"Play dead. " - Victor (to his skeleton dog.)

Rating: 7/10 (24 September 2005)

On Friday, I went into the movie theater showing 'The Corpse Bride' with kind of mixed feelings. Whenever a Tim Burton film comes out you know it's going to be original and something different, but that doesn't always mean it is going to be good. Since he had just released his masterful remake to the beloved children's novel 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'The Corpse Bride' seemed a little rushed and I wasn't sure of how good it was going to be. Well, I can tell you, I was very pleased with the film. 'The Corpse Bride' isn't nearly as good as Burton's classic 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' but it was a very entertaining, inventive and charming animated feature. It was also much creepier then 'Nightmare Before Christmas'.
The story follows the solemn Victor (voiced by Johnny Depp) who comes from a middle-class family. His parents are excited because he is being married off to the daughter of a wealthy and prosperous family (who secretly have ran out of money.) Victor is nervous about the marriage and like a klutz screws up at the rehearsal dinner. Filled with shame, Victor runs off to be alone in the creepy woods of the town. He practices his vows, and accidentally places the wedding ring on a narrow tree branch with turns out to be the remains of a dead girl (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter). Now, Victor's world is turned upside town since he is now married to one of the deceased who secretly live below the living.
'The Corpse Bride' is one hell of an eerie tale that will no doubt enthrall most adults, but may scare the crap out of little kids. Tim Burton does a good job with this film (it's not one of his best, but isn't one of his worst films by a long-shot). The movie borrows heavily from 'Nightmare Before Christmas' but it is still original in some aspects. Johnny Depp is perfectly cast (or voiced) in the lead along with Helena Bonham Carter. The film also features voice-overs from Albert Finney, Emily Watson, Tracy Ullman, Richard E. Grant and Christopher Lee as the town's reverend.
I recommend 'Corpse Bride' to those who would like to see something a tad different, and don't mind the strangeness of the film. It's better than a lot of the swine that's in theaters currently. Grade: B (screened at AMC Deer Valley 30, Phoenix, Arizona, 9/23/05)
my ratings guide - A+ (absolutley flawless); A (a masterpiece, near-perfect); A- (excellent); B+ (great); B (very good); B- (good); C+ (a mixed bag); C (average); C- (disappointing); D+ (bad); D (very bad); D- (absolutley horrendous); F (not one redeeming quality in this hunk of Hollywood feces).