Movie Review: Corpse Bride

If you want to immerse yourself COMPLETELY into a truly Tim Burton world, ‘Corpse Bride’ is your movie!

This 2005 iconic movie is one that you just can’t help but want to step into, full of intricate details, a deathly colour palette and not to mention a wholesome plot, this movie is a complete dream.

We follow our main character Victor Van Dort as he goes through trials and tribulations just to marry his love, Miss Victoria Everglot. His awkwardness lands him in a hellish situation where he finds himself accidentally married to a corpse named Emily. It becomes a challenging watch observing Victor juggle his overworld life and underworld lives because of multiple love interests. Burton successfully keeps us on edge with the twists and turns we face within the story due to the complexity of the plot and inclusion of multiple complex emotions.

It is worth focusing on the talent this film portrays in terms of the choice to use stop motion for the settings and characters because in making that choice, another layer of detail is applied to the overall story in general. It is quite common for stop motion movies to convey an element of creepiness  because of its imperfections and also the malleable materials used create the effect of the uncanny. Burton, (using this to his advantage), was able to create a completely cohesive piece of art that accurately captured the gauntness of his characters and the setting. A key moment in this film where this is extremely relevant is in the woods as victor greets twigs and tree stumps as family, each twist and crack highlights the slight spookiness of the movie.

Quite expectedly of Burton, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter were cast to voice the main characters Victor and Emily. Although expected, these actors should be classed as perfect in portraying and embodying their characters on screen. Highlighting specifically on how Helena Bonham Carter brings life to a corpse, Emily’s character is full of emotion due to who is voicing her, as the audience we can see and hear how her character experiences every feeling throughout this movie, and Carter does an exceptional job in giving that to us.

Similarly to the choice of actors, it is no surprise that Burton left Danny Elfman in charge of this movies’ musical score because of his previous work for Burton such as The Nightmare before Christmas. Elfman brings to life a significant amount of whimsicality when it comes to his music for Burton's films, specifically in Corpse Bride. Whilst including mostly orchestral instruments but also jazz elements in the movie, it is particularly relevant to focus in on the use of the piano that is littered throughout the entirety of the movie. The effect of this instrument is so imperative because it carries such a large amount of emotion whilst also being adaptable at different points in the movie. However it is at its peak in the beginning for Victor’s Piano Solo and Moon Dance, both times in the film where emotions are extremely heightened, therefore the instrument acts as a reflection of the characters it represents.

Overall this 78 minute movie is absolute perfection, every aim Burton was trying to achieve, he was able to encapsulate immaculately and the film in conclusion carries so much atmosphere and emotion. It is not hard to become completely obsessed with.

I would rate this 5 stars.

Written by, Jasmine Molineux