Charming, stylish animation

Rating: 10/10 (4 July 2008)

Sometimes you find a film, in which everything seems to click together like a finely made clockwork. When you locate such a gem you can't help but to be mesmerized of how well everything works out. Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride" is such a film, starting from beautiful art direction to settings and music.
It all begins when Victor (Jhonny Depp) and Victoria (Emily Watson) are to be wed. The thing is they'we never met each other, as their parents have arranged the union, Victors parents in order to get into nobility and Victorias parents in order to get rid of their money problems. The wedding rehearsal goes awry, when Victor stutters with his weddings vows, as he's not fully certain if he really wants to marry, and he's sent to memorise his part of the ceremony. In the woods he tries to get his lines in order and he slips his ring on a tree branch, which turns out to be a bony finger of a corpse bride (Helena Bonham Carter), who is delighted to accept his accidental proposal. Now Victor, who has realised he does want to marry Victoria, has to wiggle himself out of his new ghastly marriage.
As I said everything clicks together very nicely in this little musical horror comedy. Despite such a grim premises for a love story "Corpse Bride" rises above being just scary, on the contrary it plays out very charming manner and the love story that motors it is quite beautiful as are the settings. The dolls, or puppets, are finely made and so expressive, that it is easy to forget that you are watching a stop motion animation. The film is crowned with Danny Elfmans spectacular sound track, that brings the atmosphere in entirely different level.
All in all, a spectacular animation. My sincere recommendation.