CORPSE BRIDE (TIM BURTON’S CORPSE BRIDE)
UK, 2005, 76 minutes, Colour.
Voices of: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracy Ullmann, Paul Whitehouse, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney, Richard E. Grant, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Jane Horrocks, Danny Elfmann.
Directed by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson.
While watching Corpse Bride and delighting in the puppets and their look, the sets and the design, the colour and movement, we are not surprised to know that Tim Burton is an artist as well as a director. This has been evident in the design of his fantasies like Beetlejuice, his Batman films, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow – and with more touches of brightness in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was also evident in the animated film he produced, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Burton is an idiosyncratic but skilful and imaginative film-maker.
Corpse Bride is very entertaining, more of an adult fantasy than one for children. It is based on an Eastern European folktale. However, it is set in a rather grimy late Victorian England where the impoverished upper class are desperate to marry off their daughter into wealth and the nouveau (and vulgar) riche are ambitious to be seen in society, even if they are fishmongers. This is all the more forceful when the parents are voiced by Albert Finney and Joanna Lumley (snobs) and Tracy Ullman and Paul Whitehouse (would-be snobs).
Poor young Victor Van Dort is a forlorn, accident-prone young man who is being set up to marry, sight unseen, Victoria Everglot. If ever true love had its difficulties, it is here between Victor and Victoria. What is worse, when he tries to rehearse his marriage vows (after being intimidated by a fearsome clergyman voiced even more fearsomely by Christopher Lee), he is overheard by a ghost, Emily, the corpse bride who has been done to death longs since by a dastardly villain (voiced by a dastardly Richard E. Grant). The scene then moves to the underworld, the haven of ghosts, which is much brighter and more colourful than life above ground.
So, a dilemma. Should Victor marry Emily who has an emotional as well as a skeletal hold on him, or should be tell her the truth and return to Emily. He is an honourable young man and tries to do the right thing – and, despite the darkness of the plot, there is a happy ending for Victor, Victoria and Emily.
Not only is this a delightful fable about honesty and true love, it is a very witty take on social mores of the nineteenth century. What consolidates the visuals is the quality of the character voices. Emily Watson is a nice and plaintiff Victoria. Helena Bonham Carter is a feisty Victoria. But, Johnny Depp (with yet another convincing British accent) brings the visual Victor truly alive as a decent young man caught in a parents’ ambitions and a corpse bride’s trap.
1.Audience expectations of an animated film directed by Tim Burton. His background as an artist? The stop-motion animation? The puppets? The story and style? Colour schemes?
2.The film based on an eastern European folk story? As adapted to late Victorian England? Universal mythology?
3.The quality of the voice cast, their characterisations, wit?
4.The impact of the visuals, the puppets themselves, their look, performance, dress, design, sets? The expression of the puppets and their movement?
5.The muted colours, the Victorian world and its drabness, the increase of colour in the realms of death and the underworld?
6.The musical score, the songs, the parents singing about the plan, the songs of death in the underworld, the wedding?
7.The 19th century and its appearance, the buildings, the streets, carriages? The contrast with Hell, the club, its brightness and the jazz? The realm of death – the forests, the river and their bleak look?
8.The jokes about death, bones and the living and the dead? The verbal humour?
9.The title and its irony – Emily’s story, her being murdered, her wanting to be married, her overhearing Victor’s proposal rehearsal, accepting him? Wanting to be a bride? Her appearance, her clothes and her veil?
10.The world of the elite and the snobs, the Everglot family? Actually poor, the arranged marriage, no love – and Maudeline and Finnis and their conversations about their own marriage, their lack of love? The pressures on Victoria to marry wealth? The contrast with the nouveau riche couple, the Van Dorts? The carriage, fishmongers, their ambitions to move into the upper class, arranged marriage for Victor? The contrast with their children, Victoria as nice, her sensitivity? Victor and his being nice as well? His personal hopes?
11.The introduction to Victor, his being accident-prone, awkward but nice? His relationship with his parents? Travelling to visit the Everglots? The visit, his clumsiness, the reaction of the Everglots – and to his parents?
12.The arranged marriage, the meeting with Victoria, the shared love of music, playing the piano? Her acceptance of his awkwardness, his embarrassment? Going to the rehearsal, the pastor, his sinister appearance, Christopher Lee’s voice? His demands, Victor’s apprehension, no being able to remember his lines? The anger of the pastor? The pastor reappearing for the marriage at the end?
13.Barkis Bittern as the villain, a 19th century cad, seeing him in shadow – and the killing of Emily? His insinuating himself into the family, the Everglots and their acceptance of him? His antagonism towards Victor?
14.Victor, gawky, the ring at the rehearsal, the vows, his going into the woods, the rehearsal, the ring and its falling on Emily’s finger, her accepting his proposal?
15.The Corpse Bride, Emily and her character, strong personality, her story about her murder, the audience seeing the shadow of Barkis Bittern?
16.Emily taking Victor to the underworld, the experience of the underworld, the jazz and the song, his dancing? His being honourable, wanting to honour his promises to Emily, deciding to visit Victoria, the effect on him, on Emily?
17.Going to the elder, his potions – and the joke about his needing refreshment before his spells? Going to the surface, the encounter with Victoria and her parents? His realisation of his love for Victoria?
18.The vows and his pledge, Emily and the opportunity? Her sacrificing herself after seeing Victoria? Her changing into a butterfly – and the butterfly motif for the beginning of the film?
19.Barkis, the wedding ceremony, Victoria to marry him? His brutality, his being exposed, his toast and drinking the poison by mistake, going to the realms of death?
20.The final ceremony – and the happy ending for Victor and Victoria?
21.The film working as an animated film, as a fable, as an entertainment for children, for adults? The Grimm fairytale style and message?
