A work of Art

Rating: 8/10 (12 October 2005)

In keeping with the eeriness that October generally brings, I have seen the latest effort by Tim Burton entitled "Corpse Bride" (contrary to popular belief, there's no "the" in the title). Like Tim Burton's 1993 stop-motion classic "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Corpse Bride" takes something wonderful and makes it sinister - In this case, the accidental marriage to a corpse.
From the opening scene onward there's trouble brewing and you know very well that nothing can go right when you hear the parents of both wedding parties singing "everything must go according to plan." This song is probably the most memorable out of the entire film (which doesn't say much), but it does serve to set the stage. Indeed everything must go according to plan. The bride's parents are in dire need of money while the groom's parents seek a better reputation. Apparently this marriage can make everybody happy except the bride and groom.
It is at their own wedding rehearsal that our young couple, Victor and Victoria, first meet. They have a brief moment alone in which the pair seem to believe that they can make this work. Feelings of affection also begin to become apparent in this scene - perhaps they will learn to love each other.
As the rehearsal gets underway, we find out what a neurotic and scatterbrained person Victor is. He just can't get his vows right. The more times he makes a mistake, the more impatient everybody becomes, and the more likely he is to make another mistake. After SEVERAL attempts, chaos ensues and Victor flees. He ultimately finds refuge in a dark forest where he finally gets his vows right! He slips the ring, the symbol of his unhappiness, onto what he thinks is a twig, but is actually the remains of a woman's hand. Naturally he's taken aback by the dead chick in the wedding dress that pops out of the ground and says "I do." What can you do? Victor ran.
For a while Victor tries to rid himself of his corpse bride but he ultimately falls in love with her because she is more alive than those that can breathe. However, he also still has a soft spot for Victoria who, in Victor's absence has been betrothed, by her parents, to a Mr. Barkis Bittern who clearly has a more cynical role tin this whole story. Victor is being pulled in two directions but can choose only one.
Johnny Depp (Victor), Emily Watson (Victoria) and Helena Bonham Carter (Corpse Bride) lead an exceptional cast of voices. Tim Burton is, again, in his element here, creating a visually striking and sentimental work of art. The Music is okay. The songs are all forgettable and have little purpose except to fill time which this film definitely needed. At only 76 minutes, this film is barely feature length. There's little character development and everything feels a bit rushed, because, well it is. Pacing problems are bound to occur, though, when you're dealing with stop-motion animation. You simply can't tell how the final product will work out, and because of the time and effort it takes to film, you can't very well re-shoot things. "Corpse Bride" took a whopping fifty-five weeks to film and during this time one hundred nine million four hundred forty INDIVIDUALLY animated frames were arranged and shot. The animators had to create 28 frames just for the corpse bride to blink ONCE. You can't help but appreciate that kind of effort.
The story is quite original, yet oddly predictable. The dialogue is often simple but sometimes inspired - "Can a heart break once it's stopped beating?" As of this time, I'd say that "Corpse Bride" is a shoe in for "Best Animated Picture." It really hasn't been a great year for animation. I do not recommend shelling out nine dollars to see this film on the big screen. After only 76 minutes, you will feel cheated - it will pack the same punch on your television. Despite ALL it's flaws though, "Corpse Bride" is a true work of art and I give it 3 out of 4 stars.