Edward (Depp) is the creation of an inventor (Price) who dies before he is able to finish his artificial young man. With sharp blades in place of proper human hands, Edward now lives alone and isolated in a Gothic castle. One day, kindly Avon lady Peg Boggs (Wiest) comes knocking, and brings Edward down to the pastel-hued, postcard-perfect suburb where she lives with her family. Gentle Edward is a hit in the hood for his hedge-trimming skills, but his feelings for Peg's daughter, Kim (Ryder), threaten to make him an outcast once again.

Essentially a lovely, melancholy parable about conformity and the pain of being misunderstood by writer-director Burton, this film is a winner thanks to Depp's sensitive performance as a freaky, fragile creature with achingly human qualities. Pasty-faced and goth-attired, with a mane of wild, unkempt black hair, Depp is simply brilliant in his first big movie role. So is the superlative supporting cast, including Ryder, Wiest, and horror maven Vincent Price, in his farewell role. "Edward Scissorhands" is a quirky, endearing twist on the Frankenstein fable that feels cunningly contemporary.