Tim Burton rewatch! Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016) seems like a perfect property for Burton to adapt, but it came and went with little fanfare. How does it hold up?

Here’s what happens: After the death of his grandfather, troubled teen Jake visits the childhood home where grandpa grew up. There, he finds a group of magically super-powered children living in a time loop repeating the same day from 1943 over and over, while cared after by a woman who can transform into a falcon. (Got all that?) Why are they in a time loop? It’s to protect the kids from an even greater supernatural force hunting them. Can Jake save his new friends, or has he brought doom upon them?

Origin story: It all began with author Ransom Riggs collecting weird-looking antique photographs, and writing a fictional story based on them. The book, with the photos included, was a smash hit when published in 2011, and movie talks began right away.  

Outsider theory: Jake is certainly an outsider, but I believe he’s first where it’s explicitly said he has mental health issues. There’s a mechanic where he can leave the time loop whenever he wants to go back to his own year, but he never seems in a hurry to do so.

Reality breaks through: Jake does return to the present a few times to check in with his dad, who is rightfully distraught about how Jake keeps disappearing for days at a time.

Best bits: Barron: “Eventually, you’re going to run out of breath. And then it’ll be over. Death for your beloved Jake and Miss Peregrine. Everlasting life for me… and a mint for you.”

Thoughts upon this viewing: This should be a no-brainer – make a movie that looks like the book’s bizarre photos. Why, then, does the movie not do that? Everything’s all bright with carnival colors, when it should be old-timey gothic stuff. I’ll admit, however, that I enjoyed this viewing more than previous ones. There are individual moments when the movie gets interesting, such as exploring a sunken ship underwater or the children all donning gas masks to celebrate the time loop resetting.

Next: The producers.

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