Macabre magic

Rating: 10/10 (17 October 2005)

Tim Burton, the master of spooky, kooky and cute has delivered another classic that makes magic out of the macabre. If the whimsical story, derived from a Russian folk tale, doesn't charm the pants of you, the stunning puppets, sets and stop-animation imagery surely will. The vivid worlds, both above and below ground, that Burton has handcrafted are simply enchanting, and his second foray into stop-animation (the first was The Nightmare Before Christmas) further stamps his name as a leading artist in this medium. Corpse Bride follows the unexpected journey of groom-to-be Victor Van Dort (voiced by Johnny Depp), who is spirited away to the underworld on the eve of his wedding when he unintentionally betroths himself to a dead bride. Ever since she was mysteriously murdered on her wedding night, the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter) has waited, heartbroken, for her groom to come and claim her. Victor unwittingly becomes that man while practising his wedding vows in the forest and is dragged down to the land of the dead. He tries in vain to find his way back to Victoria, but his late bride is determined to make him honour the bond of their unholy matrimony, and isn't going to make it easy. The film is peppered with cute one-liners ("People are dying to get in", one of the dearly departed says to another at one point) and sight gags ("Is it my eye?," the heartbroken bride asks her bewildered husband as it is popped out by a roguish maggot), and the subtle touches of adult humour are brilliant. Burton has managed to make the most unlikely, adorable  even the aforementioned eye-popping maggot, and given the afterlife an entirely new image  in Burton's land of the dead, the pubs never close and the corpses are more lively than anything you see up in the world above. Spectacular song and dance numbers complete this deliciously dark treat that will delight film goers of all ages. Take my word, you will be dying to see this one again!