the ruling class as opposed to the afterlife

Rating: 8/10 (24 April 2016)

There's a couple of things to say about Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride". It's an impressive achievement in stop-motion animation, and the voices fit the characters perfectly. But I'd say that what's more important is what it says about the class structure in 1800s Europe. Set in an unidentified village - it could be anywhere in Europe, despite the English accents - there's an arranged marriage planned between the son of a nouveau riche couple and the daughter of cruel aristocrats. It turns out, after the son gets whisked away to the Land of the Dead, that this place is livelier than the "alive" place. There can be no doubt that the "nice" world of the aristocrats was a facade (it's worth noting that Johnny Depp also played James M. Barrie, whose "Peter Pan" constituted a rebellion against the world of the aristocrats).
So I'd say that's that movie's real strength. It has a creative plot, but the indictment of the aristocracy is the important thing. Along with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney, Christopher Lee and Michael Gough (Alfred in the 1989-97 Batman movies) do a fine job with the voices. I recommend it.
As for Burton's disliked 2012 adaptation of "Dark Shadows", I interpreted it as a look at the political situation in the early 1970s.