Corpse Bride
| Year: | 2005 |
| Director: | Tim Burton/Mike Johnson |
| Cast: | Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, tracey Ullman, Joanna Lumley, Michael Gough, Christopher Lee, Richard E Grant, Deep Roy, Danny Elfman |
The seemingly inseparable pairing of Depp and Burton continues, with the dynamic duo recording and shooting this film at night while they shot Charlie and the Chocolate Factory during the day.
Victor (Depp, in Ichabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow mode), is something of a weedy loser, betrothed to the lovely and petite Victoria in a marriage brokered by both their parents for the sake of social climbing.
Painfully shy and with very cold feet at fumbling the lines of his vows, Victor runs in terror from the wedding rehearsal into the woods surrounding their village. Stumbling around the dark trying to get his head straight, he slips the ring onto a branch sticking out of the ground and does the line perfectly - except the branch is the bony finger of a woman who lies in a state of unrest, forever waiting for her husband-to-be to propose (which he's unwittingly just done).
Whisked away to the Underworld with his new wife, Victor only wants to return to the land of the living and get back to his real fiancé, but along the way he meets a fascinating cast of characters who open his eyes to a lively dead world.
The musical numbers were a little irritating, but Burton has as good an eye for the grotesque and the visual exclamation he always has. One look at the characters with all their bizarre shapes and sizes tells you that.
Cute, slightly disturbing when you find yourself thinking Bonham-Carter's character is a bit of a spunk (complete with one arm devoid of flesh and a gaping hole where you can see her ribs), and fun if you liked Nightmare Before Christmas.
Victor (Depp, in Ichabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow mode), is something of a weedy loser, betrothed to the lovely and petite Victoria in a marriage brokered by both their parents for the sake of social climbing.
Painfully shy and with very cold feet at fumbling the lines of his vows, Victor runs in terror from the wedding rehearsal into the woods surrounding their village. Stumbling around the dark trying to get his head straight, he slips the ring onto a branch sticking out of the ground and does the line perfectly - except the branch is the bony finger of a woman who lies in a state of unrest, forever waiting for her husband-to-be to propose (which he's unwittingly just done).
Whisked away to the Underworld with his new wife, Victor only wants to return to the land of the living and get back to his real fiancé, but along the way he meets a fascinating cast of characters who open his eyes to a lively dead world.
The musical numbers were a little irritating, but Burton has as good an eye for the grotesque and the visual exclamation he always has. One look at the characters with all their bizarre shapes and sizes tells you that.
Cute, slightly disturbing when you find yourself thinking Bonham-Carter's character is a bit of a spunk (complete with one arm devoid of flesh and a gaping hole where you can see her ribs), and fun if you liked Nightmare Before Christmas.