Rated PG for some scary images and action, and brief mild language.
76 Minutes
Tim Burton: October Review Star
Directed By: Tim Burton and Michael Johnson
Written By: Tim Burton and Carlos Grangel
Staring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracy Ullman, Paul Whitehouse, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney, Richard E. Grant, Deep Roy, Danny Elfman, and Christopher Lee as Pastor Galswells
If I touch a burning candle, I can feel no pain. If you cut me with a knife, it’s still the same. And I know her heart is beating, and I know that I am dead; yet the pain here that I feel, try and tell me it’s not real, and it seems that I still have a tear to shed. -The Corpse Bride
Review:
I actually enjoyed this more than The Nightmare Before Christmas in some ways. It’s not as though I didn’t enjoy Nightmare, but The Corpse Bride had more interesting characters, and I simply fell in love with the music throughout. Of course, the somber feel of loneliness was always present, and life being more drab than death as well, typical Tim Burton moments, but even so, the darkness of The Corpse Bride felt appropriate for a fantasy tale of life and death, love and loss.
When a shy young Victor Van Dortfails to recite his vows properly at his wedding rehearsal to a complete stranger Victoria Everglott he flees and practices his vows in the woods. However when he eventually gets it spot on he accidentally places the ring on the finger of a corpse known as the corpse bride. He ends up in the afterlife known as the land of the dead (which proves to be much more colorful and fun than the land of the living).
As opposed to Elfman’s music feeling slightly off in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, everything felt like magical perfection in The Corpse Bride and I think that’s what overall kept me so engaged in The Corpse Bride. If the music doesn’t have you, the set design and creative force of the animated world will suck you into it’s melancholy mood. The characters faces and expressions come to life with passionate voice overs by Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Emily Watson. There is a life like feel about this film that resonates strongly.
The Corpse Bride was fun for the Halloween season, and a great addition to the Tim Burton collection on Movie Mobsters. In anticipation for Alice In Wonderland, it’s fun to review his old work and see exactly how poignant, original, and beautiful everything he has created has been. The Corpse Bride might be on the later end of his work for me, but that is still leaps and bounds beyond the generalized work of most people in film today. This wasn’t the best Burton movie ever, but it was definitely competent.
