…and, of course, everyone remembers that Tim Burton and Mark Wahlberg last collaborated with each other in 2001’s disastrous remake of Planet of the Apes.

Before I begin with this rant, let me say that I love Tim Burton and I love Johnny Depp. I think they are two of the most interesting and idiosyncratic artists working in Hollywood today.

That said, regarding their myriad of collaborations, I think Depp is the one who is going to walk away with his reputation in tact when it’s all over. Because, unlike Burton, he actually works with other people from time to time. He’s still a risk-taker. He’s still viable.

Meanwhile, Burton has been stuck in a loop for almost a decade. Big Fish was the last time Burton worked with anyone who wasn’t Johnny Depp and that was in 2003. He’s made 4 films since then and each of them feature Depp as a pasty, googlely-eyed weirdo.

I mean, it makes sense that Burton would continue to the well so many times. The formula works. When Burton and Depp last collaborated in 2007’s Sweeny Todd, it resulted in huge box office receipts and Oscar nominations. It’s hard to turn your back on that. I understand that.

My problem with the pairing is that Burton has branded himself as an inventive Hollywood outsider whose singular vision and creativity simply cannot be contained. But his track record reflects and artist who has become complacent and predictable. Not only is this exemplified by his partnership with Depp, but with his reliance on Helena Bonham Carter and Danny Elfman as well.

Certainly I understand the value of a director who prefers to work with specific artists. Scorsese had DeNiro (now, DiCaprio). Steve Spielberg uses John Williams’s music in nearly every movie he makes. These elements become part of a director’s style and help audiences to easily identify their work.

But when it comes to Burton, I don’t look forward to his movies anymore because they all feel exactly the same.

I think if you had told me Burton was going to do a version of Alice in Wonderland 10 years ago, I would have been over the moon. The subject matter fits perfectly inside his wheelhouse. What is Burton if not a modern-day equivalent to Lewis Carroll? A fanciful dandy bursting with imaginative visions trapped by insecurity? Burton has carried Carrol’s flag for a long, long time. There is no other living director that could possibly do Alice in Wonderland justice like Burton could.

But now, with so many “dark” and “twisted” fairy tales under his belt, I feel like Burton is incapable of bringing anything new to Alice in Wonderland. Certainly not to the extent that it could overcome what is probably most widely considered the strongest visual reference point for the book – that being Disney’s 1951 animated version. At least, that’s what I first think of when I first think of Alice in Wonderland.

At this point, any addition arguments I make would just be me circling back on myself. Like I said, I GET why Burton and Depp continue to work with each other. There’s clearly an audience for it and I understand why audiences would be invested in it. Who hasn’t felt like an outsider at some point in their lives? Burton and Depp speak to this explicitly.

All I’m saying is that Burton’s brand as an inventive film maker doesn’t really hold water under scrutiny because he makes the same movies over and over again.

So, in my opinion, he should either stop adapting the work of others and go back to telling original stories or he should work with different actors to at least create the ILLUSION that he’s branching out.

Because if you aren’t growing as an artist, what’s the point? If it’s just about the paycheck, you might as well be McG.

What are your thoughts about Alice in Wonderland? Are you looking forward to it? Am I wrong about Burton? Leave your comments below!