Movie Review: Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

It's inevitable that Corpse Bride will be compared to Tim Burton's last stop motion animated film, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Many of these comparisons are valid, but when it comes right down to it, this is a different movie. Yes, the animation is the same style, and yes they are both musicals, but the feel is different. Where Nightmare was full of gothic whimsy, Bride is more of a surreal romance.

This time around Tim Burton steps behind the camera, teaming with Mike Johnson, and takes a more proactive position on his collection of stick figures. Previously he filled the role of producer, besides creator. Whether or not this is a good thing, only time can decide.

We are told a tale of love lost, and love never to be. All told with a flair for the twisted, and musical numbers. Victor is about to marry Victoria even though they have never met. Their respective families have arranged the marriage to further their own needs, her family, the Everglots, has status but no money, his family, the Van Dorts, has the money but not the status. All of the players are a little apprehensive, not the least of which is Victor. During rehearsal, Victor is so nervous that he flees. Then while practicing his vows in the forest, he places the wedding ring on a branch. Needless to say, that was no branch, and the real drama begins as the Corpse Bride emerges from the ground to claim her wedded love.

This steps up the story as Emily, the corpse of the title, is determined to attain wedded bliss, Victor wishes to return to the land of the living, and Victoria is searching for Victor. Meanwhile, Victor's parents are searching for him, and Victoria's folks are contemplating a smarmy newcomer. To reveal more would be saying too much, as I fear I may have already done so.

The plot is simple and straight forward, but along the way we are introduced to a number of colorful characters. Most of them are among the dead. There is the Bonejangles, the band leader, and the Peter Lorre inspired Maggot who always is there to offer advice on any situation, not to mention Victor's old pet, Scraps. There are the other denizens of the land of the dead, always ready to party and have a good time, as opposed to the prim and proper colorless people among the living.

Corpse Bride is a gloriously visual work. The design is superb, from the characters, to the smallest details that fill the frame. The living world is colored in many shades of grey and very little color, almost to the point of being black and white. Down below, on the other hand, the land of the dead are lush and vibrant. It is a nice contrast, and what one would expect from the mind of Burton.

The voice cast is very good. Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Emily Watson play our leading trio of Victor, Emily, and Victoria. Christopher Lee also has a memorable turn as the church's presiding minister. Danny Elfman gets in on the action as well, giving us the voice of Bonejangles, who sings the tragic tale of the Corpse Bride. The character designs are also interesting, dark and gloomy for the living and macabrely colorful for the dead.

I cannot say this is a great film, or as good as I had dared hope. Yet, I still found it to be enchanting. The music and songs, by Danny Elfman, are very good even if they aren't the the classics of Nightmare, there they are again, those pesky comparisons. I would daresay that this could be a case of style over substance, which seems to be the case with many works of Burton. Still, I found the characters interesting and the world engrossing.

Something else I found interesting about the film is that it was not shot with movie film cameras, but with commercially available digital still cameras. Burton and crew employed Canon EOS 1D Mark II cameras with a special mount to use Nikon lenses. It is an 8.2 mega pixel SLR camera, it is an expensive model, but not what you would normally associate with this type of work. The results look great. The images look to be cropped to a 1.66:1 ratio, and I believe the resolution was reduced. All I can say is that if/when there is a high definition version of this, it will probably look spectacular.

Bottomline. A very enjoyable film. Nice voice acting, good music, and a wonderful sense of style. It tells a sweet story of love and loss. Burton has done a fine job creating this surreal gothic romance. I only hope that he will venture into this animated world again down the line.

Recommended.