MN90: Tim Burton’s Mars Movie

1996 – Hollywood director Tim Burton fell in love with Topps trading card images created by two Minnesota artists thirty years before. But would audiences fall in love with Burton’s new film, Mars Attacks!, based on those cards? Here’s Britt Aamodt.

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Producer: Britt Aamodt

Editorial support: Emily Krumberger

Mixing & mastering: Chris Harwood

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Transcript

MN90 Intro: Welcome to MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds.

1994, Tim Burton, the film director, was a man who had everything. He was on a run with six back-to-back hits, beginning with 1988’s Beetlejuice and continuing with last year's Ed Wood. But what he needed right now was an idea for his next project. And that came in August when a friend gave him a deck of Topps trading cards for his 36th birthday. The 55 cards were reprints of an original series published in 1962, Mars Attacks, about Martians who invade Earth with their flying saucers and phasers, leaving behind a trail of mayhem, gore and a dead dog. Two Minnesota artists, Wally Wood and Norm Saunders, were among those who created the original artwork and who felt the blow back from 1960s parents who didn't want their children exposed to such trash. The series was canceled. But that was years ago, and Tim Burton was inspired by the card's imagery and storyline. He called his 1996 film Mars Attacks!, and it flopped, but went on to become a cult classic.

MN90 Outro: MN90 is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, made possible by funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Online at mn90.org.