Corpse Bride, 2005.
Directed by Tim Burton & Mike Johnson.
Featuring the voice talents of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Christopher Lee, Albert Finney, Michael Gough, Tracey Ullman, Joanna Lumley, Richard E. Grant, and Paul Whitehouse.
SYNOPSIS:
A young man about to be married is whisked away to the underworld, where he inadvertently finds himself married to a corpse bride.
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride – to give it its full title – arrives on 4K UHD 20 years after its original theatrical release, and despite still being considered a relatively ‘modern’ movie there is a quaintness and ‘olde worlde’ charm about it that decades of CGI and animation techniques hasn’t been able to diminish.
Indeed, were it not for the special features on the disc that detail how the movie was made then one could be mistaken for thinking it was a CGI concoction that a few animators created on a computer, such is the perfection in its visuals. Alas, Corpse Bride was created (largely) by stop-motion puppetry and now that it has been given a 4K polish it looks as slick and seamless as anything Hollywood has stored away in its hard drives.
Based on a 17th-century Russian-Jewish folktale, Corpse Bride sees young man Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp) engaged to be married to Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson), who comes from an aristocratic family, the idea of the marriage being to raise the social standing of the Van Dort’s and restore some wealth to the impoverished Everglots’. After a wedding rehearsal where Victor keeps fluffing his vows – much to the anger of the terrifying Pastor Galswells (Christopher Lee) – he goes for a walk in the forest to recite his lines, and after slipping the ring on a branch that resembles a hand he awakens the titular Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter) and is whisked off to the underworld where he is welcomed by the assortment of skeletons and monsters that dwell there.
But back in the real world, Victoria is distraught that her groom has gone missing and when she discovers that he is now married to someone else – and not just another person, but a corpse – this creates a scenario for the slimy Lord Barkis Bittern (Richard E. Grant) to move in on her and claim her for his bride, much to the delight of her parents who now believe they are going to be rich. However, Lord Barkis is not all he seems – could it be that he and the Corpse Bride have met before?
With a plot that, if it were a live-action horror movie, would probably prompt Tim Burton to be asked some very serious questions, Corpse Bride is actually a delightfully romantic story that will appeal to young and old alike. The stop-motion animation always looked first class but now that it has been given an upgrade it looks stunning, especially when we go to the underworld, where – in typical Tim Burton style – the colour palette is awash with bright greens and purples that pop out of the screen like a 1980s neon-lit pop video (yes, there are songs in this movie but don’t let that put you off). In contrast, the real world is very dark and miserable, the only light being the blue-ish moonlight that highlights the details of the Victorian-era buildings, and again, you find yourself questioning whether these are puppets or digital creations, such is the flawless sheen that everything has.
But it isn’t just the animation that brings the characters to life, and the voice talent of Burton’s repertory of actors he employed in his movies during that chapter of his career is impressive to say the least. Johnny Depp was the obvious choice at that time, but his contribution is largely downplayed despite being the main character, as Victor is a very meek and mild character, and doesn’t really have much to say. Likewise Victoria, and so it is up to Helena Bonham Carter as the Corpse Bride to add a bit of sass to the main trio, which she does admirably, but it is the supporting characters who bring the most bombast to the story, none more so than Christopher Lee as Paster Galswell and Albert Finney as Victoria’s father Lord Finis Everglot, who delivers the best line with “There’s an eye in me soup” during all the mayhem when the dead return to the real world for their wedding party.
Featuring several studio fluff pieces about the making of the film as extras – with seeing how the puppets were made being the highlight – Corpse Bride on 4K UHD will make an enchanting addition to your Halloween viewing this year, being both hugely enjoyable and technically brilliant, and although the songs may not be as memorable as those in The Nightmare Before Christmas, being only 77 minutes long, full of gallows humour, comically macabre visuals and performed with heart, Corpse Bride is easily Tim Burton’s most accomplished animated feature to date.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
