Visually stunning, entertaining but not perfect.

Rating: 6/10 (22 October 2005)

I am a big Tim Burton fan. I have watched all of his films and have even written academic essays about him so I had a fair idea of what to expect from this latest offering. The Animation is an absolute joy to behold. Visually stunning in all respects and there are some good visual jokes, my favourite being a characters jaw literally dropping off when he is surprised by some news. The lighting is fantastic and thoroughly realistic too. Storywise this film has Burton's "unique" edge. A young man, Victor (unrecognisably voiced by Depp) is set to marry Victoria although the pair have never met. At first both are a bit wary of the idea but warm to it after they meet. Problems soon arise as Victor accidentally marries Emily, a corpse (it will become clear when you see it). I did enjoy this strange set up and there are some good jokes that play on common figures of speech, my favourite one being "I'll keep an eye on him". Throughout the film you do wonder how they are going to manage to comfortably tie up the story and in fairness it doesn't do too bad a job. Its good to see (or hear at least) Burton regular Michael Gough back in the cinema playing an elder among the dead.
There are songs that aren't immediate classics like some from "A Nightmare Before Christmas" but I'm sure they may grow on me with repeat viewing. There is also some beautiful piano music. Danny Elfman fully deserves the credit he gets for writing good scores.
I have given a lot of praise to the film so far and I did enjoy the movie a lot but it seems a little bit empty somehow. I'm not entirely sure why perhaps other reviews may help to explain that. Overall then, the movie is definitely worth a watch though perhaps there's no need to rush to the cinema to see it now.