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Set in Victorian England, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, to quote composer Danny Elfman's merrily macabre lyrics, is a "tale of romance, passion, and a murder most foul." For the whole family! A funny thing happens to the buttoned-up Victor Van Dort en route to his arranged marriage to the shy Victoria. After making a fiasco of his wedding rehearsal, he flees into the woods, where he slips his intended's wedding ring on what he thinks is a gnarled tree branch. Alas, it is actually the finger of Emily, quite deceased, who is revived from her cursed deathly state, and according to the laws of the Netherworld, giddily expects Victor to make good on his vows. As he so vividly demonstrated in such films as Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas, death becomes Tim Burton. The world of the "breathers" is rendered in drab grays and is populated by characters who are, by turns, repressed, vulgar, and greedy. The Netherworld, on the other hand, is a brightly colored, high-spirited place, where Victor is welcomed with open skeletal arms. “Why go up there when people are dying to get down here?” he is asked. The stop-motion animation, a painstaking art form, is truly dazzling. Indeed, these model characters have more personality and expression than many human actors. Credit goes not only to the artists, but to the superior voice cast: Victor, voiced by Johnny Depp, is a world apart from the flamboyant Jack Sparrow and Willy Wonka; Emily Watson is a charming Victoria; and Helena Bonham Carter will break your heart as Emily, the Corpse Bride. Albert Finney and Joanna Lumley are also in great voice as Emily's aristocratic but financially desperate parents; and Tracey Ullman is, as always, a scream as Victor's social-climbing mother. Christopher Lee lends his sonorous tones to the role of Pastor Galswells, with Richard E. Grant as a sinister rival for Victoria's money…er, affections. Some of the eerie imagery and creepier moments (Victor’s initial frantic flight from Emily, for instance) may spook younger children, but the film's ceaselessly inventive comic touches, a rollicking musical showstopper, and friendly spirits ensure that Corpse Bride will live forever. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

Tim Burton returns to the dark but fanciful animated style of The Nightmare Before Christmas with this stop-motion black comedy. Victor (voice of Johnny Depp) lives in a small European village in the 19th century, where he is pledged to marry Victoria (voice of Emily Watson), a partnership arranged by their parents. The two only meet the day before their scheduled nuptials, and Victor performs disastrously in the wedding rehearsal. Later that evening, while he is walking through the woods and hopelessly practicing his vows, he puts Victoria's wedding band on what looks like a branch. Victor quickly discovers this was a big mistake; as it happens, he has put the ring on the skeletal finger of the enchanted Corpse Bride (voice of Helena Bonham Carter), who then whisks him off to a dark and mysterious netherworld where they are now married. Victor is frightened in the land of the dead, and even realizes that he has fallen in love with his true fiancée Victoria, so he searches for a way back to his own world. Directed by Tim Burton in collaboration with animator Mike Johnson, Corpse Bride features a stellar voice cast, including Albert Finney, Christopher Lee, Richard E. Grant, Joanna Lumley, and Danny Elfman (who also composed the film's musical score). Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 012569828506
• Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Language: Français
• Time: 1:17:00
• Sales Rank: 17,375

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Best of Blu-Ray: Family

Features: