The Corpse Bride

Warner Bros, 2005
Voices of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, and Joanna Lumley
Directed by Tim Burton
Music by Danny Elfman; Lyrics by John August

For the next two weeks, we're going to celebrate the spookiest time of the year with four frightening tales of musical mayhem, starting with this stop-motion romance. Having had success with The Nightmare Before Christmas in the 90's, Burton once again dove into animation with this melodrama about a young man who literally goes from the underworld and back to return to his beloved. Is it as much fun as the earlier film? Let's head to a small village in Europe, where two families are preparing for a wedding, and find out...

The Story: Victor Van Dort (Depp) and Victoria Everglot (Watson) are being brought together in an arranged marriage by their two influential families. Victor's is newly rich and searching for status. Victoria's is penniless but high in social standing. Victor is so nervous, he makes a hash of the wedding rehearsal. He wanders out to the woods to practice his wedding vows, placing the ring on what he thinks is a wooden branch. It turns out to be the hand of a deceased bride, Emily (Bonham Carter), who now believes they're married. Victor faints and finds himself among the colorful skeleton residents of the Underworld, who explain how Emily was betrayed and killed by the man who was supposed to elope with her. He tricks her into returning above, but Victoria is less than happy to find him in the arms of even a dead woman. Now Victor has to explain to the dead bride that he loves another and keep his own living intended from marrying a rather sketchy nobleman.

The Animation: Not as bright or creative as Nightmare, but still excellent.  The stiff gray designs of the Victorian world above reminds me of Burton's even creepier stop-motion short from the 80's, Vincent, with its wide, dark-ringed eyes and angular designs. The Underworld is more fluid and whimsical, with more movement and some very creative character models.

The Song and Dance: Alternately bittersweet and goofy, this is actually less creepy than you might think, despite all the dead people roaming around. As good as Depp is as the confused groom, he's outshown by both ladies. Bonham Carter does well with Emily's sweet and more vengeful sides, while Watson brings more strength than you might think to dainty Victoria.

Favorite Number: "Remains of the Day" is a jazzy number for Bojangles (Elfman) and his skeleton combo as they tell Victor the sad tale of how Emily was tricked into eloping with a man who only wanted her money and jewels. Carter also gets the touching "Tears to Shed" after she finds out about Victor and Victoria.

What I Don't Like: The music, while not bad, isn't quite as memorable as the scores for Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, and there isn't nearly enough of it. A song for Victoria to explain her feelings, or a duet for Victor and Victoria or Victor and Emily, might have been nice.

The Big Finale: If you love Burton's other stop-motion projects, unusual love stories, or the cast, you'll want to take a chance and join the Underworld in celebrating this one.

Home Media: Oddly, while the widescreen DVD is out of print, the full screen disc is still available. It can be found in widescreen on Blu Ray and most streaming companies.

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