Hi everyone, sorry for the delay, but I've got another review ready!
Continuing with my theme of family- friendly scary films, I shall now be looking at the stopmotion animated film 'Corpse Bride.' Made in 2005 and directed by Tim Burton, it features the voice talents of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham- Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Albert Finney, and Richard E. Grant, among others.
It opens with preparations being made for the wedding rehearsal of an arranged marriage between Victor Van Dort (Depp) and Victoria Everglot (Watson). The two had never met before, their wedding was simply arranged because each set of their parents had something to gain from it; Victor's parents are nouveau- riche fish merchants who see the wedding as a way to become more respected members of high society, whereas Victoria's parents are respected old- school aristocrats who are nearly bankrupt and see the wedding as the only way of saving their financial security. Victor is terrified of getting married, and it shows during the rehearsal, as he botches the whole thing due to being unable to remember his vows. He goes off into the woods to practice them, and through a bizarre turn of events, accidentally becomes married to Emily the corpse bride (Bonham- Carter), the resurrected corpse of a young woman who was tragically killed on the night she was to elope. She takes him to the Land of the Dead, which surprisingly turns out to be much livelier and more festive than the rather drab and dull land of the living he had known. He briefly comes back to the land of the living, and Emily is unsurprisingly saddened to see that Victor is engaged to Victoria, and still longs to be with her having gotten over his cold feet. He goes back to the Land of the Dead, as Victoria's parents decide to forget about Victor and instead betrothe their daughter to Lord Barkis Bittern (Grant), a mysterious newcomer who apparently arrived in town for the wedding. This all sets the stage for an exciting and moving climax in which the living and the dead come together, two lonely hearts are united, and a troubled soul is finally set free to rest in peace.
There are a couple problems I can see with 'Corpse Bride.' One is pertaining to the villain Lord Barkis. The twist regarding his character in the climax was rather predictable, and the way he is finally taken out of the picture is also something that I could see coming a good ways in advance the first time I saw the film. Another problem is that, due to its short running time (It's less than 80 minutes in length), its ending could have been expanded more. We see enough to end the story all right and figure out what will happen to everyone, but an extra couple minutes or so for it would have been appreciated.
That being said, 'Corpse Bride' still has a ton of great things going for it. The story is very well- written, containing chills, lots of laughs, and also plenty of quite moving moments.
The stopmotion animation looks beautiful here, all the characters (Especially Emily, the titular dead bride) are wonderfully detailed. Many of the living characters have rather strange body shapes (Usually either tall and very thin, or short and fat), whereas the dead characters have very brightly- colored designs, usually reflecting how they died (Much like the dead/ undead characters in 'Beetlejuice,' such as a skeletal military officer with a hole in his chest that's the exact size and shape of a cannonball). Even minor characters are often a lot of fun to watch (i.e. the Everglots' butler, who can move at astounding speeds while still keeping his calm, sophisticated demeanor). The contrasting areas are a great sight, as well; The land of the living is grey and boring- looking, whereas the Land of the Dead is bright, colorful, and vibrant.
The music by Danny Elfman is awesome too. Both the instrumental parts (My favorite of these being Victor's theme music which he plays on the piano a couple times) and the actual songs were incredibly well- written. My favorite song was 'Remains of the Day,' a jazzy, catchy song sung in the Land of the Dead's nightclub, in which a skeleton (Voiced by Elfman himself) sings Emily's sad backstory of her death to Victor.
Now, let's talk characters. I honestly love the main character, Victor Van Dort. He is hands- down one of my favorite Burton movie protagonists, alternately shy and confident, clumsy and brave. I think part of the reason why I like him so much is that he reminds me of myself a good deal, so many of the things he says and does throughout the movie are pretty much exactly like how I'd react if I were in the same position as him. Johnny Depp gives Victor a soft, heartfelt voice that makes it even easier to sympathize with him. Altogether, Victor makes for a wonderful unlikely hero.
Emily the corpse bride is a deep, very likable character who can tug at your heart strings in one scene, and then make you burst out laughing in the next scene (Especially in scenes when she's arguing with a maggot nestled in her head who happens to have a voice that sounds exactly like Peter Lorre). Helena Bonham- Carter puts a wonderful amount of emotion into the character wth her voice performance. The other female lead, Victoria, is sweet and gentle, as well as genuinely frightened and confused over everything happening with Victor and the wedding. Emily Watson's delicate voice fits her like a glove. In a strange way, you want Victor to somehow be able to marry/ be with both of these women, as they are both so devoted to him and so deserving of happiness.
Next up is the villain run down.Although, as I said, the big twist at the end regarding Lord Barkis is rather predictable, he still makes for a very effective bad guy with some genuinely spooky moments and a very good design. Richard E. Grant does an excellent job with his voice; Sometimes it's smug and suave- sounding (Barkis is a man who knows how to charm people), other times it's practically dripping with hatred and venom. In addition, although they're only minor antagonists, the four parents are all a lot of fun to watch. They are so greedy, self- absorbed, and stupid, they're always good for a laugh.
And so that's "Corpse Bride," Not one of Burton's best, but still well worth a look.
Stay tuned until the next review!
