Welcome to Knockout Horror. It is day 18 of our 31 Days of Halloween feature and I figured it was probably time for something a little more family friendly. With that in mind, we are checking out Tim Burton’s fantastic dark fantasy stop motion movie Corpse Bride from 2005.
Corpse Bride follows the story of an introverted young man, Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp). While practicing his wedding vows for his upcoming nuptials, Victor places the ring on, what he believes to be, a stick. Little does he realise, the stick was actually the finger of bride to be who passed away and was buried in the woods. A Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter) who he is now bound to for eternity.
Okay, So Not Really Horror
Now we will get past the obligatory “this isn’t really a horror” stuff early in the review. I get it, it isn’t really a horror. But the story is about a dude marrying a corpse and visiting the underworld. If this isn’t horror adjacent then I don’t know what is. Especially when you consider movies that could be suitable entries into the horror genre for young kids.
Corpse Bride, along with ParaNorman, Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas, could make for an entire Halloween night of family friendly frights. Who needs trick or treating when you can pretend you are not in and watch scary movies with the kids? Corpse Bride is rated PG and, while there are a few things that might spook very young kids, it should be suitable for all.
Great Family Fun
The movie was inspired by a 17th century Jewish folk tale that the legendary, late, Pixar animator and voice actor Joe Ranft introduced Tim Burton to. This was all the way back during the making of Nightmare. Burton loved the idea and the pair collaborated with Ranft sharing producer credits before sadly passing away during production. Burton brought along all of his usual friends; Depp, Bonham-Carter, Christopher Lee, and also added a bunch of well known British actors of stage and screen.
There’s so much to love about this movie. First of all, it is impossible not to point out the sensational stop motion animation. Corpse Bride is a huge step up from The Nightmare Before Christmas. While the character models are very much on trend for Burton, the animation is much smoother, the lighting is better and the characters have more depth of expression.
Danny Elfman, once again, takes the helm when it comes to the soundtrack and, as always, does a fantastic job. While not quite as memorable as The Nightmare Before Christmas, there are some real ear worms here that you will find yourself humming for weeks after.
Corpse Bride was fairly unusual, in as far as stop motion goes, for the use of CGI in a number of scenes. Special effects were added to liven certain parts up which was quite novel at the time. It doesn’t impact the visuals at all and, while I wouldn’t say it enhances them all that much, I didn’t feel it was overused.
But Is It Scary?
Of course not, this is more of the same when it comes to Tim Burton. The way in which Corpse Bride would work as a movie to watch over Halloween is in some of the art direction. There is a heavy focus on gorgeous gothic styles and set designs. Making everything feel extremely bleak and very fitting for a movie about a reanimated dead bride.
The scary stuff is fairly low key. It has some fantastic creepy creature designs, some brilliant songs that keep up the horror-lite themes (jazzy skeletons for example) and a story that is a tiny bit dismal and sad but also both fun and compelling. There are plenty of laughs to be had and it all just makes for a good time.
Things get a bit darker when we head to the Corpse Bride’s home in the underworld to meet some of her friends. But all of the darker aspects are approached with no small amount of levity and silliness. This is a brilliant option for anyone looking for some spooky animation or just something a bit darker to watch with their children.
How Does It Compare To Similar Movies?
This is the big question when it comes to Corpse Bride. It is one of those movies that was always going to draw comparison to The Nightmare Before Christmas and there are even more movies, now, that fit a similar theme. As far as Burton’s stuff goes, particularly Frankenweenie and the aforementioned Nightmare. Corpse Bride is extremely different from both. I always consider Nightmare to be a Henry Selick movie more than a Tim Burton movie and that shows here.
Corpse Bride seems like Burton’s vision, throughout. There are similarities but Nightmare is much lighter and less serious. I would say that Corpse Bride is much better than Frankenweenie but not as good as Nightmare. I think it ranks somewhere between ParaNorman and Coraline, with that list being fairly flexible.
Corpse Bride is somewhat more suitable as a Halloween movie than many of the others mentioned here. The visuals are a lot more macabre and Burton isn’t afraid to take a few chances when it comes to themes and general gruesomeness. The story is a real mix of sweet and sour, as well. There are a lot of dark moments that feel a bit sad and hopeless. Not that they aren’t almost immediately blown away with more humour, though.
Should You Watch Corpse Bride?
You should definitely watch Corpse Bride. Whether you are a fan of stop motion, a fan of Tim Burton, a fan of animated horror-lite or are just looking for something to watch with the kids. It’s is a brilliant movie. Fantastically animated, frequently funny, often a bit sad, full of fantastic songs and just an outright good time. Perfectly fitting for all the family, this is a brilliant option for some Halloween viewing.
