Hello! Today I’ll be continuing my long string of Tim Burton reviews with Corpse Bride. The film follows Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp), who flees rehearsal for his arranged marriage after failing to learn his vows and setting his wife-to-be Victoria’s mother’s dress on fire accidentally. While practicing in the woods at night, he unknowingly places his ring on the finger of a corpse (Helena Bonham Carter), who rises from the grave and whisks Victor away to the land of the dead. Ironically, it’s more lively than the bleak, colorless land of the living. It’s a funny setup that results in a heartfelt and very good animated film. Let’s get started.
I’ll start with the problems with this film. To begin with, the pacing and the way the movie’s story shifts between worlds just isn’t that great. The way it’s handled gets a little bit confusing, and it just seems to me that what’s going on in the overworld doesn’t match up with what is going on in the underworld. Another problem is the pacing and the tone of the story. It’s very inconsistent, and it tries too hard to be both funny and emotional. Sometimes it works! But sometimes it doesn’t, and those are a few of the flaws in Corpse Bride.
There is so much to like about this movie, though. For one, the animation is just outstanding. I’ve always loved stop-motion films such as Coraline, ParaNorman, and The BoxTrolls, but this film is one that blows me away every time I watch it. The studio responsible for the ones listed above, Laika, actually worked on this film, and Burton was a design consultant on Coraline. Every single character, backdrop, movement, and whatever else you can think of: it’s all so good. The macabre world that Burton created for Corpse Bride is breathtaking, beautiful, and glorious to watch.
The writing is average. It isn’t anything above, or below that. It get’s the job done, and nothing but that. It isn’t amazing nor terrible, and it works along with the animation to create one helluva story. In addition, the music is very well done. The collaboration between Burton and Danny Elfman is, yet again, spectacular. Many complain about Burton working with the same people over and over again, but let’s be real for a moment here: Has there been a single time when Elfman’s scores have disappointed? Didn’t think so. Even Depp and Carter are great in their roles here, and the voice acting is great.
The supporting characters deserved quite a bit more here. The film caps out at a little more than an hour, which is lower than an average animated film, so I definitely wished for more background behind the villain Barkis Bittern and Victor/Victoria’s parents. How did they come to be the way they are? There was just a lot of room available for more insight into these characters.
Overall, Corpse Bride is a heartfelt and funny animated film that embraces Burton’s weirdness and creates a well-told story. The film has issues, but the final product is more than enjoyable. I’m going to give Corpse Bride a B+.
Corpse Bride stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Paul Whitehouse, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney, Richard E. Grant, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough.
