A Visually Stunning Disappointment

Rating: 6/10 (2 October 2005)

I was looking forward to Corpse Bride for the longest time. Since I am a huge Nightmare Before Christmas fan, I was expecting Bride to be another Burton classic. Unfortunately, it was anything but.
Corpse Bride ranks with Planet of the Apes, in my own opinion. There was no emotional value, and the entire film felt empty and underwhelming.
The music by Danny Elfman was always less than wonderful. Especially the lyrics during the musical numbers, were hard to understand, and just went on and on without any catchy beats or haunting melodies.
Character development was also lacking throughout. We only get the basics for each of the characters, and everything else we have to figure out for ourselves. It is almost as if Burton and Elfman thought they could just explain everything with one song, and then just move on.
Visually, though, is where I give it credit. However, that is no surprise coming from Burton. The living world is Gothic and colorless, with a cold and lifeless tone. In fact, a lot of it reminded me of Sleepy Hollow. The dead world is filled with color and life, happy characters who get along with each other, and where much of the dark humor sits in. The character design was also quite unique. All of them always caused me to laugh once or twice.
If this had come from any other director, I would probably give it a higher rating. But Burton always mixes sentimentality and heart with his sometimes dark vision. This time he left out the heart, and only cared about the vision. That is why I was disappointed.
I would watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory over this, any day.
6/10