| Film Review | Dana Place |
The Corpse Bride
Johnny Depp (voice)
Helena Bonham Carter (voice)
Emily Watson (voice)
Tracey Ullman (voice)
Directed by: Tim Burton
Plot:
An arranged marriage between a young, awkward Englishman and
the daughter of a supposedly wealthy family goes horribly
wrong when the Englishman bumbles his way through the
rehearsal ceremony and the priest refuses to marry them
until he can calm himself down. While in a fit of despair,
and while tying to calm himself, the young man accidentally
proposes to a corpse in the middle of the woods and is taken
to the land of the dead. He is then informed that he has to
make good on his promise to the dead woman. To make matters
worse, he realizes he is actually in love with the live
woman he was supposed to marry and has to find a way to get
back to the land of the living so he can make good on his
promise to marry her.
Review: When this film was initially released I had
high hopes for it. Made by the same company that put
together one of the greatest films of the last 20 years, A
Nightmare Before Christmas, it seemed to me that they had a
pretty good formula for success. When I missed it in
theaters my anticipation waned as I waited to check it out
on DVD. When I finally rented it I really had no
expectations going into this at all. That being said, I
really can’t give this movie an even remotely positive
review. The plot was dull, seemed to drag through most of
the film and with a running time of 76 minutes, this movie
really didn’t seem to have anywhere to go after the first
fifteen minutes or so. Most of the movie seemed like filler,
with really no point, sandwiched between two 15 minute
pieces that may have made a better short film. The songs,
one of the best parts of A
Nightmare Before Christmas, were
repetitive, rushed, and just absolutely horrible to listen
to. While the animation was probably better and more fluid
than its predecessor, it was really nothing to crow about
when compared to films of the same genre, like the
absolutely brilliant Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the
Were-Rabbit, or even the very good 2000 film, Chicken Run. I
really can’t even recommend this film as a children’s movie.
Although it does deal with death, Tim Burton’s typical
quirky and even humorous depiction does make it very light
and family friendly through most of the film, only to take a
strange turn from quirky and maybe a little bit dark to
downright mean spirited and even unnervingly cruel by the
end of the picture. I wish I could find something positive
to say about a film that seemed to have so much talent
behind it. Unfortunately, I really don’t want to subject
myself to seeing it again; even if it would only be to
rationalize why this movie was even released.
