Check Out the Trailer

Tim Burton ventures back into the world of spooky stop-motion animation like he did with A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS with this ghoulish tale of a nervous man who mistakenly marries a corpse.

Based on a Russian folk tale, the film follows Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS) who is being set up with Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson, BREAKING THE WAVES) in an arranged marriage. Victor’s parents Nell and William (Tracey Ullman, THE TRACY ULLMAN SHOW & Paul Whitehouse, HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN) are fish merchants trying to move up in society by marrying their son off to the daughter of Lord Finnis and Lady Maudeline Everglot (Albert Finney, BIG FISH & Joanna Lumley, ABSOLUTELLY FABULOUS), who are trying to marry off their daughter to someone with a little bit of money because they are secretly destitute.

Upon meeting, Victor and Victoria actually fall in love, however Victor cannot remember his vows. On a trip into the woods, Victor practices his lines, but drops the ring on the boney finger of Emily, the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter, A ROOM WITH A VIEW), who was killed on her wedding night. In the process, Victor is whisked off to the underworld where he must discover a way to return to the land of the living before the shady Lord Barkis Bittern (Richard E. Grant, WITHNAIL & I) steals Victoria away from him.

The film is a visual treat. The stop-motion animation is well done and very expressive. The creepy tale gives good opportunity for quirky humor, but nothing too off color that a small child would be too scared of or grossed out by. Burton has always had an uncanny skill at balancing between the macabre and the sentimental.

Praise should also be given to co-director Mike Johnson, who was an animator on Burton’s NIGHTMARE and worked on the TV series THE PJS. He keeps the pacing and story moving swiftly. The original story was thin, but the plotting of the film is solid. The only weak area is with the songs, which feel a bit padded. The title song is strong, but the rest aren’t, especially the final song, which is too long. The conclusion is very good with some of the biggest laughs saved for the closing. It doesn’t have the sheer originality of A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, but it’s as equally charming.