---
title: "Edward Scissorhands"
year: 1990
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/edward-scissorhands"
fi1m_id: "edward-scissorhands"
imdb_id: "tt0099487"
tmdb_id: 162
wikidata_id: "Q217182"
fi1m_score: 83
critics_score: 72
critics_reviews: 16
published: "2026-09-13"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:14.345054+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Directed by Tim Burton · 1h 45m · MPA PG-13 · Fantasy, Drama, Romance

## Identity

Edward Scissorhands

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/edward-scissorhands
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** edward-scissorhands
- **IMDb ID:** tt0099487
- **TMDB ID:** 162
- **Wikidata ID:** Q217182
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099487/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/162, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q217182

**Fi1m score: 83** · Critics 72 from 16 reviews

*In a sentence:* An artificial man with scissors for hands is somehow the least alarming person in the suburb

> Tim Burton’s suburban fairy tale earns its tenderness through Johnny Depp and Dianne Wiest. The plotting can be blunt, but the performances and the carefully imagined neighbourhood make this an easy film to recommend.

## Synopsis

Edward (Johnny Depp) is an artificial man with scissors for hands, trying to find a place in suburbia. His unusual abilities make him a source of curiosity in a neighbourhood where hedges and hairstyles offer outlets for his creativity. Dianne Wiest plays Peg, an Avon representative, while Winona Ryder is Kim and Vincent Price plays the Inventor. Tim Burton’s fantasy follows Edward’s encounter with ordinary suburban life, with Caroline Thompson’s screenplay placing a figure who struggles to fit in among people with firm ideas about how their neighbours should behave.

## Review

Tim Burton’s *Edward Scissorhands* is a tender, funny fantasy with an exceptional central performance and some blunt storytelling. Edward is an artificial man with scissors for hands, and Burton asks us to take his difficulty fitting into suburbia seriously without giving up the comedy of the situation. Caroline Thompson’s screenplay makes the need to belong easy to understand. It is less successful at giving the people around Edward much independence from the lesson they are there to teach.

Bo Welch’s production design gives us a pastel suburbia whose tidiness already looks faintly unreasonable, even before Edward is considered alongside it. Stefan Czapsky’s cinematography makes those colours part of the joke: the neighbourhood looks inviting enough that we understand the wish to be accepted there. The hedges and hairstyles push its taste for neatness into enjoyable absurdity. Welch’s work is funny because the place remains recognisably a suburb, however far Burton exaggerates it.

Johnny Depp gives Edward a watchfulness that stops the premise becoming a prolonged novelty act. The anxiety is there in his eyes, and he lets the effort of facing other people occupy our attention without constantly asking for pity. We were moved by how plainly those eyes show his wish to be liked. With so much of the character’s strangeness immediately visible, Depp’s restraint gives us time to notice the ordinary embarrassment underneath it.

Dianne Wiest’s Peg, the Avon representative, is an important part of why the film’s kindness feels credible. Wiest finds the comedy in Peg without treating her as an idiot, and her warmth keeps the suburban satire from souring. She gives Depp someone to act with rather than merely be looked at by. Her relaxed performance is especially welcome among the fussier comic inventions of the suburban scenes.

Danny Elfman’s music understands the tenderness, though its insistence can sometimes leave us wishing for a little less help with our feelings. At its most effective, it allows the romance to be taken seriously without making Edward seem less peculiar. Editors Richard Halsey and Colleen Halsey keep the visual comedy readable, giving the oddness of the suburban world room to register. The pace is less assured when the plot needs complications, but cutting alone could hardly disguise how visibly Thompson arranges them.

The limitation is Burton’s certainty about who deserves our sympathy. A fairy tale can manage with broad characters, but here the satire makes some of the neighbours too convenient, so that Edward’s innocence is repeatedly demonstrated against people given little chance to surprise us. That weakens the drama without making the central performance any less affecting. There is enough humour in the suburban fashions, and enough patience in Depp’s acting, to keep the film from becoming merely an illustrated complaint about being misunderstood.

We would recommend it for the performances and for the care taken over a world that could easily have been a collection of eccentric decorations. Burton lets the absurdity coexist with recognisable loneliness, and that is enough to earn the film’s sweetness. Anyone impatient with a story that makes its sympathies clear early will find plenty to object to. Leave a little room for sentimentality tonight.

*Fi1m score 83, published 13 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics warm to it, and the praise falls in two places. The first is the look: the pastel suburbia, the hedges and hairstyles, the fun-house production design that many reviews treat as the film’s main achievement. The second is Johnny Depp, praised almost everywhere for carrying the film through his eyes rather than his lines. Later reviews go further, reading it as Burton’s most personal work, a gentle Frankenstein in which the monster is the only sympathetic figure and the neighbours are the ones to fear.

