The TIFF Bell Lightbox is gearing up for Burtonmania, as the new home of the film fest opens its doors to the iconic filmmaker with an exhibition and a host of special programming and events, including appearances by Tim Burton himself.

Organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the exhibition delves into Burton’s creative and artistic vision with more than 700 paintings, drawings, puppets, costumes and storyboards from his personal collections. It will also include commissions from MoMA and a display window commissioned for the Lightbox. The exhibition is slated for a November 26 opening and will run until April 17, 2011.

“This is the first MoMA show to come to Toronto in over 20 years and we look forward to continued partnership with them as well as cultural organizations around the world to present such exciting world-class exhibitions in Canada,” said Piers Handling, TIFF CEO and director, in a statement.

To celebrate Burton’s cinematic career, the Lightbox will also be screening a retrospective of his films alongside the exhibition, ranging from his early shorts and related films that inspired and intrigued him.

Also on the programming side is a “Burton Blitz” in which his films will screen consecutively in a back-to-back marathon over the course of the show’s opening weekend, along with a number of double-bills pairing his films with their influences.

The film program is curated by TIFF Bell Lightbox’s head of film programs Jesse Wente.

Other off-screen activity includes a number of workshops targeting families.