Carbon Costume

Weird Girl (voiced by Catherine O’Hara) is a character in Tim Burton’s stop-animation film Frankenweenie.  Weird Girl is a classmate of Victor Frankenstein.  Weird Girl has long hair with bangs and wears a floral-printed dress.  To recreate her costume, you can use either a white or grey dress, depending on your preference, and add the black flowers with fabric paint.  Some light grey body paint can help give you a ghoulish appearance to match.

Oogie Boogie (voiced by Ken Page) is the antagonist of the 90s stop motion animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas.  Finding himself at odds with Jack Skellington, Oogie Boogie also manages to kidnap Sally to lure the Pumpkin King to his dungeon-like lair.  Oogie Boogie is a boogeyman made of a burlap sack filled with countless brightly colored bugs that he’s eaten.  Under certain lighting in his lair, he glows a bright green color.  If you don’t want to shell out for the prestige costume below, you can get creative with a baggy dress and shoes (though it may be worth the splurge for the vinyl mask).  For a little extra flair, try a thin layer of glow-in-the-dark paint.  And don’t forget to bring some gummy worms to fill out your costume (and maybe share with friends).

Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon with Danny Elfman providing his singing voice) is the main character in the stop motion animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas.  The King of Halloween, Jack finds himself dissatisfied with his usual holiday shenanigans, and with the help of his fellow Halloweentown residents, including Sally, Jack takes over Christmas.  His bid to spread holiday cheer doesn’t go exactly as planned, but everyone ends up with a greater appreciation for the holiday season.  Jack is a tall, skinny skeleton with a pinstripe suit.  If you don’t want to wear a plastic mask, you could always paint your face, though that won’t achieve his immediately recognizable round face.

Voiced by Charlie Tahan, Tim Burton’s Victor brings a youthful wide-eyed spin on the classic mad scientist from Mary Shelley’s classic novel. After all it’s much easier to sympathize with a little by who wants his dog back than a madman bent on defying the laws of nature!

Victor channels a bit of the original Frankenstein’s mad scientist style with his robes and goggles. But the clothes he wears underneath are more modern. A grey button down, black pants, black belt, and black shoes make up the core of the outfit while a short black wig rounds it out. Grey face paint or dusky makeup can recreate the vibe that you’ve stepped out of a black and white movie. And of course you’ll need your very own Frankenweenie!

In Tim Burton’s universe, Winona Ryder has a way of bringing to life girls that are special mix of sweet and sharp. Elsa van Helsing is no exception. She cares deeply for the people in her life but she’s not exactly a fan of the fluff and frippery that others seem to like.

Elsa’s appearance is a great example of this. She wears her black hair up in long pigtails and opts for a high-neck shirt, a dark pinafore dress, grey tights, and black shoes. You can also use grey face paint if you want to go for the “stepped out of a black and white movie” look. You can also use dusky makeup colors to create a similar look without going for full-face coverage. And of course you’ll want a stuffed poodle to play the part of your very own Persephone

Anne Hathaway brings the ethereal White Queen to life in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland movies. She is the polar opposite of her sister, the wicked Red Queen, preferring kindness over decapitation of those who annoy her. She favors the color white and a Victorianesque wardrobe, consistent with the era of Lewis Carroll and Alice’s home world.

The 1989 version of Batman found Michael Keaton beneath the cowl and Tim Burton behind the camera. It’s a movie you either love or hate thanks to its striking visual style, signature ’80s vibe, and the way Keaton plays Bruce Wayne. Love it or leave it, though, there is no denying that this movie has one of the most iconic versions of the joker and some great action sequences that set it apart from other Batman films.

Getting an accurate Batman look does not come cheap or easy and that’s something to keep in mine with costumes like this. Starting with the basic suit you can switch out the belt to match the 1989 film. Items like the cowl and neck guard can be made using patterns from Etsy or you can order premade versions though the price tag runs much higher. Finally some killer boots and a grappling gun rounds out the ’80s Batman vibe!

Judge Turpin is the main antagonist in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He is a corrupt judge who falsely convicts Benjamin Barker/Sweeney Todd to be with his wife. Unable to withstand his abuse, she poisons herself, and the judge takes custody of her daughter. When she turns sixteen, he offers his hand in marriage, and she refuses. The mistreatment of his family is Todd’s main motive for murder and revenge. In the Tim Burton adaptation, Alan Rickman (aka Professor Severus Snape) plays the crooked character.