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Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (Frank's Take)
01/11/2005 . Source: Frank Ochieng 
Previously, filmmaker Tim Burton had already made his whimsical mark with the colourfully cheeky children's fantasy Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, says our Frank. Now Burton - along with reliable leading man Johnny Depp from Factory - adds spice to yet another off-kilter kiddie fable in the delightfully dark Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. Buy Corpse Bride in the USA - or Buy Corpse Bride in the UK  Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005) Warner Brothers
The crisp animation or "claymation" for Bride is exquisitely imaginative and the film is a ghoulish gem loaded with quirky yet creepy characterizations and a penchant for sardonic humour.
Burton creates a frothy fairy tale that carries a bittersweet message about testing the boundaries of love and loyalty. Thoroughly charming and visually spry, Corpse Bride has the stylish impishness that made The Nightmare Before Christmas such a devilish treat to behold.
Burton's co-director Mike Johnson and screenwriters John August, Pamela Pettler and Caroline Thompson help establish the gothic giddiness of this merry-minded macabre universe where this Victorian England-based exposition takes place while armed with its haunting heartstrings. Uniquely inspired with memorable songs and a roguish poignancy, Corpse Bride will bedazzle both the children and their adult counterparts alike with its wicked spunk and spookiness. Clearly, Burton's narrative contains some rather predictable plot holes but nevertheless his cinematic work is pure escapist entertainment that resonates favourably.
In a small and quaint English town, Victor Van Dort (voiced by Johnny Depp) is set to marry Victoria Everglott (Emily Watson) much to the approval of their privileged aristocratic parents. The marriage is a measure of convenience because it will bring together two families looking to combine old money and other resourceful financial interests.
While at the wedding rehearsal, Victor clumsily forgets his wedding vows thus prompting Pastor Galswells (Christopher Lee) to discipline him by refusing to marry the couple. Victor is ordered to learn his lines and soon wanders off into the woods to contemplate the fate of his upcoming nuptials.
While competently practicing his verses in front of an old tree, a tree root grabs hold of him as it turns out to be some decaying corpse of a wedding gown-wearing woman. The corpse bride (Helen Bonham Carter) identifies herself to Victor as his "sudden soul mate". It's not long before Victor is whisked away to the corpse bride's dank venue known ominously as "The Land of the Dead".
Victor tries valiantly to escape the corpse bride and her noted Underworld surroundings just to get back to loving normalcy with Victoria. However, his attempts are futile and time is running out. Hence, the kinfolk back in the Land of the Living must be wondering what the deal is with Victor's prolonged absence. In the meantime, the corpse bride is being pressured by her leader Elder Gutknecht to properly have her officially consummate her union with Victor in his world.
But things look rather dim for Victor as he learns about the Everglotts' (Albert Finney and Joanna Lumley) agenda to marry off Victoria to a distant relative named Barkis Bittern (Richard E. Grant). Will Victor ever get the chance to reunite with Victoria despite her forced affections being reserved for Barkis? As for the corpse bride, will she have a change of heart and let go of Victor knowing that his undying love was slated for Victoria in the first place? And what will become of the roaming dead when they march into town because of the clashing lands between the deceased and the living?
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is sort of an offbeat film noir in that it radiates with passion, pain and persistence. The animated work by Burton and cohorts is impressively realized and this is a morality tale that should register aptly with the masses.
Burton has concocted a sparkling spookfest that proclaims its irreverent spirit as it sheds some light on sacrificial romance. Whether gunning for pathos or prosperity, Corpse Bride is one eye-opening piece of frightening frivolity to die for!
Frank Ochieng
(c) Frank Ochieng 2005
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