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Tim Burton's
Corpse Bride
Directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton
Starring the voices of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonhom Carter, Emily Watson, Richard
E. Grant, Albert Finney, Joanna Lumley, and Christopher Lee.
OK, so one of my favourite films is The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The soundtrack was the first CD I ever bought. The imagery, the songs,
that film just haunted me. So, when I learned that Tim Burton was doing
another stop-motion animated film that was thematically similar, I was
overjoyed. I couldn't wait to see what he'd cook up next. More cool
images, more twisted Danny Elfman songs...just more. And I saw the
result today: The Corpse Bride.
Victor (Depp) and Victoria (Watson) are about to be wed. Things is,
they've never met each other. Victor's parents are lower-class but
stinking rich with "new money." Victoria's parents are aristocratic, but
broke. This isn't so much a wedding but a business transaction, designed
to elevate both families. Lucky for us, though, that with Victor and
Victoria, it's love at first sight. Victor, however, always stumbles over
his vows and darn near burns down the church. The priest (an absolutely
fantastic Lee) sends Victor out to practice his vows. Victor does so in a
forest clearing, and he slips the ring onto a branch. But it's not a
branch. It's a bony finger, belonging to the Corpse Bride (Carter).
Now, wedded to this undead woman, Victor gets whisked off to the Land of the
Dead, to be with the Corpse Bride forever. While Victor scrambles to
return to "upstairs," Victoria has to contend with the advances of the
villainous Bittern Barkin. Will Victor be reunited with Victoria?
Will the Corpse Bride ever find true love? Will everyone get married to
the right person?
I just loved this film. Despite the morbid setting, this film actually
follows a fairly routine romantic comedy/Disney animated formula. What
makes it special are all the macabre touches that the setting brings. It's
just so full of dark humour that I was giddy. And again, the animation is
amazing. The Corpse Bride has a certain beauty to her cold, dead face.
The voice acting is wonderful, especially Lee as the priest and Michael Gough
(Alfred in Tim Burton's Batman) as the priest's Land of the Dead
counterpart. Sadly, though, the songs don't quite click like they did in
The Nightmare Before Christmas. This film didn't haunt me like
Nightmare, but it is just grand, dark, twisted fun.
3.5 Nibs
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