Corpse Bride is Tim Burton's second stop motion feature and the first one that he actually directed himself along with help from Mike Johnson. I’ve been hearing many of my friends talk about this film whenever the subject of Tim Burton is brought up and they all seem to praise it so much. I on the other hand don’t quite see it the same way, but even with that, This movie is still worth checking out despite its shortcomings.
Victor (Johnny Depp) is a clumsy but good-hearted man who is forced to marry a woman from the Everglot side of the family in order for them to acquire victor’s parent’s wealth. Victor meets the Everglot’s daughter Victoria (Emily Watson) and Victor instantly falls in love with her after making little chitchat. During the wedding rehearsal, Victor keeps screwing up his vows and is forced out so he can keep praticing. Victor eventually gets his vows right by practicing on a tree branch in the ground, but he accidentally summons a corpse bride named Emily (Helena Bonham Carter) who brings him to the land of the dead thinking the vows were made for her. Can Victor get back to the land of the living and undo this grave misunderstanding?
The Story does feel like a Burton flick in how he incorporates his gothic themes and his unusual style of humor. Most importantly it contains a lot of heart which I always admire as that is one of the things I loved about Burton to begin with. The overall feel is very calm and depressing except in the moments when the fun energy needs to be added which works great to the movie’s advantage. The ideas are well explored and taken advantage of especially when we explore the mysterious Land of the dead. Even though it seems everything is in its place my only big problem was the last-minute villain who is very predictable and brings the movie to a halt at certain points of the story. The other problem I have with the story is how it ends, not to say it’s a bad ending but it just kinda stops and doesn’t clear up ideas and conflicts that the movie presents us with around the beginning.
The Characters definitely give this movie great charm and the voice actors really help incorporate personality to bring Burton’s vision to life. I might not be a huge Johnny Depp fan, but Victor was a really charming character and I definitely felt bad for him for all the situations he always gets himself into. Helena Bonham Carter as Emily is also a very sympathetic and lovable character as her tragic past along with her misunderstanding really brings emotional depth to her character. Victoria does not have too much character, but the time she spends with Victor is endearing and lovely even if it could have helped for her to have a personality that would match Emily’s. The side characters in the living world are portrayed as soulless and grim (In the Best way) while the side characters in the Dead are full of personality as well as energy. The only character I felt was kinda out of place was the villain Barkis. His role was kinda out of nowhere and I didn’t think he had enough personality for being the antagonist.
The Animation is too gorgeous for words. It has Tim Burton's fingerprints all over it and is just dripping with gothic atmosphere. The character designs really stick out as they feel like something Burton drawn first and then turned into puppets. You can take a look at any of these characters and not mistake them for a Character that looks like something Tim Burton created. The characters in the living are very formal and have very grayish-looking faces as well as oddly shaped bodies. The characters in the dead meanwhile are creatively designed and more colorful compared to the living which is a great contrast. The Backgrounds are also the same with the Living world being dull and ugly while the Dead World has vivid colors and creepy surprises. It’s probably some of the best and expressive animations I’ve seen from Burton so far and that’s saying a lot given his lineup.
The Music is of course done by Danny Elfman. He’s practically done almost all of Tim Burton's films so it definitely was great for him to do this one as well. His orchestral work is definitely effective in the slower scenes and made even better whenever he incorporates the organ into the creepier moments. There are also some songs he wrote for the film that works quite well. I personally don't think these are the most memorable in his catalog compared to the iconic Nightmare Before Christmas songs, but they are still fun to listen to and they do work great when it comes to the characters expressing their feelings.
I wouldn’t put this movie up there with movies like “Edward Scissorhands” or “The Nightmare Before Christmas” but this movie is still a really good effort from Tim Burton its creative gothic atmosphere, lovable characters, and a great score from composer Danny Elfman more than makeup for a story that may have a few loose hinges here and there. I always look forward to watching this movie every Halloween, I don’t think it’s the best out of his catalog but it definitely is still one heck of a spooky joyride.
(Final Grade: B+)