Review of Corpse Bride (2005) by Miguel R — 15 Jul 2015

By the early 2000´s, Tim Burton had only served as producer of a couple of animated feature length films (the critically acclaimed "James and the Giant Peach" and the widely beloved "The Nightmare Before Christmas) directed by Henry Selick, but in 2005 audiences witnessed Burton´s first animated feature with "Corpse Bride". Can Burton achieve the same critical success that Selick had with his couple of films?

Set in the Victorian era, Victor Van Dort is forced to marry Victoria Evergot, the daughter of an aristocrat family, but after some initial fear and doubts the couple falls in love. But even if he is in love with Victoria, Victor is afraid of marriage so he goes to the woods to rehearse his vows but due to an accident he ends up marring a long dead bride.

Nowadays most people believe that Burton directed "Nightmare Before Christmas" but I deeply believe that Selick was the one that made that film as memorable and fun as it was, and "Corpse Bride" is the ultimate proof of that. "Corpse Bride" counts with beautifully made stop motion animation, it has all the Burton clichés (the "goth" atmosphere that attempts to create a Poe vibe, a generic Danny Elfman score, bland characters, his trademark casting, and the Addam´s family like character designs), the voice acting is so deadpan but with some characters it works, the songs aren't memorable but most of them are funny, the character relationships feel forced, the underworld offers nothing memorable, the character designs are lazy, and the folktale/Allan Poe like story is undeniably fun and a perfect fit for Burton´s abilities. As you can see, "Corpse Bride" works as a fun animated film but it lacks the charm, catchy songs and memorable characters that made "Nightmare" the success it was.

"Corpse Bride" is a fun and entertaining animated film but it isn't memorable or charming. If this didn't had Burton´s name on it, this film would be completely overlooked and forgotten.