The reservations gather around story rather than style. Roger Ebert finds the hero remote and the ending conventional, The Guardian wants more dramatic weight, and Time Out calls it hollow at the centre. Pauline Kael, in The New Yorker, goes furthest, calling its portrait of the misunderstood artist self-serving. The spread is wide: near-raves at one end, two dismissals at the other, and the sceptics are mostly writing in 1990, while those coming to it later are warmer.

## Straight answers

**Is Edward Scissorhands worth watching?**

*Edward Scissorhands* is worth watching for anyone who can accept a fairy tale that makes its sympathies clear early, and we scored it 83. Johnny Depp's restrained, watchful performance and Dianne Wiest's warm Peg carry it, and Bo Welch's pastel suburbia is funny without stopping being a suburb. The plotting is blunt and some of the neighbours are too convenient, but the tenderness is earned.

**How long is Edward Scissorhands, and what is it rated?**

*Edward Scissorhands* runs 1h 45m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is a fantasy and drama film.

**Where can I watch Edward Scissorhands in the US?**

*Edward Scissorhands* is streaming on Disney+ in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Edward Scissorhands, and is it suitable for children?**

*Edward Scissorhands* carries a UK 12 certificate and is a fantasy romance rather than a horror film, despite the scissors. Our review found it tender and funny, built on Edward's anxiety about fitting in rather than on frights or gore, so it should suit most children over twelve and many younger ones watching with an adult. The sadness of a lonely outsider is the strongest thing in it.

**How does Edward Scissorhands compare to The Elephant Man?**

*Edward Scissorhands* is the gentler, more whimsical of the two, while [*The Elephant Man*](https://film.one/film/the-elephant-man) is a harsher, more unsettling historical drama about a similar outsider. Burton exaggerates suburbia into pastel comedy; Lynch gives John Hurt's Merrick a life beyond other people's pity and asks more of the viewer. Choose Burton for a sweet evening with room for sentiment, Lynch when you can take the tears.

**What should I watch after Edward Scissorhands?**

After *Edward Scissorhands*, try [*The Elephant Man*](https://film.one/film/the-elephant-man) (1980, Fi1m 84): Another gentle outsider, with less whimsy and a harsher welcome. Then [*Mary and Max*](https://film.one/film/mary-and-max) (2009, Fi1m 80): An animated friendship gives awkward outsiders time to become complicated people; and [*The Shape of Water*](https://film.one/film/the-shape-of-water) (2017, Fi1m 83): For another romance that asks us to look carefully at the supposed monster.

