***1/2 of ****
Despite a title reminiscent of cheesy horror gorefests of old and a form of animation that many may consider a dead art (no pun intended), Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride” is an undeniably imaginative, surprisingly romantic and insightful addition to the increasingly impressive arsenal of films that bear his name, and is a worthy stop-motion animation companion to its predecessor of a decade ago, “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
“Corpse Bride” centers on an unlikely hero by the name of Victor Van Dort (think of an awkward, bumbling version of Jack Skellington, but with skin). Victor’s parents, purely out of greed, have arranged for him to marry Victoria, the daughter of a seemingly wealthy nobleman. We soon learn, however, that the nobleman and his wife are secretly penniless and rather wicked, and that their motive behind the arranged marriage is also greed. Despite the circumstances, Victor and Victoria hit it off rather well, but at the wedding rehearsal Victor gets cold feet and retreats into a very Burtonesque forest. After an eerily humorous chain of events near a graveyard, Victor accidentally marries a very beautiful, yet very dead young woman who takes him away to an underground land where the rotting corpses of our ancestors joke, drink, dance and sing. It is Victor’s task to escape the Land of the Dead and wed his true love. First, however, he has to choose which young lady that may be- the shy, pretty Victoria, or Emily, who is swiftly growing on him despite the fact that she’s deceased.
The film as a whole is a masterpiece but, like it’s predecessor, it’s the fleeting dark, sometimes gruesome, yet somehow loveable images that make it so captivating-a friendly, smiling skeleton with the blade of a sword jutting from his midriff, a clockmaker sweeping the porch of his store in perfect time with every swinging pendulum and a second-hand store that literally sells second hands. There’s another reluctant-smile inducing moment when an army of black widow spiders are patching up Victor’s clothes and singing an ironically delightful song parodying the housekeeping mice from “Cinderella.” Another interesting detail is that the supposed Land of the Dead is a much happier, more colorful and lively place than the drab, grey Land of the Living which Victor leaves behind.
Burton has always been one to stick to a formula that works and this film is no exception. Victor is voiced by none other than Burton’s poster child, Johnny Depp (“Edward Scissorhands,” “Sleepy Hollow”), and many of the other central roles are given life by Burton’s old favorites. Christopher Lee of such films as “Lord of the Rings” and “Star Wars” also joins in the fun as the dark and menacing Pastor Galswells.
Last, but certainly not least, Danny Elfman, the mastermind behind the music of Burton’s past works, puts together another incredible soundtrack of spine tingling orchestra and several toe tapping original songs you’ll be annoying your roommate with for many weeks to come.
The film is not quite perfect, though. There are a couple of slow, tedious moments, and there are plot holes. The film does have a hint of surrealism however, and the plot holes are likely put there to remind us of Burton’s ongoing unspoken philosophy that not everything has to make perfect sense.
All in all, Burton has woven yet another delightfully twisted, lightheartedly dark fairytale that can now be placed on a pedestal with the likes of “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and enjoyed for ages to come.