Corpse Bride [PG]

For Victor Van Dort, nothing could be more frightening than being force to marry a total stranger. Needless to say that during the wedding rehearsal, Victor delivers a less-than-perfect performance. Making a fool of himself and frustrating his parents and soon to be in-laws, Victor flees into the woods to practice his vows. Whilst reciting them perfectly, he unknowingly marries the corpse of a woman and is whisked away to the world beyond the grave. Suddenly, getting married to Victoria Everglott doesn’t seem so terrifying.

How adorable and romantic is this? Corpse Bride was written by Tim Burton specially for his partner Helena Bonham Carter. Aw! Like Nightmare Before Christmas, the movie is a stop-motion animated feature with a clever little script, a wonderful cast, and catchy songs.

For Victor Van Dort, nothing could be more frightening than the idea of marrying a total stranger. Sadly, that’s the position he finds himself in. With his parents determined to move up the social ladder, Victor finds himself betrothed to Miss Victoria Everglott, a young and beautiful lady. Upon finally meeting his bride-to-be, Victor begins to develop feelings for her, but still the idea of marrying someone he doesn’t know doesn’t agree with him. Whilst at the wedding rehearsal, he makes a fool of himself and frustrates his parents and to-be in-laws. Terrified and humiliated, Victor flees into the woods to practice his vows. However, after reciting them perfectly, Victor unknowingly places the ring on the finger of a dead woman and vows to be by her side. Suddenly he is whisked off the world beyond grave to start a new “life” with his new wife. All of a sudden, marrying Victoria doesn’t seem to terrifying at all.

Corpse Bride was a wonderful little romantic tale about the other woman, sinister plots, and marriage. I especially have to draw attention to the use of colour. In the land of the living, there is practically no colour at all. Everything is in shades of grey. But as soon as you visit the land of the dead, everything is bright and exciting and happy, despite the fact that all the inhabitants are dead. It’s very clever as it puts forward a very clear message; who is actually “living’? The people that breathe or the people that don’t? It’s very Tim Burton. 

Johnny Depp provides the voice of Victor Van Dort and he is just soo cute. You just want to cuddle him and say “calm down, it’s alright.” With a voice that’s very shy and hesitant, it really brings forward the character of Victor and emphasises when he goes through a change. By the end of the movie is voice is firm and unshaken. 

Helena Bonham Carter is the corpse bride and she’s just beautiful. She has a very gentle and sweet voice that can be aggressive if provoked. She was a very melancholy character, really beautifully sad and you can hear that in Helena’s voice. 

You’ll be able to recognise many familiar voices in this film including those of Christopher Lee, Joana Lumley, Richard E Grant, Tracy Ullman, Albert Finney, Jane Horrocks, Danny Elfman, Emily Watson, and Rupert Everett. Packed with cute characters, catchy songs composed by Danny Elfman, romance, action, and backed by a cute and clever script, Corpse Bride is an enchanting tale of romance and finding one’s feet, sometimes literally.