THE CORPSE BRIDE
****1/2 out of *****
Reviewed by Cameron Murray

Genres
Animation
Fantasy
Musical
Romance

2005
Directed by
Tim Burton
Mike Johnson
Written by
John August and Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler (screenplay)
Tim Burton and Carlos Grangel (characters)
Voice cast
Johnny Depp .... Victor Van Dort
Helena Bonham Carter .... Corpse Bride
Emily Watson .... Victoria Everglot
Tracey Ullman .... Nell Van Dort/Hildegarde
Paul Whitehouse .... William Van Dort/Mayhew/Paul The Head Waiter
Joanna Lumley .... Maudeline Everglot
Albert Finney .... Finis Everglot
Richard E. Grant .... Barkis Bittern
Christopher Lee .... Pastor Galswells
Michael Gough .... Elder Gutknecht
Jane Horrocks .... Black Widow Spider/Mrs. Plum

The Corpse Bride is a fantastic contribution to the genre of animated movies. A dark musical tale of true love, betrayal, murder and redemption, it is a wonderful story for both children and adults alike. While the title is somewhat morbid and haunting the movie itself is quite light hearted in the way that it deals with its subject matter, and it is the living rather than the dead who are the less lively and more sinister of the two.

The film is about Victor (Johnny Depp) who is to be married to Victoria (Emily Watson). Victors parents Nell (Tracey Ullman) and William (Paul Whitehouse) believe that this is a great opportunity to climb the social ladder as Victoria's family has quite a high social standing. Victoria's parents, Maudeline (Joanna Lumley) and Finis (Albert Finney) need the marriage as they are currently dirt poor. With the marriage arranged and the practice ceremony in progress Victor has an incredible inability to say his vows, and is sent away to practice them. He walks into the woods where he begins practicing his vows and then places the wedding ring on a branch. The branch, or rather what Victor thought was a branch turns out to be the Corpse Bride's (Helena Bonham Carter) finger, and by this gesture she is resurrected. Upon her rising, she whisks Victor away to the land of the dead and informs him of her unfortunate story. Meanwhile in the land of the living a mystery suitor appears, Barkis Bittern (Richard E. Grant), very suave and confident, claiming that if the missing Victor were not to return he would be more than happy to marry the lovely Victoria. Victoria's parents are ecstatic at this proposition and set about changing the wedding for the new groom. Victor finds out about this change in plans and decides to marry the Corpse Bride, but in order to do so they must have a wedding ceremony, and there the plot is set for an amazing future animated classic.

The cast does a fantastic job of giving the characters voice and emotion that leads you to have real sympathy for their plights. Depp does a fantastic job of playing Victor, a timid Englishman who is very shy and retiring, with over bearing parents who seem more interested in climbing up the social ladder than their sons future happiness. Bonham Carter (Tim Burton's significant other) does a great job of giving the Corpse Bride a certain (I know this will sound dodgy, but what the hell) sex appeal that is necessary for you to believe that Victor would be attracted to her. The rest of the cast do magnificent jobs in their relevant roles leading to a beautiful harmony throughout the film. Top notch efforts all round.

Stylistically this movie is a feast for the eyes, with amazing flowing shots that lure you in to the film and making you, at times, forget that it was shot frame by frame. Incredible attention was taken with character movement appearing natural and smooth, which leaves you in awe of the amount of effort that must have been taken, to make this painstaking process dance across the screen. The contrast in the colours used to separate the world of the dead from the world of the living is marked, but matches the tone of the film and is consistent the whole way through and adds to the overall feel. The music serves more as an extra character than simply being there to fill the silence with some catchy musical numbers in there to boot; Danny Elfman again excels in delivering a film score that is a testament to this true maestro of his craft. Burton brings to life the old English gothic feel with ease and the movie is some what reminiscent of his earlier works with Beetle Juice (1988), Batman (1989) and Edward Scissorhands (1990).

While the story is quite simple and the movie quite short, the style, acting and direction make it a wonderful viewing experience. I found the movie to be refreshing and interesting though not particularly taxing on the old noggin, which can be nice sometimes. With the movie running for just seventy-four minutes it does leave you wanting more, which personally I prefer, unlike a lot of the new movies which are coming out that could end twenty or thirty minutes before the final credits roll. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys Burton's work or anyone who feels like an enjoyable but not particularly long foray into the old English gothic world, where marriage of convenience was a regular occurrence.

Cameron Murray's reviews also appear on DVD Compare, where they include details of the DVD release. For this review click here.

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