DVD Review: Corpse Bride

As if it was possible to expect anything else from a movie with Tim Burton’s name attached, Corpse Bride is a bizarre, strange and completely entertaining film with a premise that is way out of left field. Stop motion animation brings this one to life, and it’s odd when the older technology brings more charm than the fancy special effects of current Hollywood. There’s a personal touch that crafts Corpse Bride, and that’s what makes this so much fun to watch.

The story follows shy Victor Von Dort (Johnny Depp), who is stuck in the world’s most awkward relationship scenario. It’s one for Jerry Springer as his arranged marriage finds a snare when he accidentally weds a dead woman. The scenario is so awkwardly refreshing - the film is hard to fault. Originality is the key even during a few dull spots.

Character design follows the plot - completely bizarre. This is a world filled with humans that have thin legs, big heads and fat bodies. The villains have a brooding sense about them, aided by a faded color scheme and snide facial animation. The world of the dead Victor is inadvertently introduced to is the opposite, a contradiction in itself because it’s full of vivid color and life. The two color schemes mesh beautifully to create the proper settings.

Music is prominent here, at times becoming a borderline full-on musical, although there’s enough dialogue between the fantastical set pieces to avoid that genre stamp. The quirky dialogue fits right into the film's tone. This is definitely one on the darker side of comedy, filled with morbid death jokes that can be absolutely hilarious for those with the needed sense of humor. Corpse Bride is easily PG-rated, though the younger set may have trouble grasping many of the concepts.

For its resounding success in storytelling, it truly is the animation that sells this film. There are so many little touches that create the characters, it’s impossible to see them all in one viewing. You can almost hear the animators grumbling about working overtime to make a finger move a few extra notches to get the desired reaction out of their puppets.

Not to get into a deep debate about the mediums, stop motion has that unexplainable edge over computer graphics. It’s physical and exists, creating an air of realism and even an extra appreciation for the work done. That’s not to say computer animators have an easy ride, but Corpse Bride is an example of what an extra layer of patience can do for a film. As time consuming as stop motion is, the results are unmatched. This animation should be treasured.

Article Author: Matt Paprocki

Matt Paprocki is a 12-year movie and game critic. He currently freelances for Blu-ray review site DoBlu.com and video game site MultiPlayerGames.com.

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