dragonfire88's Full Review: Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Tim Burton has developed a reputation for making entertaining movies that are a bit strange. Burton did work as an animator for Disney before going out on his own. He was involved in the making of The Nightmare Before Christmas, an animated movie using stop motion, a technique that isn't used that often. His newest movie, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, was also created with this method of animation.
Victor Van Dort and Victoria Everglot were meeting for the first time the day before they were to be married. The Everglots were a very proper, old wealthy family that was having financial difficulties. Victor’s father ran a successful fish business, so the Van Dort family was in good financial shape. Maudeline and Finnis were hoping their daughter’s marriage to Victor would save them from financial ruin. A guest that no one knew, Barkis Bittern arrived for the wedding a day early. The Everglots were taken with him. The rehearsal didn’t go well because Victor was having trouble with his vows. He went for a walk to practice his vows, ending up in the woods. He managed to get himself married to a corpse named Emily. She took him back to her world. She was happy to finally be married. The Everglots were determined that the wedding go on, with or without Victor.
I watch a lot of animated movies and usually end up enjoying most of them. There aren’t many movies made with stop motion animation. That type of animation doesn’t have the same look as traditional hand drawn or the newer computer animation. With stop motion, the movements of characters can look a little jerky since it isn’t as smooth. There are limitations on what can be accomplished with this type of animation. I thought that the animation in Corpse Bride was good for this type. It wasn’t as good as the animation in recent computer animated movies, but I didn’t expect it to be. People that are big fans of computer animation may not appreciate this movie as much.
The settings and look of the characters in Corpse Bride reminded me how those things looked in The Nightmare Before Christmas. The town where the characters lived and the woods where Victor first encountered Emily were dark and spooky. The colors were subdued for the most part throughout the movie. Only a few brighter colors ever showed up. The setting did remind me somewhat of Sleepy Hollow. The living characters were very pale and the dead characters were a light blue. Emily was just about the only character not wearing dark clothing throughout the movie. Victor had very long, thin arms and legs like Jack from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Emily also had thin limbs, though it wasn’t as noticeable for her legs because of her dress. I thought that Victor looked gangly. The women characters all wore dresses and looked more like they were gliding when walking because their legs weren’t seen. Emily was the only female character that did show her legs. The movements of a few characters looked slightly strange at times.
Corpse Bride included elements that are typically present in scary movies. Several of the characters were dead and they did interact with living characters. I really didn’t think the movie was scary even with the spooky atmosphere it had. There were a few things in the movie that might scare younger children, which I think is why the movie was rated PG. There were several songs included that helped to move the story along. The songs were written by Danny Elfman and did sound a bit like some of the songs he created for The Nightmare Before Christmas. I’ve seen several movies that dealt with ghosts or spirits of some kind. I’ve never seen one that had a character end up married to a corpse, so that part of the plot was unique. There was a small amount of mystery connected to what Victor was going to do to resolve the strange situation he was in. I was left wondering about a few minor things once the resolution was shown. I don’t want to say specifically what because that could end up spoiling the movie for people who haven’t seen it yet.
Victor was shy and timid, which made him very uncomfortable in certain situations. He did remind me of Icabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow, though Victor wasn’t as much of a coward. Victor’s voice, provided by Johnny Depp, fit the character perfectly. Depp has worked on several Burton movies before, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that was released in the summer of 2005. Victoria was also shy. Her parents were very strict and raised her to be a proper young lady. The voice that Emily Watson provided for her fit the character. Her parents were more concerned with fixing their own financial situation than their daughter’s happiness. Victor’s parents were looking at the marriage to improve their social standing in the town. They didn’t seem to be overly concerned with their son’s happiness either. The voices matched all four of those characters. Barkis showed up with his own plans and managed to impress Madeline and Finnis. None of the characters were developed in a lot of depth, but I didn’t expect them to be. Emily just wanted to be married and didn’t seem too concerned that her new husband was alive. She did feel that her lack of a pulse was a draw back after she became more attached to Victor. Helena Bonham Carter, who was also in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, did a good job with the voice of Emily.
Voice Talent
Helena Bonham Carter - Emily(Corpse Bride)
Johnny Depp - Victor Van Dort
Albert Finney - Finnis Everglot
Richard E Grant - Barkis Bittern
Christopher Lee - Pastor Galswells
Joanna Lumley - Maudeline Everglot
Tracey Ullman - Nell Van Dort
Emily Watson - Victoria Everglot
Paul Whitehouse - William Van Dort
Directed by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride was an entertaining movie. The characters and story could have been a bit stronger, but I still enjoyed the movie. The movie has a spooky feel, so it could be a good movie for families to enjoy around Halloween like Casper.
Set in a 19th century European village, this stop-motion, animated feature follows the story of Victor (voiced by Johnny Depp), a young man who is whi...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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