corpsebride

The wry darkness of Tim Burton returns in his unique auteur fashion with the unofficial sequel to “A
Nightmare Before Christmas,” his next stop-motion opus, “Corpse Bride.” Once again utilizing state
of the art stop-motion animation, Burton tells the story of a young man, voiced by Johnny Depp, who
is engaged to be married to the daughter of an aristocratic family virtually in the poor house.

Unfortunately, he accidentally speaks his vows unwittingly to a dead bride, played by Helen Bonham
Carter. She accepts his proposal and he finds himself married to an undead corpse with a lust for
love. Now he must find a way to escape her and marry his true love, but alas, she is now betrothed
to a loathsome rival. Oh, the fairytale-style drama!

Visually, directors Burton and Mike Johnson hit a homerun. Aesthetically, few films this year rival
“Corpse Bride” as it shifts interestingly between a monochromatic palette for the world of the living
and a bright and colorful lively palette for the land of the dead. It’s a nice twist on an old
juxtaposition.

The vocal talent is unmatched with Depp and Bonham-Carter supported by the likes of Michael
Gough, Christopher Lee, Emily Watson, Albert Finney, Joanna Lumley, and Tracey Ullman.

The story is light and fun with a handful of songs that magnify the movie’s focus on entertainment
over a message. This is a fairytale, not a statement. Understandably, the animation is time
consuming and hence, the story is compressed and efficient, but it leaves a few elements that are
needed on the cutting room floor.

For one, the antagonist is not well developed. Where he comes from and exactly whom he is
remains a mystery throughout the film. Additionally, the exact rules of the dead and the corpse
bride’s quest are muddy. Is Depp married to her, or isn’t he? What will it take to “set her free?”
Much of the latter half of the movie requires a forgiving mind that will take things at face value.
However, I don’t think this film is intended to be analyzed. Just enjoying it is reward enough and
there is much to enjoy.

The banter between the bride and Depp is entertaining and the world of the dead with the various
gruesome but good-natured denizens adds loads of laughs, particularly the maggot character that
is supposed to be a surreal reincarnation of Peter Lorre. There are loads of sight gags, but Burton
and Johnson focus on the story and it helps smooth over the less-than-thought-out elements of the
movie.

My one major beef with this flick is that the corpse bride is far more charismatic than the actual living
bride and by the end I was rooting for Depp’s character to get with a corpse. After realizing that, I
was sufficiently disturbed with myself and the film. In short, the real bride lacks charm and
personality as a character. Quite a shame.

Overall, a fun flick and a great fall movie for children. I laud this film for its attempt to be original.