Line #10 YMMV/EdwardScissorhands


1	* AccidentalAesop: You don't need company to be happy. The last we see of Edward, he's once again cut off from the rest of the world, including the girl he loves, but the peaceful look on his face as he tends to his garden shows that he's going to be okay.
2	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: It's been argued that the whole thing is simply a {{fairy tale}} that the old woman is telling her granddaughter. This seems to be a case of [[spoiler:some people failing to understand Burton's little twist at the end (i.e., the opening is supposed to give the viewer the impression that an old lady is recounting a mere story to her granddaughter but, in the end, that story is revealed to be true as the old lady reveals herself to be Kim). The alternate explanation not only negates the twist but makes the old lady rather strange, given that she's getting all emotionally attached to, and involved with, a fiction]].
3	* AngstAversion: ''Edward Scissorhands'' is undeniably one of Burton's best films. Unfortunately, it's also one of his more depressing ones, second only to ''Film/BatmanReturns''. The film is basically about Edward initially being accepted by the outside world, only to be rejected and eventually forced to live all alone. And the amount of torment poor Edward has to go through, from being forced to live with the burden of having scissor-like hands, to being framed for burglary and being falsely slandered as a rapist, resulting in the whole town turning against him and forcing him to isolate himself for the rest of his life can leave a rather bitter taste in many people's mouths. The tearjerking music by Creator/DannyElfman also doesn't help.
4	* AwardSnub:
5	** Many ''still'' consider this to be Creator/JohnnyDepp's best performance, but he wasn't nominated for an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward, although he did at least get a UsefulNotes/GoldenGlobe nomination.
6	** Music/DannyElfman's score wasn't nominated for the Best Original Score Oscar, and was nominated but lost at the Saturn and Grammy awards.
7	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
8	** "The Grand Finale" on the soundtrack album is called that for a reason.
9	** Music/DannyElfman has named the whole score as [[CreatorsFavorite his personal favorite]] of his work.
10	* CatharsisFactor: With how much of an unrelenting asshole and utter jerk he's been throughout the movie—and now it's at the point where he's vicious and murderous too, [[spoiler:Jim getting stabbed and pushed out the window by Edward is sure to be a crowd-pleasing moment.]]
11	* CrossoverShip: Edward has several, with him and Lydia from ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'' being the most common ThemePairing.
12	* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Edward has been speculated as being a metaphor for autism and related disorders. One particularly notable thing is the way the film portrays people's ''reactions'' to him. While one might see the fascination most of the neighborhood has with him as being parodic of the stereotype of 1970s suburbanites being closed-minded, it's also perfectly apt for the post-''Film/RainMan'' world of the late '80s and early '90s, when there was widespread interest in the savant abilities possessed by some autistic people.
13	* EpilepticTrees: Is this a huge metaphor for mental disorders? If so, that makes it ten times more upsetting and depressing.
14	* EsotericHappyEnding: Despite being portrayed as a BittersweetEnding, many viewers felt it came closer to being a DownerEnding, due to the fact that [[spoiler:Edward is forced to ostracize himself from society and fake his death in order to avoid facing life imprisonment for killing Jim in self defense, while also never being able to see Kim again. The fact that he is more or less immortal and cannot die pushes his situation to that of a FateWorseThanDeath]].
15	* FanNickname: The SignatureScene where Edward makes an ice sculpture and Kim dances in the "snow" he makes is frequently referred to as "the ice dance."
16	* HarsherInHindsight:
17	** This ultimately turned out to be Creator/VincentPrice's last film, making his final scene, where his character dies of a heart attack, pretty difficult to watch.
18	** Joyce slandering Edward as a rapist becomes a lot more disturbing to watch today, since the exact same thing happened to his own actor, Creator/JohnnyDepp, where he was slandered by his own ex, Creator/AmberHeard, of being a domestic abuser. It helps that Johnny was proven innocent, but still.
19	* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct:
20	** At this point in his career, Creator/JohnnyDepp was just regarded as a television hunk, which was ''not'' the image he wanted to make for himself. This was the first film that let him really flex his acting chops and gain a reputation as something more.
21	** A special mention goes to Creator/AnthonyMichaelHall. Prior to this movie, he was known for the playing awkward, nerdy type characters, and because of that, many thought he wouldn't be able to pull off playing the macho, JerkJock type, however he proved those people wrong with his performance as Kim's possessive and borderline psychotic ex-boyfriend, Jim.
22	* HilariousInHindsight:
23	** Creator/JohnnyDepp plays a guy with scissors for hands. When you consider that he was one of [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger's]] victims in his [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984 first film]], it's kinda funny. It's even funnier when they were casting ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet2010''; Depp was one of the original choices to play Freddy.