### Reviews we read (16)

- **Empire**, Jo Berry (90/100, inferred): The critic praises Burton's whimsical fairytale about an artificial man with scissors for hands who finds acceptance in suburbia before facing rejection. They single out Johnny Depp's performance as particularly moving. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/edward-scissorhands-review/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Michael Wilmington (90/100, inferred): Wilmington deems it a soft-hearted modern fairy tale and one of the year's most original fantasy creations, full of tenderness and artistic alienation. He praises its daffy invention, marvelous fun-house look, and the hilarious hedges and hairstyles. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-14-ca-6482-story.html)
- **The Telegraph** (90/100, inferred): Burton's modern fairytale is told gently and with infinite sympathy for the outsider, featuring a wonderfully realised pastel suburbia and memorable central figure. Depp is sensational, conveying anxiety, melancholy and innocence through his eyes alone, with the vision laced with humour and humanity. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/11298442/Edward-Scissorhands-review-a-true-fairytale.html)
- **Variety**, Amy Dawes (90/100, inferred): Dawes praises Burton for turning an unlikely character into the center of a delightful and delicate comic fable through brilliant visual storytelling. She highlights the entrancing, slyly comic vision created by the production design, costumes, and Depp's sensitive performance. [Read](https://variety.com/1990/film/reviews/edward-scissorhands-1200428433/)
- **Little White Lies**, David Jenkins (85/100, inferred): The critic calls Edward Scissorhands Burton's creative peak and last truly great film, a singular suburban fairy tale that balances sentiment and irony while remaining emotionally authentic. They praise its macabre foundations and how it disrupts expectations as both fable and mockery of fables. [Read](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/edward-scissorhands-tim-burtons-last-truly-great-movie)
- **Radio Times**, Alan Jones (7.8/10): This oddball fairy tale is one of the best fantasy films ever made, with haunting power, exquisite charm and dark romance; Depp's sensitive performance and Elfman's score are highlights. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-prl34f/edward-scissorhands/)
- **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (70/100, inferred): Maslin finds the film a single-minded, campy reinvention of a small tale of misunderstood gentleness and stifled creativity. She praises Burton's awe-inspiring ingenuity in crafting its bold, ebullient suburban fairy-tale world. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/07/movies/review-film-and-so-handy-around-the-garden.html)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (55/100, inferred): The film showcases Tim Burton's inventive visual style and special effects that create unique images, but it falls short in storytelling and character development, with the hero feeling remote and the plot resorting to a conventional Hollywood ending. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/edward-scissorhands-1990)
- **The Guardian**, Derek Malcolm (50/100, inferred): Burton crafts a dark, oblique fairy tale with beautiful stylisation and strong naturalistic performances, especially from Depp as the vulnerable outsider. It refreshes Hollywood norms but lacks sufficient dramatic weight and iron in its soul to fully ignite as drama. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,,558617,00.html)
- **The New Yorker**, Pauline Kael (30/100, inferred): Kael calls the film plaintive and graphically conceived but ultimately pre-interpreted and self-serving in its portrait of the misunderstood artist. She singles out Dianne Wiest's radiant, daffy performance as the Avon lady Peg for particular delight. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1990/12/17/new-age-daydreams)
- **Time Out**, CM (30/100, inferred): Burton's film offers a skewed, visually striking vision of suburbia with strong design elements, but it remains curiously hollow at its core. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/edward-scissorhands)
- **Collider**, William Fischer (90/100, inferred): The critic calls Edward Scissorhands Burton's most vulnerable and raw exploration of alienation and outsider status, describing it as an honest portrait of adolescence that remains his favorite film. They single out the exposed, passive protagonist and the unfiltered expressionism of the screenplay and design for praise. [Read](https://collider.com/edward-scissorhands-best-tim-burton-film/)
- **/Film**, Alex Arabian (90/100, inferred): The critic views the film as a complex allegory for societal and economic change in suburban America, highlighting themes of classism, diversity, and prejudice against outsiders. They single out the symbolic use of snow, Edward's unchanging appearance, and the contrasting mansion and neighborhood for praise. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/575120/edward-scissorhands-revisited/)
- **Den of Geek**, Carley Tauchert (80/100, inferred): The film is a gothic fairytale about outsider status and Burton's personal feelings of isolation. It singles out Johnny Depp's magical, soulful performance as Edward for particular praise. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/revisiting-tim-burtons-edward-scissorhands/)
- **Polygon**, Jesse Hassenger (80/100, inferred): The critic highlights the film as Burton's most personal and revealing work, a gentle, self-portrait-like take on Frankenstein where the monster is entirely sympathetic and the suburbanites are the flawed ones. They praise its courage in both fairy-tale and satire modes and the purity of its childlike monster fascination. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/35-years-ago-tim-burton-unleashed-his-most-personal-creation-with-edward-scissorhands/)
- **Eye for Film**, Scott Macdonald (60/100, inferred): The critic finds the film visually dazzling with intricate designs and praises Depp's sincere, emotional performance as the innocent outsider. However, the review faults the blunt climax, contrived plot complications, and unsubtle satire that fails to fully support its quixotic visuals. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/edward-scissorhands-film-review-by-scott-macdonald)

## Details

- **Director:** Tim Burton
- **Director:** Tim Burton
- **Screenplay:** Caroline Thompson
- **Story:** Tim Burton, Caroline Thompson
- **Cinematography:** Stefan Czapsky
- **Editor:** Colleen Halsey, Richard Halsey
- **Music:** Danny Elfman
- **Production design:** Bo Welch
- **Costume design:** Colleen Atwood
- **Producer:** Denise Di Novi, Tim Burton
- **Cast:** Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands; Winona Ryder as Kim; Dianne Wiest as Peg; Anthony Michael Hall as Jim; Kathy Baker as Joyce; Robert Oliveri as Kevin; Conchata Ferrell as Helen; Caroline Aaron as Marge
- **Runtime:** 1h 45m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13
- **Release (the US):** 7 December 1990
- **Genres:** Fantasy, Drama, Romance
- **Budget:** $20 million
- **Box office:** $86 million

## Where to watch in the US

- Disney+: streaming, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Apple TV: rent $5.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $19.99, uhd
- Apple TV: buy $19.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-13.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IL, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1991: Best Makeup and Hairstyling (nominated)
- Hugo Awards 1991: Best Dramatic Presentation (won)

## If you liked this

- *Beauty and the Beast* (1946): A fairy-tale outsider romance that takes both longing and fear seriously.
- *The Elephant Man* (1980), Fi1m 84: Another gentle outsider, with less whimsy and a harsher welcome. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-elephant-man.md)
- *Mary and Max* (2009), Fi1m 80: An animated friendship gives awkward outsiders time to become complicated people. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/mary-and-max.md)
- *The Shape of Water* (2017), Fi1m 83: For another romance that asks us to look carefully at the supposed monster. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-shape-of-water.md)
- *Wings of Desire* (1987), Fi1m 88: A patient fantasy about loneliness and the wish to join ordinary life. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/wings-of-desire.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/edward-scissorhands