The Rejected Tim Burton Children’s Book Disney Never Published

Tim Burton has had a somewhat tenuous relationship with the Walt Disney Company over the years. After growing up in Burbank, California, with his creative mind, Burton thought the House of Mouse would be a dream job. But he found that, like his Beetlejuice character, Lydia Deetz, he was "strange and unusual" in a world of cheerful and colorful things.

Before Tim Burton struggled against the "Disneyfication" of his work, he actually aspired to publish a children's book with Walt Disney Productions. In 1976, Burton was still a teenager, but he sent in a rough draft of his book, complete with his own illustrations. Disney's soft rejection didn't deter the young Burton from his dreams, though it is unfortunate for his fans that The Giant Zlig was never published.

The Giant Zlig

When Tim Burton was still in high school, he wrote the children's book, The Giant Zlig. It was about a giant blue monster who went about the land of Ziv, bullying all the smaller monsters. After writing and illustrating the book himself, Burton sent the rough draft to Walt Disney Productions, along with a letter stating that he hoped they would publish it.

It's surprising to anyone who knows and loves his works to hear the word "cute" associated with Tim Burton. However, even with his inexperience and lack of high-quality art tools at the time, Burton's story was cute, funny, and well-drawn. The dark and creepy vibes he would later become famous for were yet to develop, but the art was distinctly his. So, why did Disney ultimately reject it? Well, it resembled a Dr. Seuss book a bit too closely.

Disney's Rejection Letter

T. Jeanette Kroger, an editor at Walt Disney Productions in 1976, responded to Tim Burton's book submission by letting him down easy. She said she really enjoyed reading his book and felt the art and writing were beyond her expectations of what a high schooler could produce. But also stated that it was "too derivative of the Seuss works to be marketable."

From the small samples we have of the original rough draft, Tim Burton's book did feel similar to a Dr. Seuss story. It follows a similar rhyming scheme and even includes silly words invented by Burton. While it makes sense that Disney rejected the book, it is strange that it wasn't published later on, once Burton had made a name for himself.

The World of Tim Burton

Though The Giant Zlig was never officially published, fans of Burton can still see it among his early works in the art exhibition, The World of Tim Burton and Tim Burton's Labyrinth. These exhibitions have been touring the globe since 2014, showing off sketches, storyboards, and props that make up 40 years of "Burtonesque" art. The upcoming exhibition will be held in Tokyo, Japan, from November 25, 2026, to February 21, 2027.

In addition to The Giant Zlig, Burton's art exhibitions show the creativity that was never fully nurtured while he worked at Disney. Tim Burton gained experience as an animator in the early '80s, but the struggle for creative control and his inability to draw in Disney's mandated style led to the Walt Disney Studios firing him in 1984. Devastating as it would be to be rejected by Disney once again, it proved to be exactly what Tim Burton needed to let his dark-comedic soul fly free.

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