: Corpse Bride
Director: Tim Burton
Wonderful, wonderful film! While Tim’s Nightmare Before Christmas (his other stop-motion fantasy) is uneven, this one is just terrific throughout. The characters are visually strange and bizarre and yet somehow appealing, and the story’s the same way. It deals with a shy young man set to marry a girl he’s never met. Later, when he’s in the woods practicing his vows, he puts the ring on a stick poking up out of the ground — but the stick turns out to be the blackened hand of a corpse… the Corpse Bride. She accepts his “proposal” and assumes the two are married and takes him to the land of the dead, where we see dancing skeletons and other hilariously creepy creatures. Somehow the young man has got to tell this dead woman that he doesn’t want to be married to her, that their differences are too great (she’s dead, he’s alive). It sounds grim, but it’s done with such life and heart and wonderful music that it’s remarkably light and fun. The story is sweet and moving and entertaining. You love all the characters (some you love to hate) and want everything to work out well. I was extremely impressed. It’s not a deep story, but it has a few clever jabs and a couple thought-provoking ideas. Mostly it’s just classic escapist entertainment, and utterly original and charming. A must see!
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