Tim Burton's Corpse Bride Review

Overall Rating

The stop-motion is flawless, so much so it could easily be mistaken for computer animation. The voice cast is great and the score/songs are pretty good.

The film itself is a drama of sorts which is slightly disappointing to an audience expecting light-hearted musical with a macabre edge. It is marketed as a family film which is slightly misleading.

The story of the Corpse Bride revolves around Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp) who is forced into an arranged marriage by the parents of both parties (Victor's parents want to be seen socializing with aristocracy while Victoria's want to have the rights to the Van Dort's wealth). After a short piano solo Victor and Victoria begin to think getting married isn't such a bad idea however when Victor forgets his vows at the wedding rehearsal he is sent off to try and learn them. In an effort to please everyone Victor runs into the near-by forest where he manages to gain confidence and repeats his lines perfectly, even putting the wedding ring on the branch of a tree however it is not a branch, it is the finger of the long dead Corpse Bride who is looking for a new husband to call her own. Victor is then pulled down into the Land of the Dead where everyone is good-spirited and the pubs never shut.
Corpse Bride is certainly an interesting film. It's theme, macabre designs and funny-looking characters (courtesy of visionary director Tim Burton) make for a great film for teens and adults alike but not so much for young children or anyone who cannot get involved with the film's sophisticated side. In the build up to its release many fans of Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas expected a film of a similar style (dark musical for children) however this was not to be. While the film's musical cues and jazzy songs are great and funny they do not have the overexcitable energy that Nightmare's did. That doesn't mean Danny Elfman has made a mistake it just means someone somewhere along the line has mis-read the tone of the film. This aside the eeriness of the sets will keep Nightmare fans happy as well as the stellar voice acting and flawless stop-motion animation. Johnny Depp is charming as the shy, gentlemanly Victor Van Dort, Helena Bonham-Carter portrays Emily (the corpse bride)'s emotional rollercoatser perfectly and Emily Watson realises the frantic/nervous/kindly characteristics of Victor's bride-to-be Victoria to a tee. English comedy favourites Jane Horrocks and Paul Whitehouse inject a good bit of British humour into the supporting cast while Enn Reitel provides the oh-so familiar voice of the maggot. Overall a good film but certainly not another "Nightmare".