Did Tim Burton fail to deliver?

[Gorehound 4,744]

20 hours ago, RenegAde said:

A lot a you sound like professional videographers but also sound like you dont know what the hell you're actually trying to say.

We may not be professional videographers but we are all professional Gagaographers. We know too well what levels of quality she is capable of, and sorry but this video and song (while cute) isn't rly delivering to our usual standards is all 

Edited Friday at 01:03 PM by Gorehound

[lastpopicon 35,094]

Just now, Gorehound said:

is not delivering to our base standards.

[The Fame Monster 4,388]

WHAT!? 

I’m surprised so many of you were disappointed — I actually thought the video was really great! 

Then again, I’ve only seen Edward Scissorhands from his work, so maybe you have a better idea of what he’s truly capable of. 

[elijahfan 26,415]

7 hours ago, salty like sodium said:

ok but you're forgetting gaga is also a part of this project. it's normal for people to have hoped that more of her creativity and innovation would mix with tim's to create a truly spectacular video.

To me the video was also very Gaga… If you look back, The Edge of Glory also had one outfit / set piece. Same for DWAS.

[elijahfan 26,415]

10 hours ago, candydarling said:

if nobody said who directed it, would you have guessed it was directed by tim burton? no. that means bad directing, no style, no point of view. it could literally have been directed by anyone. 

That is WRONG on all possible levels  I think it’s a matter of you guys having a very superficial knowledge of Tim Burton’s influences and style. Every creative aspect of the video is something that’s been echoed throughout his filmography. Of course, you wouldn’t know if you’ve only seen Edward Scissorhands and are basing your opinion solely on this.

[TheFrenchGuy 152]

12 hours ago, elijahfan said:

He draws for every project that he directs, which usually serves as a work basis for his collaborators. He’s always worked that way. Set and costume designers are someone else’s job, even for movies whose directors have a strong visual identity.

I think the video is quintessential Tim if you have actual knowledge of his work and not just a superficial and clichéd view of what he does. The black and white German expressionist inspiration, the doll character, the giallo-like colors, the stop motion animation… It’s literally all there.

sorry if this comes off as pedantic, I just love analyzing art 

It’s there on the surface, but there isn’t much life in it. That’s why I feel Burton has lost his touch. Sure, if you run through a checklist of his visual trademarks you can see them: the gothic set-up, the stark black-and-white palette, the eerie props... As for German Expressionism, I don’t really see it in the way Burton used to do it. For that, you have to dive into a character’s perception, so that the world feels warped by their psychology. Gaga usually embodies that kind of subjectivity very well in her symbolism, but here the video feels surface level. She fells like a broken doll, therefore she is represented as a doll on doll island. The only exceptions being the dolls that start to dance and the color shift, yet even that feels more like an external flourish than a true reflection of her inner state because there's no narrative. You could also make a point about the choreo but I feel like that's on Paris' style, not Tim.

What’s missing for me is the melancholia, the vulnerability, a sense of fragility, the whimsical grotesque that makes Burton’s darkness tender instead of simply decorative. Without that blend of playfulness and sorrow, it feels more like a pastiche of Burton than Burton himself, at least to me.

Anyways I like the video, I think it's very aesthetically pleasing and the choreo is cute. I just don't think the Tim Burton we know and love is fully there. And that's ok, it was to be expected if you've seen his work of the last 15 years. I can enjoy it for what it is

 

Edited Friday at 01:31 PM by TheFrenchGuy

[Gorehound 4,744]

Idk the video is fine. Gaga's charisma is always electrifying, and the costume, hair and make-up is spot on. It's a shame that more didn't happen in the video like additional looks, scenes, sets, or a broader narrative and better choreography, but it's cute, simple and a bit disposable. I think considering both Burton and Gaga's past highlights the potential for them to do something sensational together is pretty staggering, hence the overall disappointment, but it is what it is. (And god forbid we be "ungrateful fans").

But to be honest I'm never much of a fan when Gaga goes too silly and campy. It's the same with Stupid Love etc. Cute but way too cheesy and childish for my tastes. I prefer it when she does more mature and deeper visuals and songs with more avant garde aesthetics, like Disease and Abra eg, or at least when the camp element is more sophisticated and adult, and the art actually has something to say.

