I consider myself a pretty big fan of Tim Burton’s work. I have seen almost all his films and television projects, especially his best movies. He’s a director who impacted me in a big way during key TV and movie fan development. Therefore, some of his films are my favorites, but others I delayed viewing. Corpse Bride is the main one that I procrastinated watching.
It just never felt like the right time for it, and I often forget that there are still Tim Burton movies I have never seen. However, with the release of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, I have been revisiting and watching some Tim Burton movies I love, and others I have not seen yet. Therefore, I finally watched Corpse Bride, and it did not disappoint.
It also seemed like a perfect movie to watch on Max for Halloween. It got me in the spirit of the spooky season and gave me some surprising insight into this fantasy classic. Watching Corpse Bride, I realized I made incorrect assumptions about the plot, concept and art decisions.
Warning: Corpse Bride SPOILERS are ahead. Proceed with caution.
Corpse Bride Has A More Complicated Love Story Than Expected
Corpse Bride follows Victor (Johnny Depp) as he sets out to marry Victoria (Emily Watson), his future bride from an arranged marriage. However, Victor accidentally proposes to Emily, the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter). Victor and Victoria only meet once before their upcoming wedding, but they have instant chemistry. The future newlyweds go from fearing their impending nuptials to excitement about them. The instant love story between Victoria and Victor, and Emily’s desire for Victor, make this romance complicated for all parties involved.
Emily falls for Victor, but he never forgets about Victoria. He wants to marry her. She also still wants to marry him. Emily complicates things but doesn’t do so in a malicious way. Victor also plans to marry Emily because of a sense of obligation. He cares about the Corpse Bride, he just doesn’t love her.
Originally, because of the promotional material, I thought the Corpse Bride was a story about a man falling for well, a corpse bride. I had no clue it was a love triangle. It’s also not really a love triangle because Victor and Victoria clearly belong together. They basically have the same name after all. Corpse Bride is a love story but also a tale of finding inner peace. Emily needs that to move on from the world of the living. It is a movie with some meaningful messages about grief, in this case, the grief of losing what could have been for one’s life.
Despite being a corpse bride, Emily is not the villain. She doesn’t force Victor to marry her and releases him from a sense of duty. I very much enjoyed the not simple love story or triangle. It had more depth than expected.
I Didn’t Know It Is A Musical
I had no clue there was a musical component to Corpse Bride. The first singing scene took me by surprise, but I enjoyed it. None of the Corpse Bride songs really made an impression, but I appreciate the musical aspects. Additionally, Burton’s longtime collaborator Danny Elfman made the score for Corpse Bride. This instantly made the film even better.
Burton is no stranger to musicals. His adaptation of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is one of my favorite films of his, and one of Johnny Depp’s best performances in his movies, so I was delighted by the singing in Corpse Bride because it reminded me of that movie. I wanted more songs and musical performances.
The ones in Corpse Bride feel like a tease of what could have been an even better movie with a few more original songs and performances. The few we got were visually and musically pleasing.
Corpse Bride Shows An Evolution Of Tim Burton’s Stop Motion Style
Burton didn’t direct The Nightmare Before Christmas, with that privilege belonging to Henry Selick, but he did help develop the concept art and characters for the movie. The world of The Nightmare Before Christmas is one example of Burton’s stop-motion aesthetic, but we have also seen several projects that include it, like Beetlejuice, and full stop-motion movies, such as Frankenweenie.
Corpse Bride has some signature Burton stop-motion aesthetics, but also shows a more evolved version of some of his previous work. It’s easy to tell this is a Tim Burton creation, but it looks different enough to feel refreshing and unique. The world of Corpse Bride feels like part of the Burton universe, but not a complete copy of all his other work.
I enjoyed that it seemed Burton-inspired, but was not exactly like every other of his stop-motion projects. It also made me want to see more stop-motion movies and television programs from him to continue to see how his style grows and changes.
The Murder Plot Reminds Me Of Coco
A major twist in Corpse Bride is that Barkis Bittern (Richard E. Grant) is Emily’s con artist ex-fiancé and murderer. Immediately, it became obvious that he planned to try to run the same con and crime on Victoria. This immediately made me think of Pixar’s Coco. The movies aren’t alike, but the seemingly trustworthy character being the villain in disguise reminded me of Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt), one of Pixar’s best villains.
Additionally, when the dead start interacting with their loved ones, I also couldn’t help but think of its similarities to Coco. The similarities are unintentional, but fun to compare. I love Coco, so I really enjoyed the aspect of a devious man who would get his comeuppance in the end. Plus, I really like Corpse Bride’s scenes with the dead (briefly) returning to their loved ones.
It made the ending for Barkis so much sweeter when he joined the dead, only to be destroyed by them.
It Is A Lot More Sentimental Than Expected
Corpse Bride has a lot of heart, especially with the idea of lost love. You couldn’t help but feel bad for Emily. She was just a woman who fell for a scammer. Many of us have been there. Then Victor and Victoria were also very likable and cute together. You couldn’t fault Victor for loving who he loved.
It’s a really good romance movie. Additionally, as said, the dead reuniting with loved ones feels very sentimental as well. It makes you think about the deceased and the idea of losing love. Corpse Bride also ends a little somber, which adds to the film’s emotional impact.
Corpse Bride may not join the list of my favorite Tim Burton movies, but I appreciated how different it was from my expectations. I will gladly rewatch it.
