Watch: Tim Burton’s ‘The Tale of the Skull Tree’ Animated Short Film
by Alex Billington
August 6, 2025
Source: YouTube

“The clockwork heart had changed the boy. He became cold, and driven by ambition.” Netflix has revealed a 2-minute animated short film created by Tim Burton which is part of the next Season 2 of the successful series Wednesday, about Addams’ family member Wednesday Addams’ (starring Jenna Ortega again) life studying at Nevermore Academy. The new season launches streaming on Netflix in September – catch the official trailer here and an intro to Steve Buscemi’s character here. This promo short is an actual stop-motion animated short segment that is featured in the series, but they’ve cut it down into this promo video. Here’s the intro: “Follow your heart. Unless, of course, that heart is a ticking time bomb. From the mind of Tim Burton comes The Tale of the Skull Tree: a hauntingly beautiful story about a twisted mind rooted in mad ambition.” Burton is still a developer & producer on this series. He’s known for making animations like this – one of his most famous is his original Vincent short from 1982 which introduced Frankenweenie. I’m glad they put this online for everyone to enjoy, as it’s actually a very cool short and I wish Burton would make more short films again. And honestly – it does make me want to watch more of the Wednesday series.
Enjoy the short film The Tale of the Skull Tree – a promo for Wednesday – Season 2, from YouTube:
You can watch the official trailer for Netflix’s series Wednesday – Season 2 right here to view more footage.
Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega), returns to prowl the Gothic halls of Nevermore Academy, where fresh foes and woes await. This season, Wednesday must navigate family, friends and old adversaries, propelling her into another year of delightfully dark and kooky mayhem. Armed with her signature razor-sharp wit and deadpan charm, Wednesday is also plunged into a new bone-chilling supernatural mystery. Wednesday is series developed by acclaimed genre filmmaker Tim Burton, director of Beetlejuice 1 & 2, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Mars Attacks, Sleepy Hollow, Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd, Alice in Wonderland, Dark Shadows, Frankenweenie, Big Eyes, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. The series is created by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar, who are also the writers on this next season. With episodes directed by Tim Burton, Paco Cabezas, and Angela Robinson. Executive produced by Gough, Millar, Burton, Steve Stark, Andrew Mittman, Tommy Harper, Karen Richards, Kayla Alpert, Gail Berman, Jonathan Glickman, Meredith Averill. Netflix debuts Wednesday – Season 2 streaming on Netflix worldwide in two portions – Part 1 on August 6th, 2025 + Part 2 on September 3rd, 2025. Who’s ready for more?
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