the dead have much more fun!

Rating: 10/10 (25 September 2005)

It's plain to see which side of the life-and-death divide Tim Burton's heart is on. The living, in Cousin Tim's universe, are stuffy, status-obsessed, grey people who frown upon music, deviations from the norm, and the frivolous notion that couples about to wed should--the very idea!--LIKE each other! Whereas downstairs in the land of the dead, skeletal barkeepers sing up a storm, there's hot jazz, dancing, bright colors, and (maybe not so surprisingly) very warm hearts. Heck, the dead even have cuter dogs (a common Burton theme and true again here). Victor, a very proper young man so non-morbid that he collects--and then releases--butterflies, accidentally finds himself married not to his living fiancée Victoria, but to the winsome and lovely Emily--whose only failing as a wife is her residence outside this mortal coil. (Tell ya the truth, though, he's not good enough for her; he's just too uptight, and the never-ending party vibe in the Ball & Socket Tavern seems to give him, well, butterflies.) How did sweet Emily end up a Corpse Bride? Will she be avenged? Can Victor and Victoria find their way back to each other and a subdued, proper, contented (but bloody boring!) life? You will have a great time finding out, cos this is a complete gem, funny, touching, dark and sweet, with the prettiest ending I've seen in years. It really did make me both laugh and cry, and I hardly ever get to say that. Tim, darlin', I forgive you for Willy Wonka; this one will go straight into Goth hearts worldwide and last for ages. (footnote: kids in the crowd we saw it with actually got up and danced in the aisles to the cookin' jazz in the closing credits! ever see THAT before? maybe the dead can even show us living stiffs how to have a good time. =)