Tim Burton is known for his classically twisted, romantic tales and his most recent film, “Corpse Bride,” fits that mold perfectly. Burton’s contrast between the dull, gray world of the living and the colorful, joyous afterlife on the screen is beautiful and extraordinary.
Johnny Depp supplies the voice to Victor, a meek yet romantic character trapped within a boring Victorian town and his demanding parents. Depp’s sweet, shy voice combined with the character’s simple grin, identical to Depp’s Edward Scissorhands smile, melts your heart.
When Victor accidentally marries a corpse, after promising his hand to another, he is thrown into the colorful underworld. The dead are far more exciting than the Victorian drones “upstairs,” but Victor is drawn back to the living to be with his true love, Victoria, played by Emily Watson.
Every character from Victor to his skeleton puppy, Scraps, is perfect. I never thought I’d see a love triangle between the dead and the living, but I’m incredibly happy I did.
The stop-motion animated film resembles, in story and emotion, two of Burton’s classics, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Edward Scissorhands.”
While watching “Corpse Bride,” my smile was constant and I laughed and even held back tears at the sweet relationships found between the living and the dead.
Although the songs in “Corpse Bride” were not as catchy as “Nightmare” and the overall love story and emotion not as charming and delightful as “Edward Scissorhands,” this movie is an instant classic. It is unique, beautiful and exciting.
My only complaint about the movie is its length. It runs only 80 minutes, which left me wishing it had been longer.
This is an understandable flaw when you consider the amount of time and work that goes into stop-motion animation.