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'Corpse Bride': Spine-tingling and rib-tickling

By DAVE LARSEN
Dayton Daily News

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is a macabre delight.

The dazzling, stop-motion animated fantasy about a timid groom torn between two brides — one living, the other not so much — is a lively, imaginative marvel that's both ghoulishly funny and genuinely touching.

Warner Brothers Pictures 'Corpse Bride' B+ Directors: Mike Johnson, Tim Burton Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Paul Whitehouse, Albert Finney, Christopher Lee, Deep Roy Run time: 74 minutes Release date: Sept. 23, 2005 Rating: PG for some scary images and action, and brief mild language. See showtimes Corpse Bride slide shows •  Stills from the movie •  The making of... On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Corpse Bride"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Employing the same painstaking animation process as Burton's 1993 cult classic, The Nightmare Before Christmas, in which puppets are moved in tiny increments and photographed one frame at a time, the film is simply stunning to behold.

The story, based on a Russian folk tale, is skeletally thin. However, it abounds in dark wit and poignancy.

Featuring Burton's signature pop-gothic production design, a dead-perfect voice cast topped by Johnny Depp, and high-spirited songs by score composer Danny Elfman, Corpse Bride emerges as the clear front-runner for this year's best animated feature Oscar.

It's a warm and whimsical romantic comedy as filtered through the producer-director's warped sensibility.

Depp, in his fifth film for Burton, provides the voice of Victor Van Dort, a talented but shy young man in a 19th century European village who finds himself facing an arranged marriage to Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson), whom he has never met.

Victor is the son of social-climbing, nouveau riche Nell and William Van Dort (Tracey Ullman and Paul Whitehouse), who believe they are marrying into old-money aristocracy. But Maudeline and Finnis Everglot (Joanna Lumley and Albert Finney) have nothing to their name beyond social standing. They're marrying off their sheltered daughter to the Van Dorts to stay out of the poor house.

Surprisingly, Victor and Victoria are immediately taken with one another. But the nervous groom turns their wedding rehearsal into a shambles.

Humiliated, he escapes to the dark forest, where he perfectly recites his vows and places Victoria's ring on a withered twig.

But the twig is actually the bony finger of a beautiful, blue-skinned cadaver (Helena Bonham Carter) who rises from the grave in a tattered wedding gown and drags her unwitting new husband down to the Land of the Dead.

In contrast to the Land of the Living — a dreary, black-and-white world inspired by German expressionist films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari — the netherworld is alive with color. There's a raucous bar, the Ball and Socket Pub, with a swingin' skeleton band led by hep cat Bonejangles (Elfman). The Head Waiter is simply a head.

As terrified Victor becomes taken with his new surroundings, a love triangle develops among himself, his murdered bride and her rival: "Little Miss Living, with her rosy cheeks and beating heart."

Burton, who co-directed with animator Mike Johnson, clearly favors the Land of the Dead, where the fun, magical film hits its stride.

The plot is a bit predictable, but the animation is amazing. The stylized characters are remarkably detailed and expressive.

The voice cast also includes Richard E. Grant, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough and Jane Horrocks.

Corpse Bride may be too morbid for very young viewers, but otherwise, the film's broad appeal should give Burton his second box-office hit in three months, on the heels of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Like its decayed heroine, Corpse Bride is ravishing, with a surprisingly warm heart.