Corpse Bride
Director: Tim Burton, Mike Johnson
Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Emily Watson
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy and Kids/Family
Duration: 1 hr. 16 min.
Rated: PG for some scary images and action, and brief mild language.
Plot: Set in a 19th century European village, young Victor is whisked away to the underworld and wed to a mysterious Corpse Bride, while his real bride, Victoria, waits bereft in the land of the living. Though life in the Land of the Dead proves to be a lot more colorful than his strict Victorian upbringing, Victor learns that there is nothing in this world, or the next, that can keep him away from his one true love.

My review: I love Tim Burton movies. Love ‘em. So I finally got around to picking up Corpse Bride from Netflix after reading it was a top rated HD-DVD for its visual quality. I had the impression Corpse Bride would be similar in style to The Nightmare Before Christmas, which would be a good thing. I was pleasantly surprised to find this Burton film as a great evolution over ‘Christmas’.

Corpse Bride is a mix of a children’s story, musical numbers, and Burton’s usual dark shadow. The story itself, of Victor’s struggle to return to the land of the living and fulfill his plans to marry his bride-to-be Victoria, is simple and won’t leave you with any surprises at the end. Bride plays out like what could have been a Hans Christian Anderson but the beautiful graphics add an incredible new dimension that would wow Anderson himself.

Overall, the film is short at just 76 minutes and won’t surprise you with the plot developments, but those aspects aren’t what is holding up the center of this tent. Instead it’s the impressively designed and animated characters and scenery that bring this movie to life. The cast is full of very well known actors and actresses which will keep you busy through out the movie as you try to identify them.

If you’ve enjoyed Tim Burton’s films in the past, especially The Nightmare Before Christmas, then I’d recommend picking up Corpse Bride. It’s a fun and entertaining animated movie with plenty of cute moments and hilarious supporting characters. My confidence in Tim Burton has once again been well supported with this one.

My rating: 3.5/5 stars
High point: Beautiful imagery
Low point: Shallow story

Corpse Bride Movie Trailer:

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