Of all the Tim Burton flicks I've seen, next to Beetlejuice, The Corpse Bride is one of my favorites. Journey into the underworld where the dead resides with a dash of comedy, romance, and heartbreak as we follow mortal Victor in a grave misunderstood marriage (so to speak) with a corpse bride named Emily. Starring Tim Burton regulars Helena Bonham Carter as Emily, The Corpse Bride, and Johnny Depp as Victor von Dort, a very nervous to be married groom. Also starring Emily Watson (Gosford Park), Tracey Ullman, Richard E. Grant, Albert Finney (Big Fish and Annie), Christopher Lee (Lord of the Rings), Michael Gough (Alfred from Batman), and a special voice appearance by stuntman Deep Roy.
Our story is set in the late 19th century in a Victorian village, where Victor von Dort, son of fish merchants, ends up in an arranged marriage with a woman named Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson). After messing up his wedding vows in their rehearsal, Victor runs away into the woods. While journeying through the woods, he practiced his vows perfectly. Once he got them right... he found out he recited them to a dead corpse! Suddenly, he has been taken to the land of the dead. Now Victor's stuck in the middle between a living and dead woman. If only he knew what to do... Find out when you watch this superb piece of work.
Fantastic. Another great Burton movie with brilliantly larger-than-life characters and larger-than-life visuals. Just like Nightmare Before Christmas, the animation is so beautifully well done. The performances of the actors are done perfectly. Johnny Depp, who's been in a number of Tim Burton movies starting with Edward Scissorhands, did a great job playing a shy and nervous groom. And I think Helena Bonham Carter did a marvelous job voicing the title character. I think it's safe to say that Emily the Corpse Bride is my favorite Tim Burton girl. I also loved the songs by Tim Burton regular Danny Elfman, who sang as the character Bonejangles in the song "Remains of the Day" (which may be my favorite one next to "Tears to Shed".)
Parents Guide: This movie is rated PG due to scary imagery and brief language. Emily's outfit and appearance may be too revealing. The violence is pretty mild, like there was one scene where we see a dead man split in two and we see his insides. There is a couple uses of the word "damn", including the "Frankly, my dear" reference to Gone with the Wind. So, parents should watch this with their kids with caution.
Did You Know?: The name of the piano manufacture on the piano Victor plays in the beginning is called Harryhausens, a reference to legendary stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen. The movie has a total of 109,440 animated frames shot on multiple cameras according to IMDB. Alan Rickman was considered for the role of Lord Barkis Bitten. Jim Carey (Sonic the Hedgehog and The Truman Show) and Angelina Jolie were considered for the lead roles.
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| A drawing of Emily the Corpse Bride done by my little sister, Julia Joy. |
