What's that smell?

Rating: 5/10 (16 September 2005)

No, I didn't like this film. I really wanted to. I was so looking forward to it. It looked wonderful. It stank.
The Corpse Bride marks Burton's 2nd foray into the world of stop motion animation, a technique that produced the amazing Nightmare Before Christmas. A cult classic, if I may say so myself. One of my all time favorite movies.
Johnny Depp plays the role of a bumbling fool (sound familiar?) in Victorian times, about to enter into an arranged marriage of social status and wealth. After a disastrous wedding rehearsal, Depp's Victor is stumbling through the forest where he unwittingly weds himself to the titular character of the film, the Corpse Bride (played by a sassy Helena Bonham Carter). Macabre, animated mayhem ensues...yadda yadda yadda.
So what went wrong for the Bride? This film suffers from that fatal flaw that so many animated films these days fall victim to. The story, the characters, the heart, they all take a backseat to the whizz bang visuals on screen. Burton has no restraint as he dazzles us with breathtaking imagery that rival today's ubiquitous 3D fare for beauty and awe. The problem is, it gets old real fast. With no story to feast on, no characters to care about, it got boring. The chuckles and giggles that came from the predictable sight gags and puns petered out to silence halfway through.
A classic case of all style and no substance. Slap in a number of forgettable musical numbers that merely seem to be an excuse to create even more on screen silliness and you have a bona-fide yawn fest.
I know this all sounds harsh, but it was Burton himself who set the bar so high his first time around. View at your own risk.