(20 votes, average: 3.35 out of 5)
Loading …Rent Movie.com movie reviews presents Corpse Bride movie review a 2005 film starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and directed by Tim Burton, Mike Johnson A man, after butchering his lines at his wedding rehearsal, is sent into the woods to practice his vows. He preforms his vows perfectly and places the ring on a twig on the ground. It turns out the twig was really the hand of the Corpse Bride, who now claims she is his legal wife. Who else but Tim Burton could make Corpse Bride, a necrophiliac’s delight that’s fun for the whole family? Returning to the richly imaginative realm of stop-motion animation (after previous successes with The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach), Burton, with codirector Mike Johnson, invites us to visit the dour, ashen, and drearily Victorian mansions of the living, where young Victor Van Dort (voiced by Johnny Depp) is bequeathed to wed the lovely Victoria (Emily Watson). But the wedding rehearsal goes sour and, in the kind of Goth-eerie forest that only exists in Burton-land, Victor suddenly finds himself accidentally married to the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter), a blue-tinted, half-skeletal beauty (how pleasantly full-bosomed she remains!) with a loquacious maggot installed behind one prone-to-popping eyeball. This being a Burton creation, the underworld of the dead is a lively and colorful place indeed, and Danny Elfman’s songs and score make it even livelier, presenting Victor with quite a dilemma: Should he return above-ground to Victoria, or remain devoted to his corpse bride? At a brisk 76 minutes, Burton’s graveyard whimsy (loosely based on a 19th century Russian folktale) never wears out its welcome, and the voice casting (which includes Tracey Ullman and Albert Finney) is superbly matched the film’s gloriously amusing character design, guaranteed to yield a wealth of gruesome toys and action figures for many Halloweens to come. –Jeff Shannon
Comment by LP45CDwoman “lp45cdwoman”
# January 2, 2007,
Everything you’ve heard about Tim Burton’s CORPSE BRIDE is true! It’s a marvelous return to what he does best, a heartfelt trip into the imagination with well-drawn characters and a touching, fairytale story. I won’t rehash other reviews; take a look, and you’ll get the gist.
One thing I would like to point out is that during the scene when Victor and Victoria first meet at the piano, hit your “pause” or “freeze” button: the nameplate on the piano reads HARRYHAUSEN. A very large thank you to Burton and all the filmmakers for paying tribute to the father of modern stop-motion animation, the great Ray Harryhausen.
It’s too bad that Burton is forced to do contractual big-budget time-wasters like the remakes of “Planet of the Apes” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” in order to make a wonderful little film like CORPSE BRIDE, but at least he gets the chance. Enjoy!
Comment by Jamieson Wolf
# January 2, 2007,
Tim Burtons “Corpse Bride”
I LOVE Tim Burton flicks. I’ve seen each and every one of his films time and time again. However, each and every time, I’ve been surprised with his movies. They have always been more than I expected. They entrance, they amaze and “Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride” is no exception.
Based on a European folk tale, “Corpse Bride” is the story of Victor. Living in a small Victorian town in the 1800’s, he is engaged to be married to a woman named Victoria whom he has never met. When he does meet Victoria, however, he realizes how much he DOES want to be married to her, that love at first sight does exist. There is only one problem: The Corpse Bride.
After fumbling with the vows during the wedding rehearsal, Victor runs to the forest and practices his vows until he gets them right; and places the ring on the outstretched hand of the Corpse Bride. She takes his practice vows for the real thing and takes Victor down to the Underworld. Emily loves Victor, the man who can love her even in death. But what will happen when Victor tries to get back to the woman he loves in the world of the living? Only death will tell….
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I went to see “Corpse Bride” the first time. Now, I made a fatal mistake here: I went expecting the film to be like a non-musical version of one of my all time favorite Tim Burton flicks “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. How wrong I was. For, while the film WAS done in stop animation, “Corpse Bride” was NOTHING like it’s predecessor. I judged the film by what I saw in the previews AND I formed preconceived expectations of what I would be seeing. That’s a big Tim Burton No No.
I was astonished, therefore, within the first five minutes of the film to realize that it WAS in fact a musical. It didn’t have nowhere near the number of songs and huge numbers that “Nightmare” had, but it WAS a musical. If there’s anything I’ve learnt with Tim Burton films it’s this: Don’t go to the theatre with preconceived notions; they will be blown into smithereens. “Corpse Bride” shattered all of them for me. The film, while certainly not as lively as “Nightmare” was beautiful, haunting, gorgeous, lyrical, and heartbreaking.
At first, I was really put off by “Corpse Bride”. It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, and I was a little pissed off. Even as I left the theatre, I was still ticked at the non-splashy ending. It was only after I thought about the film for a good week that I realized that there was nothing bad about it. “Corpse Bride” may have been told in stop motion animation, but it had a deeper message than “Nightmare”. It was a beautiful, lyrical film and it was only my own preconceived expectations that were getting in the way of the films enjoyment. I can’t express in words how much this film moved me, after I got my expectations out of the way.
I went to see the film a second time, just to give it a fair shot. I am SO glad I did. I was blown away by how beautiful the movie was and left the theatre thinking of “Corpse Bride” again; this time in an excellent light. More profound than “A Nightmare Before Christmas”, “Corpse Bride” really IS art in motion.
“Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride” continues to haunt me. I may even go see it for a third time. It’s the perfect movie for Halloween and makes even death look beautiful. Go see this while it’s still in theatres. You won’t be sorry.
Jamieson Wolf