Burton does it again

Rating: 7/10 (17 February 2006)

We all know Burton love the Gothic, the dark and the comically twisted. He uses it in all his films, in one way or another. But he is also very diverse. Movies like "Ed Wood", "Mars Attacks!" and "Big Fish" are proof he can do other styles as well. But in this movie, Burton does what everybody expects him to do, and boy does he do it good.
The art style of this movie is perfect, flawless and as Burtonesque as anything can be. The use of stop-motion puppets instead of the more and more tiring CGI gives the movie a realistic feeling and makes it feel more artsy.
The story might be the movies weak link but I never thought about it during the movie. Besides, it's an old folk tale, so it's bound to be pretty basic.
Danny Elfman. That makes a few roll their eyes but Burton and Eflman is a good team, actually. The songs in this movie were not as good a those in "Nightmare before Christmas" but the suited the movie fine and they were never annoying.
The voice work is fine, Christopher Lee is great, and the characters are really characteristic and alive, ironically enough. Johnny Depp might be a little wasted since his character is pretty unremarkable, but his involvement has to do with his friendship of Burton and not as a poster name.
I recommend this movie to those who liked Tim Burton's earlier movies. You might not be surprised or totally blown away, but masterful handiwork like this is to be encouraged in these times of repetitive CGI children's movies. If you do not like Burton's very special style, then this movie is not for you, but for us who like a little originality in our lives, this is just right.