The deliciously entertaining 2005 animated fantasy musical feature film Corpse Bride comes from quirky genius Tim Burton. It’s amusing, enchanting and original. A labour of love, Corpse Bride is a work of true artistry. It is the first original stop motion animated film that Burton directed or produced since The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).
In a late-1800s village, Victor Van Dort (voice of Johnny Depp) and Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson) are betrothed. Shy groom Victor goes into the woods to practise his wedding vows in the accidental presence of a young woman who rises from the grave. Victor finds himself married to Emily, the corpse bride (Helena Bonham Carter).
It won the US National Board of Review for Best Animated Feature in 2005 but otherwise was not an award winner, alas, though it is notable for Best Directing by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson, Danny Elfman’s Outstanding Original Score and Carlos Grangel’s Best Character Design in an Animated Feature Production.
It was Oscar nominated as Best Animated Feature Film of the Year at the 78th Academy Awards, but lost to Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which also beat out Howl’s Moving Castle. A tough call that year, eh?
It premiered at the 62nd Venice International Film Festival on 7 September 2005 and was released on 23 September 2005 in the US and on 13 October 2005 in the UK.
It cost $40 million, and was a hit, grossing a worldwide total of $118.1 million.
Danny Elfman wrote the part of Bonejangles, the one-eyed, lounge singing skeleton, for another singer but took on the role himself.
The puppets have precision crafted clockwork heads, adjusted by hidden keys. They are made from stainless steel armatures covered with silicone skin, and are between 25cm and 28 cm tall so some of the stages were so large that animators could fit through the set doors with minimal crouching. The shoot took 55 weeks, in which 109,440 individually animated frames were set up and filmed.
Corpse Bride (2005) and Cars (2006) are dedicated to the memory of executive producer Joe Ranft, who died in a car crash, aged 45. He is co-director and vocal artist on Cars.
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© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2,930
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