Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (2003)

Directed by: Tim Burton, Mike Johnson | 76 minutes | comedy, animation, family, romance, fantasy, musical | Original voice cast: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Paul Whitehouse, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney, Richard E. Grant, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Jane Horrocks, Enn Reitel, Deep Roy, Danny Elfman, Stephen Ballantyne

2005 has been a special year for Tim Burton fans. While the acclaimed ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ is still in the cinemas, the release of ‘Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride’, a stop-motion animation film in which we follow the adventures of the shy Victor in the Land of the Living and The Land of the Dead. A film in which we meet two charming brides, both beautiful and both sweet, although one is a bit timid and the other quite dead.

‘Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride’ is set in a world where the twisted, contrarian and imaginative mind of Tim Burton (Sleepy Hollow (1999), ‘Big Fish’ (2003)) is easily recognizable. In the fantasy of the American director, the Land of the Living becomes a dead and oppressive place, while the Land of the Dead is colourful, noisy, musical and very cozy. And while Victor’s living bride is a sweet but unobtrusive girl, the dead bride turns out to be a lady of a completely different caliber. Although sometimes an arm or a leg falls from her body and her right eye regularly pops out of its socket, she is a seductive and very sexy corpse. A corpse also with a heart of gold, although that is no longer true.

While the story of ‘Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride’ has its dark and macabre sides, the underlying message is a plea for a colorful, human and imaginative existence. That message is packaged in a dazzling animation, in which your eyes fail because of the bizarrely dressed characters, the original choreography and the beautiful sets.

Contrary to their environment, the three main characters aren’t exactly creepy. On the contrary, they have a romantic soul and do not simply allow themselves to be enslaved by the strict Victorian mores of their time, but resist it in their own modest way. It is therefore the endearing characters combined with the exuberant visual and musical style that make ‘Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride’ such a delightful film.

Because there is always something to moan about (that’s how we are in the Land of the Living), you could say that the plot is perhaps a bit thin and that the contrasts are sometimes a bit too thick. That does not alter the fact that ‘Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride’ is a top recommendation and that the year 2005 will not soon be forgotten by the fans of Tim Burton.