Brilliant, Just what we needed to liven up this poor cinema year!

Rating: 9/10 (25 September 2005)

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is almost nothing short of what I hoped for. The animation is top-notch, right down to boob jiggles and puddle reflections, and each character's voice is matched perfectly to go with who they are. The art, to die for (no pun intended) but I found it quite the opposite of Nightmare. Nightmare is filled with curly-Q's, while Corpse Bride is almost straight. Which I am pleased with to a degree, because people usually think Burton works in the same style time after time. Also, I love how they made the "land of the living" very dull and straight-laced, with tones of brown and grey, while the "land of the dead" is filled with bright colours and welcoming in every area. Though, I never quite thought of it looking like a market place in Cairo. The story, charming. Very charming. Plus, it had an unexpected lesson to be learned; don't take what isn't yours. Oh, and don't marry for money.
This being Mr. Depp's first voice role, I found him perfect in every way, plus I found moments where I forget it was him doing the voicing and simply thought it was Victor up on that screen.
Now, the music. First off...BIG. DANNY. ELFMAN. FANGIRL. There were only four musical numbers (while Nightmare had 14, I believe) and shockingly enough, I was pleased to the limited number. Now, I'm going to find every possible excuse for what I am about to say not to be true...but most of the songs were quite busy, packed, and difficult to understand. Now, this could have been due to the sound system of the theatre in which I was at, (I went to one built in the late 20s) or maybe I'm not as plugged in at one in the morning when it comes to sound or maybe it was just because it was my first time. Just something, ANYTHING, besides the fact Danny let me down in the song department...BUT! He made up for it in the score department!!! While I still find Sleepy Hollow to be his best score, Corpse Bride is a close second. Each piece matches perfectly with what is going on in the scene, though the score is over ridden a lot during the film, by the dialogue and the other action going on screen, and in order for it to heard appropriately one must simply listen to the score alone.
All in all, lovely film. A wonderful breath of fresh air for both adults, and kiddies alike. And who was it that said the Oscar for best Animated Film goes right here? Well, who ever it was...they are right!
*SPOLIER*
I am normally one who cheers for the "underdog", I was quite so when it came to The Phantom of the Opera, but Corpse Bride is different in every way, and it should be perfectly clear why Victor can not go with Emily! Besides it being so obvious with their names...hello...Victor...Victoria. But Emily and Victor never really click save for the piano duet they do, but still, that isn't enough, and I don't understand how one could see Victor staying down there while his one true love is above with a broken heart. In addition, by the end of the film, Emily is perfectly fine with giving Victor back because she understands she has "stolen dreams from someone else".