Corpse Bride: Beautiful, if faltering

Rating: 7/10 (1 October 2005)

The film is beautiful. Many visuals done to positively stunning effect. The characters and ideas set in perfect motion, both literally and as regards dialogue.... ....and then the worm starts singing.
There are elements here of the grand old Burton, and you can't help enjoying the gallows humor; this is a funny, joyful romp. It's also very predictable, and contains the usual Tim Burton cheap-shots at family and religion (you'd swear he'd been injured rather than pampered as a child).
I will neglect to give away any element of the film (singing worm excluded), but I should say this...once a certain point is reached, some things go awry, and not for our hero, Vincent. The script begins to love itself too much, and a fantastic idea begins to waver. The songs seem to turn a little sappy, and with the exception that the dead are involved, you'd almost think you were watching the Hallmark Channel. One cannot say there is no spark in the production's second half, but it feels a bit forced; almost mechanical. The ending, I shall only say, left me a little flat. I was looking for a bigger "kaboom," as Marvin the Martian might say. For most directors, I would have hardly noticed, but Burton's creative genius is usually matched by a certain level of punch. That panache comes and goes in "Corpse Bride," whispering in and out like a wind.
But let me not denigrate this to an extreme; the film is playful, colorful and all-over an enjoyable second-helping to "Nightmare" fans, even if it falls short of its predecessor.