Edited Friday at 01:58 PM by Gorehound

[LadyxGaGa 2,216]

11 hours ago, Roughhouse Dandy said:

Y'all expect way too much sometimes. She got a cameo role in a Tim Burton series because of a trend she was attached to by chance, so she got to make a song for the show. They had a little time set aside to shoot a cute music video for it. 

Not only did we get an extra song and music video out of the MAYHEM era... Now Burton is a fan and publicly wants to make things with her. Probably bigger, more intricate projects.

But that's less likely to happen if fan reception is just a bunch of complaining. 

THANK U 

 

like this is their first time working on something exclusive to gaga and the world of wednesday it can’t just be all about her despite it being her song 

 

like if anything this has tim secured as a future director for more music videos and we kno he can and always does deliver 

[GoldenNovember 564]

The Dead Dance and its MV are receiving praise everywhere but here. I am not telling anyone they can't have their opinion. It's just that parts of this discussion feel extremely volatile and mean spirited.

Edited Friday at 07:08 PM by GoldenNovember

[Hydrangea 6,273]

I really liked the video and the song but I think the scene in Wednesday where the gals dance to it just fits best in context. It feels like it was for the show and feels best there 

[Lil Monsta 61]

Honestly, I feel like it delivered exactly what it was supposed to give. Tim Burton is known for his overly-dramatic and fantasy-esque imagery. I'm not particularly excited about the visuals, like I was for Abracadabra, but I feel like the video has its own place in her video discography.

I enjoy Gaga being more stripped down. Her energy in the video kind of reminds me of the fact that she's a student of theater, and I like that. She could be anything. 

[FameHookah 4,636]

Yeah it was bad

 

gaga carried but even then she didnt have any outfit changes … they wasted the iconic location too😭

like all of the amazing Mayhem tracks got shafted because of THIS

 

hell naw

[FameHookah 4,636]

16 hours ago, thierryrreiht said:

Only the Tudum performance truly gave us something worth watching (and rewatching).. and it was the “beginning” of the Wednesday sub-era.. sad.

Yeah… also Zombieboy is 1000 times better that The Dead Scrap💀

[Cavadour 2,430]

On 9/4/2025 at 8:27 PM, G U C C I said:

a collaboration or this caliber gave such high expectations of greatness that it’s disappointing to see something that is just good or ok

In any case, whenever a release announcement is on the horizon, the excitement on this forum borders on apoplexy. Everyone gets carried away and speculates with excessive expectations. It's practically inevitable to be disappointed in the end under such conditions.

You could almost call it a bipolar reaction, or as it has long been known, manic-depressive.  

[elijahfan 26,415]

7 hours ago, TheFrenchGuy said:

sorry if this comes off as pedantic, I just love analyzing art 

It’s there on the surface, but there isn’t much life in it. That’s why I feel Burton has lost his touch. Sure, if you run through a checklist of his visual trademarks you can see them: the gothic set-up, the stark black-and-white palette, the eerie props... As for German Expressionism, I don’t really see it in the way Burton used to do it. For that, you have to dive into a character’s perception, so that the world feels warped by their psychology. Gaga usually embodies that kind of subjectivity very well in her symbolism, but here the video feels surface level. She fells like a broken doll, therefore she is represented as a doll on doll island. The only exceptions being the dolls that start to dance and the color shift, yet even that feels more like an external flourish than a true reflection of her inner state because there's no narrative. You could also make a point about the choreo but I feel like that's on Paris' style, not Tim.

What’s missing for me is the melancholia, the vulnerability, a sense of fragility, the whimsical grotesque that makes Burton’s darkness tender instead of simply decorative. Without that blend of playfulness and sorrow, it feels more like a pastiche of Burton than Burton himself, at least to me.

Anyways I like the video, I think it's very aesthetically pleasing and the choreo is cute. I just don't think the Tim Burton we know and love is fully there. And that's ok, it was to be expected if you've seen his work of the last 15 years. I can enjoy it for what it is

 

I hear you, Burton has been kinda pastiching himself since Alice in Wonderland. Yet, I’m totally satisfied with the video, I think it’s closer to what he did in something like Corpse Bride, which was still great Burton. I think a lot of you are asking too much out of a 3 min pop music video: neither Gaga nor Tim have anything to prove, can’t a video just be fun?