Review of Corpse Bride (2005) by Halfwelshman — 16 Sep 2012

Corpse Bride is sweet and sincere, dark and funny, and perhaps the most technically accomplished and beautiful example of stop-motion animation ever. A great British voice cast fronted by Johnny Depp (OK he's not British but plays the cripplingly shy young English gent Victor Van Dort well) and featuring Emily Watson, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney, Paul Whitehouse, Tracey Ullman, Jane Horrocks, Michael Gough, Christopher Lee and Richard E.

Grant simply astounds - few directors other than Tim Burton would be able to command the respect of such an array of talent. Helena Bonham Carter blows all away however with her tender performance as Emily, the tragic character of the title.

She's a compelling, rounded protagonist and Bonham Carter takes her characterisation in many directions, from child-like immaturity, to bitterness at her situation to eventual dignified acceptance of her untimely demise, and every emotion in-between.

The contrast between the sombre, formal and grey world world of the living and the lively, colourful and free land of the dead is striking and effective - Burton has retained his go-to theme of not belonging in the world you are born in, and still has a unique view of death and a distinctive and individual use of cheerfully macabre imagery.

In addition to the detail and expressiveness of the puppets and the energy of the animation (supervised by the film's incredibly talented co-director Mike Johnson), Danny Elfman's rich soundtrack and catchy songs, particularly the jazzy "Remains of the Day" and the rip-roaring "Wedding Song" breathe real life into the film.

Though the film has much to say about life, death, class, family, love and loneliness, what makes it so memorable is that Tim Burton has provided us with such an entertainingly oddball piece of fantasy escapism.

The world of Corpse Bride is a real pleasure to spend time in, and you really grow attached to the weird and wonderful cast of misfits, be they corpse or not. Burton's kookiness and abundance of unusual ideas can sometimes get in the way of telling a coherent, evenly paced story (most noticeably in his recent efforts Alice in Wonderland and Dark Shadows), but not so here - Corpse Bride is a pleasingly simple tale well-told, and characters and their performers are allowed to make a real emotional connection with the viewer.

For a film manufactured using an archaic form of animation that seems to aim to actively reject reality, and which prominently features the reanimated dead, it's an oddly human, and miraculously heart-tugging experience, and is probably the most balanced and immaculate of all Tim Burton's films.