ith the success of this summer's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the recent release of Corpse Bride, tracking the fast-moving personality that is Tim Burton is, without doubt, a more daunting task by the day. Rising to this challenge is the mission of The Tim Burton Collective, a quirky, fan-run compilation of articles, links, images and news about this versatile director and all his creative projects.
The Collective does a fantastic job of serving heaps of Burton information in pleasant, bite-sized morsels, offering an extensive biography and filmography, a newsblog with the latest on his movies and even the occasional contest. The site's discussion forums have separate topics dedicated to each film and to longtime Burton collaborators like composer Danny Elfman; they also have areas for general chit-chat and a section where fans can post poetry, Burton-inspired art, script ideas and fiction.
The Collective's archive contains more than 200 articles on Burton's career and pictures. Meanwhile, profiles of actors who have appeared in more than one Burton film—Christopher Walken, for example, and, of course, Johnny Depp—are under construction. Web surfers seeking more esoteric content can check out the "Lumplings" section, a grab bag of everything that doesn't fit tidily elsewhere—chat room, shopping guide, indexes of actors who have worked in Burton films and the Star Wars pictures and information about Burton's book of poems, The
Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy.
Finally, the site contains a small but growing multimedia section, with links to an assortment of commercials, images, downloadable fonts for films like Sleepy Hollow and The Nightmare Before Christmas and wallpapers related, in various ways, to Burton's career.
The energy and focus that go into making a top-notch fan site are remarkable, and The Tim Burton Collective has both equalities in abundance. Informative, funny and brimming with enthusiasm for the work of one of Hollywood's most imaginative filmmakers, this site is a dream come true for researchers, movie buffs and all Burton's hard-core fans.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—September 19, 2005
cozy retreat for dedicated Planet of the Apes fans, The Forbidden Zone has the inside track on all things Ape—movies, the live-action and animated TV shows, tie-in novels ... even the infamous musical parody by The Simpsons!
This well-designed and thoroughly informative fan site offers a timeline outlining key events in the Planet of the Apes series, along with data on the continuity snarls that inevitably proliferate in such a long-lived SF universe. It has a lengthy compilation of trivia, excerpts from tie-in novels and an index of articles sure to be of interest to visitors. Other content on the Web page includes an interview with actress Linda Harrison, who portrayed "Nova" in two Apes movies. Meanwhile, the site's Links section provides an exhaustive inventory of sites about everything from do-it-yourself Ape costuming to Charlton Heston's filmography.
This site was at its busiest during the lead-up to Tim Burton's 2001 cinematic "re-imagining" of the franchise. Hollywood gossip, previews and eventually reviews of the film packed the Web page with new content before and after the film's release. Now that some time has passed the pace is more sedate, but The Forbidden Zone is far from dead: A news blog tracks current Ape events, a recent editorial in the Scrolls section discusses the brave new world of TiVo and podcasting, and the site continues to faithfully track new DVD releases and tie-in projects.
Enduring affection for Planet of the Apes is evident on every page of this site. Serious but never stuffy, this site is a fitting tribute to one of SF's most unique and long-lived universes.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—September 12, 2005
heery, humorous and insightful by turns, Jitterbug Fantasia is a media magazine with an eclectic range of content. With fiction, online games, interviews and even a graphic novel called "Clown Story" rounding out its content, this site is something of a literary candy store, with treats for every type of reader.
This site is best known for its Star Wars Origins section, which traces a number of cultural influences that affected George Lucas during his creation of Star Wars. The analysis in this section is detailed, with articles on Flash Gordon, film director Akira
Kurosawa, the writings of Joseph Campbell and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. All of the essays are accompanied by tables that analyze Star Wars story elements, comparing—to pick just one example—its mythic roots with those of The Matrix.
Games available on Jitterbug give guests a chance to protect Tokyo by squashing an invading army of Tamagotchis ... with Godzilla's foot! Others may prefer to fight a lightsaber duel as a cuddly teddy bear in Star Bears: The Fandom Menace. Meanwhile, the interview section of the page spotlights a collection of offbeat artists: author Jessica Amanda Salmonson, comic artist Kyle Baker and Simon Baker, an expert on real and invented languages and the writing systems that go with them. The site's links section is small but selective, pointing to other sites that have tickled the fancy of its staff.
The offbeat content at Jitterbug Fantasia makes it the ideal stopping place for Web surfers seeking a bit of eccentric SF-themed reading, a quick round of Tamagotchi-stomping or some fresh insights into Star Wars. Infrequently updated but always intriguing, the site's restful detours into whimsy are always worth sampling.
—A.M. Dellamonica
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