Why The Ice Sculptures In Edward Scissorhands Make No Sense

Tim Burton’s first collaboration with Johnny Depp was the whimsical, gothic-romance “Edward Scissorhands.” While the director and the actor became friends and collaborated on seven more films over the years, at the time it was actually Depp’s girlfriend, Winona Ryder, that suggested to Burton that he cast her boyfriend for the lead role. Ryder, who was good friends with Burton, had been Burton’s first pick for the film, after their collaborations on “Frankenweenie” and “Beetlejuice.”

A lot has been said over the years about the fantastical “Edward Scissorhands.” It’s a beautiful film, but one that it’s probably best not to analyze, or get too factual about. In an interview with Insider, screenwriter Caroline Thompson explained that the studio had wanted Tom Cruise for the role of Edward, but he lost the role after asking Burton too many questions. “In his interview with Tim, he asked how Edward went to the bathroom … You can’t ask questions like that … You’ve missed the metaphor, you’ve missed the point,” she said.

“Edward Scissorhands” is the kind of film that — as gorgeous as it is to look at — doesn’t make a lot of sense if you ask too many questions, but sometimes you can’t help it. One question that fans still ask is: what’s with all those amazing ice sculptures Edward makes?

Edward's Ice Sculptures aren't Logical

On the edge of an average suburb in Central Florida, there exists a spooky mansion. Inside is Edward, who has been living there by himself since the scientist who created him died before he could give Edward human hands to replace his scissorhands. After a kind Avon lady (Dianne Wiest) visits the mansion and decides to bring Edward home, they discover that Edward is an artist, and can create beautiful sculptures out of anything. But when he returns to the mansion, he’s shown having created a houseful of ice sculptures. How? Where did the ice come from?

As Graham Pellegrino points out in his blog (via Penn State University), “… how does he get the ice, hold the ice, or prevent it from melting? As we have seen throughout the movie Edward cannot hold things so he did not call to order the ice. He cannot type on a computer to order the ice over the internet either. So how does the ice get to his house?” As the film takes place in Florida, there really seems to be no logical answer to the presence of the ice sculptures, and it may be best to take Caroline Thompson’s advice — “You can’t ask questions like that … You’ve missed the metaphor, you’ve missed the point.”