Not as good as I expected

Rating: 5/10 (2 April 2006)

"Corpse Bride" wasn't nearly as good as I expected it to be. I am usually a big fan of Tim Burton's work (and Danny Elfman's music) but "Corpse Bride" just didn't do it for me.
Maybe it's that I didn't realize it was a musical, but the music caught me completely off guard. I had not expected that at all. The score was nice, but the songs were rather painful to listen to with less than stellar singers and extremely repetitive lyrics. In short, I have no plans to rush to the store and purchase the soundtrack.
I've never seen "The Nightmare Before Christmas" so I have no clue what it's like but I really, really hated the animation. It was awkward and took away from the plot (and not in a good way). I suppose that it was all done on purpose but still... It's full of the quirkiness that defines Tim Burton's work. Which can be a good thing depending on whether or not you enjoy that quirkiness. But I did really like how the Corpse Bride turned out. Very pretty. (If you can say that about a corpse...) =P For the first 20 minutes or so of the movie were really painful for me. The first song almost made me turn it off and the distracting animations were beginning to give me a headache. But I stuck with it long enough for the plot to begin (which in my opinion, took to long). The only reason that I kept watching was because I really couldn't predict the ending. Who would Victor choose? The Corpse Bride or Victoria? Victoria is his love, but he is also attracted to the Corpse Bride, making her the one he *should* marry according to Hollywood standards. (No I did not just give the ending away) in case you were wondering. The "twist" at the end concerning the Corpse Bride's murder didn't surprise me at all - I saw it coming from a mile away.
"Corpse Bride" wasn't all that bad - but it definitely wasn't as good as I thought it would. Tim Burton really let me down on this one. "Corpse Bride" earns itself a 5/10.