media consumption

Corpse Bride

Okay, let me say this: I am a Tim Burton fan. To some extent, I don't even care what his movies are about. If Tim Burton were to film somebody picking at their bunions, I'm sure I would be fascinated.

With Corpse Bride, most reviewers seem to be heaping praise on the touching and romantic story of a star-crossed young couple whose wedding plans go strangely awry. Victor Van Dort, the son of a nouveaux riche Victorian family is set to marry Victoria Everglot, the daughter of penniless, but respectable aristocrats. It is an arranged marriage in which the families are trading wealth for status, but happily for Victor and Victoria, it is love at first sight. Unfortunately, while practicing his vows, in a scene too bizarre to properly describe here, Victor mistakenly marries the recently deceased title character. This of course creates some issues with the pending wedding, and the audience ends up feeling sympathy for all three characters, stuck in a situation where only two can find happiness.

This could have become a straight-up farce, but the story was written with great sensitivity, which seemed to wow most reviewers, whereas I felt the story was just "okay." But maybe that was because, per usual, it was the animation, art direction, and just the generally wacky and macabre sense of humor that totally won me over.

The muted but buttery tones of the Victorian "real world" are balanced by the more lively and colorful palette of the underworld. The stop motion animation and puppetry of the various skeletons and decomposing bodies makes one both cringe and laugh at the same time. This is vintage Burton, a sensibilty that is evident to anyone who has seen Beetle Juice, A Nightmare Before Christmas, or Sleepy Hollow, to name just the most obvious.

Other Entries for "On the Screen"