24	** The film has this effect on ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'', as it's a bit jarring to see Creator/AnthonyMichaelHall go from a sweet and picked-on nerd to a slightly more psychotic version of John Bender and/or Andrew Clark. (Or as Hal Sparks joked on ''I Love the Nineties'', he went "from the tortured nerd to the nerd torturer.")
25	** Creator/CrispinGlover auditioned for Jim before Anthony Michael Hall was cast as him. Flash forward 20 years later and he's in the Burton-directed ''[[Film/AliceInWonderland2010 Alice in Wonderland]]'', which starred Depp himself (Glover and Depp appeared in the same movie [[Film/WhatsEatingGilbertGrape two]] [[Film/DeadMan times]] prior).
26	* MisaimedMarketing: This was one of the films repackaged on [=VHS=] as one of Fox's "Family Features" in the mid-1990s even though it's rated PG-13 for good reasons, in particular [[spoiler:Jim's death at Edward's blades]]. It's also one of the few non-franchise PG-13 films available on Creator/DisneyPlus.
27	* MoralEventHorizon:
28	** Jim starts out as a mundane creep and one of the least remarkable or interesting Burton villains, but once he attempts to murder Edward and hits Kim for daring to stand against him, he shows that he is as vile as they come, and [[Film/{{Beetlejuice}} they]] [[Film/Batman1989 come]] [[Film/BatmanReturns very]] [[Film/SleepyHollow1999 vile]].
29	** Joyce starts a smear campaign that ruins an innocent person's life, accusing Edward of rape in retaliation for his not giving in to her attempts to seduce him. She is one horrible human being.
30	* {{Moe}}: Edward, with his innocence.
31	* NarmCharm: Bet you never thought Creator/VincentPrice [[ItMakesSenseInContext holding a cookie up to a robot's chest]] could be so moving.
32	* NightmareFuel:
33	** Edward ripping apart the Boggs' curtains and tapestry in a fit of jealousy over Kim and Jim's relationship, bearing in mind this comes ''after'' he's participated in the botched burglary and allowed his reputation in the neighborhood to be irrevocably damaged because she asked him to do it.
34	** Edward can get a pretty unsettling expression whenever he's scared or angered, particularly the latter.
35	** Edward's overall situation is very grim. Imagine being forced to have scissor-like hands with no way of having them replaced with normal hands and always having to be careful you don't injure someone with them. And his fate at the end is also incredibly depressing (see above).
36	** The scene where we first meet Edward, and, brandishing his scissorhands, he creeps out of the shadows and walks slowly towards the camera with the above-mentioned unsettling scared expression on his face as the music becomes dark and almost sinister.
37	** Jim is a more mundane example. [[BitchInSheepsClothing On the outside, he's a clean-cut and well-to-do kind of guy, but get his girlfriend's attention and the illusion shatters]], revealing [[CrazyJealousGuy a murderous thug who won't stop until the source of his hatred is dead]].
38	* OneSceneWonder: With just ''three'' scenes, Creator/VincentPrice as the Inventor (in what would end up being his final role) just about steals the film from Creator/JohnnyDepp.
39	* PeripheryDemographic: The movie has a very large female fanbase; having Creator/JohnnyDepp and being a deeply tender romance are the key reasons.
40	* RetroactiveRecognition: Nick Carter of the Music/BackstreetBoys can be seen at the beginning of the film. He confirmed it in interviews.
41	* SignatureScene: The "Hold me"/"I can't" scene is definitely one of the film's most iconic, and arguably one of Burton's most iconic as a whole. Kim dancing in the snow made from Edward's ice sculptures is also very well-remembered.
42	** The scene where Peg applies makeup on Edward is well-known and well-regarded as an UrExample of ASMR.
43	* SpecialEffectFailure: The makeup for [[spoiler:Creator/WinonaRyder]] as the old woman is a little unconvincing.
44	* ThemePairing: Edward is shipped with Lydia from ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'' by virtue of both being the troubled protagonists of Tim Burton films and embodiments of DarkIsNotEvil. Not to mention that Lydia is also portrayed by Creator/WinonaRyder.
45	* UglyCute: This trope applies to Edward both in-story and outside it.
46	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Bill Boggs, Kim's father, becomes this because much of the climax of the film could have been avoided if he weren't so oblivious and stupid. He somehow doesn't hear the confrontation between Jim and Edward when Edward accidentally scratches Kim's hand, nor does he hear Jim yelling at Edward to GetOut of the neighbourhood despite being on the roof right above them, but he does notice Edward storming off and acts with a total lack of concern when Kim urges him to go look for Edward. Not to mention Bob invokes a DisappointedInYou reaction when Edward is caught stealing and lectures Edward about ethics despite being well aware that Edward literally doesn't know any better and they didn't attempt to teach him right from wrong before this.
47	%%* TheWoobie: Edward, who also counts as a StoicWoobie and an IronWoobie for the same reasons.

Context YMMV / EdwardScissorhands