Edward ScissorhandsMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 74 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
13 OK for kids 13+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    Entertainment Weekly |

    Simple, funny, gorgeous, sad, and sweet, perfect for playing over and over. Read full review

  • 100
    Los Angeles Times | Michael Wilmington

    Perhaps the most original movie fantasy creation of the year: an icon of tenderness and artistic alienation that clings, stickum-like, to your mind's eye and the softest, most woundable parts of your mass-culture heart. [7 Dec 1990, Calendar, p.F-1] Read full review

  • 90
    Variety |

    A delightful and delicate comic fable. Read full review

  • 80
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    Amusing and inventive. Read full review

  • 80
    The New York Times | Elvis Mitchell

    Like a great chef concocting an exquisite peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich, Mr. Burton invests awe-inspiring ingenuity into the process of reinventing something very small. Read full review

  • 75
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Edward Scissorhands isn't perfect. It's something better: pure magic. Read full review

  • 63
    USA Today | Mike Clark

    If the script were half as witty as its production design and Danny Elfman's score, the film might be a classic; instead, it recalls the “Beetlejuice” half that doesn't have Keaton. [7 Dec 1990, Life, p.4D] Read full review

  • 60
    Washington Post | Rita Kempley

    Tim Burton remains the Wizard of Odd with this eye-filling if problematic confection. Read full review

  • 50
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    The disappointment is that Burton has not yet found the storytelling and character-building strength to go along with his pictorial flair. Read full review

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Great to look at but not much fun to watch… An emotionally uncommitted picture that's smirky and mawkish, by turns, and at heart, empty. [14 Dec 1990, Daily Datebook, p.E1] Read full review

View more reviews for Edward Scissorhands on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 13+ Dark yet sweet underdog tale for older kids.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that there is sporadic violence in this film. Aside from a woman attempting to seduce Edward wearing a lace bra, sexuality is limited to Fifties-style courting rituals (kissing and hugging). Some of the garish set pieces, like Edward's haunted mansion, and the title character, with mean-looking, scissors for fingers, may be terrifying for young children.
  • Families can talk about how the film is an 'Ugly Duckling' fable about a misunderstood, soft-spoken underdog who does not fit the cookie cutter mold.
  • What is normal?
  • How does conformity play a role in the townspeople's treatment of Edward?
  • Can you think of instances in real life when people have judged others based on their appearances?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: An inventive take on the ugly-duckling motif, Edward proves once again that real beauty is on the inside.
  • rolemodels true2 Positive role models: The neighbors are modern day witch-hunters, but the leading characters, including Edward and his 'foster' family, are soft-spoken, friendly, and open to diversity.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Edward accidentally nips his face, then a little boy's. Edward is beaten with a stick repeatedly, and he stabs an attacker in the chest, causing him to fall out a window to his death.
  • sex false0 Sex: A woman wears figure-hugging outfits and is also seen on top of Edward wearing a lace bra.
  • language false3 Language: Only three occasions of suggestive talk, one expletive.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Mom is an Avon lady, but besides the focus on make-up and hair, film is brand-free.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Dad serves Edward a drink, after which Edward gets visibly drunk and sick.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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