Tim Burton has twice in one year proved to me why he is an amazing director. The Corpse Bride is a beautiful, original animated masterpiece.

Rating: 9/10 (23 September 2005)

I am a huge Tim Burton fan and I have been ever since I first saw "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in theaters back in 1993. Tim Burton's vision and his ability to create stop-motion animation films is the number one reason why I consider him as one of most unique directors in Hollywood. So after watching and enjoying "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory" earlier this year, I was wondering if "The Corpse Bride" would be as wonderful as Charlie was. And for the answer to that question continue reading to find out.
"The Corpse Bride" is about a man named Victor (Johnny Depp) who is about to be married to Victoria (Emily Watson). As they rehearse the wedding, Victor accidentally keeps stumbling on his words and ruins the rehearsal. Victor then runs out of the room ashamed of his behavior and goes into the woods, where he is alone and he recites his vows only to set his wedding ring on the finger of the dead Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham-Carter). By placing his ring on the corpse bride's finger, she wakes from the dead and takes Victor as her husband. But Victor is supposed to marry Victoria and now has a serious problem on his hands as Victor now is committed to two women!
For those who are fans of the 1993 film "The Nightmare Before Christmas" should run out right away to the theater to see "The Corpse Bride." The animation in this film is beautiful and as an active movie-goer I have not seen a movie display this type of animation since "The Nightmare Before Christmas!" I know why too because this animation takes a lot of time and energy and no one other than Tim Burton seems to be that dedicated enough to their work to make a film quite like "The Corpse Bride." As far as the animation goes this movie BETTER win Best Animated Feature this year at the Oscars! 12 years ago "Nightmare Before Christmas" was robbed of this honor and Tim Burton without a doubt deserves an award for his ability to create a stop-motion animation movie and for all of the time he put into it.
Now while the animation is just as brilliant as "Nightmare Before Christmas" and the movie's two main characters are extremely enjoyable, this movie does not beat out "Nightmare Before Christmas" as my favorite Tim Burton film. Why is this? Well for a few reasons, while I liked the music in this movie, the soundtrack for Nightmare was better, as well as the characters and to be honest Nightmare's story was a bit superior to that of "The Corpse Bride." While I didn't fall in love right away with "The Corpse Bride" as much as I did with "Nightmare Before Christmas" the first time I seen it, this doesn't mean that I didn't love the film because I did. I think when I watch this film again, probably sometime this weekend; I will probably love it more. I went into "The Corpse Bride" expecting the best film ever created! Why? Because "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is my favorite film of all time and I guess I was expecting that all over again! But "The Corpse Bride" is a lot different then Nightmare!
"The Corpse Bride" is one of those films that as it continues on, it only gets better. The ending at least for me was a bit surprising and I really didn't see it coming. Tim Burton's style and vision for this film really makes the movie worth while. No other director pays as close attention to detail as Burton does which is why I say he's my favorite director. His imagination runs wild in all his films and this movie is no different. When you watch "The Corpse Bride" you realize what a truly original film this really is and how much time and effort when into making the film. While "The Corpse Bride" is not "The Nightmare Before Christmas 2" it's still a one of a kind masterpiece, that will be a cult favorite for many years to come!
MovieManMenzel's final rating for "the Corpse Bride" is a 9/10. Give Mr. Burton the Oscar for Best Animated Film because no one deserves it more!