fantastically creepy and humorously macabre films time and time again, but probably none more so than with Burton’s most personal and favorite work, Edward Scissorhands. Released in 1990, Edward Scissorhands celebrates its 30th birthday today as an iconic look into modern suburbia’s equal fascination with and fear of anyone “different.”

The film was a critical success, with most crew members involved in production being nominated for their work. Of course, an incredible Danny Elfman score carries the sound and sets the tone for the film, but the foley team had to bring life to the eponymous Scissorhands. In today’s clip, you can hear the opening, closing, and scraping of scissors to create the sound of his “hands”—but the sounds were carefully crafted not to be so sharp and menacing that they’re off-putting or hard to listen to.

Here’s to another 30 years of this Frankenstein reimagining getting audiences to fall in love with the delightfully weird world of Tim Burton!