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'Corpse Bride': Charming, but a little shallow

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride tosses a bouquet bursting with imaginative scenery and funny gags, yet it never fully springs to life.

This is not to say it's a bad movie. I quite liked it. But I may have made a mistake by going in prepared to love it. As a result, Corpse Bride feels more lightweight than it probably really is.

Warner Brothers Pictures 'Corpse Bride' B The verdict: Fun, but nothing to die for. 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

I often fault critics who go in to a movie prepared to hate it. Their all-too-obvious disdain for the material or the filmmakers makes it clear they're more interested in being smart-alecks than in treating the movie fairly. Yet Corpse Bride reminded me how risky it can be to raise expectations too high.

Burton's previous foray into stop-motion animation, The Nightmare Before Christmas, was marvelous, so I had high hopes for Corpse Bride, especially since Burton himself co-directs this time, having handed Nightmare's reigns to Henry Selick. In addition, many people who worked on Burton's mostly magical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory return here, including Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Christopher Lee, writer John August, set designer Alex McDowell, and, as usual, composer Danny Elfman.

Like Nightmare, Corpse Bride tells a fantastical story of the undead mingling uneasily with the living. The nebbish and unfortunately named Victor Van Dort (Depp) is about to marry the sweet, shy Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson). Nervous about the nuptials, he practices his vows over the grave of the Corpse Bride (Bonham Carter), a murdered woman who claims Victor as her new husband.

The standard rap on Burton is that his storytelling pales in comparison to his visual sense. With Burton fully at the helm for Corpse Bride, that weakness is much more evident here than it was in Nightmare.

That said, the look of the movie was so enthralling, I was never bored. With endearing voice work by the three leads, the characters are likable, if a bit mild, and I laughed aplenty at the clever gags, like Victor telling a skeletal dog to play dead. The Corpse Bride herself is a marvel, with her half-living/half-dead appearance. Practically every inch of the frame contains a joke or a reference to older movies, including Nightmare. The movie actually looks better than some recent CGI features, like Madagascar.

For all the fun I was having, the movie never engaged me emotionally as much as I hoped it would. There's not enough "there" there in the tale. Charming as the heroes are, they're rather shallow, there's no strong villain, and Elfman's songs fade from memory all too quickly.

Fairly or unfairly, the new movie can only pale in comparison to Nightmare's wickedly funny blend of mistletoe and cobwebs. Corpse Bride is fun — it's just nothing to die for.