Life in this old corpse yet
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
Dir. Tim Burton and Mike Johnson; voiced by Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson
4/5
Tim Burton returns to the screen once again this year with the striking Corpse Bride. Far more satisfying than his last offering, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, this film delivers a fantastical tale without leaving the audience behind. Initially set in a world of muted colours and muted lives, Corpse Bride is a bittersweet fairytale, concerning the arranged marriage of nervy Victor Van Dort (Depp) to the sweet, aristocratic Victoria.
He ventures out into the wild woods to rehearse his wedding vows, where he slips the wedding ring on to a suspiciously hand-shaped branch. In doing so, Victor unwittingly marries the murdered corpse bride, Emily (Bonham Carter). Erupting from the garve she whisks her new husband to the world of the dead. Victoria is left deserted in the land of the living - a financial pawn for her parents and the target of the predatory Lord Barkis. The film is packed with memorable quotations.
No opportunity is avoided to make use of the puns on death and “cold feet”; sometimes you’ll cringe and sometimes you’ll laugh, but at only seventy -seven minutes long, you will forgive the odd misdemeanour. The love triangle of Victor, Victoria and Emily sometimes disappoints; the depth behind these characters is unexplored and it feels as though Burton assumes we are familiar with the conventions of this type of tale a little too much.
However, it is the secondary characters that bring this film to life: the hyperbolic actions of the parents, the “Head” waiter’s pomposity and the dancing, singing Bonejangles (voiced by music composer Danny Elfman). As well as seeing another Burton and Johnny Depp partnership, the film sees a return, at least visually, to The Nightmare Before Christmas territory. Stop-motion animation lends individuality to the film, giving it a smooth puppet-like feel.
The surreal visuals are rich and exciting, with a great use of monochrome and vibrant colours intensifying the action. A major part of the film is the music and songs, which add valuable background and pace to this folktale. Don’t be put off by the characters’ saucer-shaped eyes, as they convey a surprising amount of emotion. This may not be Burton’s crowning work, but it is a perfect Halloween outing for all who love Burton and Depp, and for fans of the Funnybones books.
27th Oct 2005