This film nearly all takes place in a tightly defined location - or, more precisely, two tightly defined locations: the suburb and the mansion that towers above it likes its worst nightmare.

The town is an exaggerated version of the monotonous, Lego-land streetscape familiar from films such as E.T. and TV sitcoms like The Brady Bunch. The sky above the houses is always blindingly blue; the homes and cars are in various bright pastel shades. The women's costumes and make-up are in vaguely Sixties style - e.g. Peg's pillbox hat.

The mansion on the hill is also familiar from other films, and equally exaggerated. Dark tones predominate, with monstrous carvings and holes where moonlight can pour spookily through.

It is a realm of shadows - where Edward can be found cowering. Moreover, it is obviously fake-looking, a self-consciously "movie" haunted house with origins in Twenties German expressionism and echoes of countless versions of Dracula and Frankenstein. The parody of the haunted house is, however, more affectionate than that of the suburb; whereas Burton fills the latter with cruel and twisted people, he puts a kindly inventor and cute robots in the haunted house.