Dazzling Gothic animation!

Rating: 7/10 (21 November 2005)

After the huge, and endearing, success of Nightmare Before Christmas - director Tim Burton has returned to Gothic animation, this time as director, with the superbly macabre 'Corpse Bride'! Personally, I prefer live action films; but when animation looks this good, I can hardly complain. Corpse Bride is rich with skeletons, spiders, maggots and a lush dark atmosphere - making this the most horrific 'kids' animated film I've ever seen. Many of the sequences really are quite macabre, which was surprising considering most kids films tend to have a 'nice' slant. One criticism I do have for Corpse Bride is that it's theme is wasted a little. The ideas behind the central plot are too complex, and the film never really explores any of them in great detail. Don't get me wrong, I like this film; but I also feel that a really, really great live action film could be made from a similar plot. Anyway, the basics of the story are that a young man forced into an arranged marriage accidentally finds himself married to a corpse after putting the wedding ring on her finger while rehearsing his vows. Oops!
The style of the film is absolutely wonderful. The lushly Gothic visuals are married to a distinctly dark picture, and this results in a great base for the macabre plot line. Many of the scenes look absolutely amazing - the title character's introduction scene being the best of them! Burton has gathered up an array of talent for the making of this film, including Johnny Depp, Emily Watson and Helena Bonham Carter in the leads; and horror icons Christopher Lee and Michael Gough delivering great supporting performances. Danny Elfman has created another great score, and while I don't usually say that I'm a fan of musical numbers in films like this; most of the songs here are actually quite entertaining. The character development is surprisingly good too, with the final outcomes of the leads being believable in spite of the fact that they're just lumps of clay. On the whole, while this film lacks the depth that the themes behind the story deserves; the animation is top quality, the film is lots of fun and there's enough dazzling sequences to ensure that any horror fan will enjoy this movie. Look out for the Peter Lorre-soundalike in the role of the maggot that lives behind the Corpse Bride's eye!