Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

You know, I WAS warned about seeing Corpse Bride. Good thing I respect my buddie’s animation skills and not his taste in movies.

Based on a foreign folk tale, the Corpse Bride tells the tale of a
reluctant groom-to-be who, through a series of events, marries a dead
woman. Sounds pretty gruesome, but it’s actually kinda fun. Tim Burton
brings the stop-motion animation magic of Nightmare Before Christmas
and James & the Giant Peach to another whimsical story. Danny
Elfman as always provides the music and Johnny Depp stars alongside
Helena Bonham-Carter as the creepy but oddly attractive bride.

In truth, Bride can’t hold a candle to Nightmare Before Christmas. The
songs in Nightmare are easily more memorable and upbeat than Corpse.
From a technical standpoint though, Bride improves on the stop motion
process, being smoother and actually easier to watch. Now granted, that
doesn’t make for a good movie all by itself, but it makes for a better
experience.

Bride’s highlights occur in the world of the dead which conversely
bring life to the picture. Neon lights, dance clubs and certainly some
of the motliest but well meaning creatures inhabit this alter-universe
which should strike as no surprise if you’ve seen Beetlejuice. Pun
intended, the character’s aren’t as well fleshed out as those in
Nightmare, but you still find sympathy with the Bride’s plight,
murdered by her first husband and only looking for someone to love her,
dead or alive. The groom plays that integral part and although he
tries, the character comes off more as being whiney than anything else.
Like Luke Skywalker without a laser sword.

I’m still going to recommend Corpse Bride, despite its flaws. It’s a
very visual film, lots to look at, even if the story isn’t exactly
enguaging, and rolling in at just over an hour, it won’t leave you
looking at your watch asking yourself when it’s going to end.