The Corpse Bride Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)October 5th, 2005
CORPSE BRIDE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2005 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
CORPSE BRIDE would be a **** short. But, as a full length motion picture, it just can't sustain the interest. Although the film, by THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS's Tim Burton, is visually inventive, it is -- dare I say it -- narratively dead. The lackluster pacing also leaves a lot to be desired.
Made with stop-action animation, the film has a fascinating bluish gray and white color palate with occasional splotches of maroon and other muted colors, delicately mixed in. The paper-thin plot involves a meek man named Victor Van Dort (voiced by Johnny Depp) who accidentally marries a woman known as the Corpse Bride (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter).
Typical of the movie's gothic humor is a recurring visual about a maggot (voiced by Enn Reitel) who lives in the bride's eye socket. The maggot, who sounds just like Peter Lorre, functions as the bride's conscience, constantly offering her unsolicited advice.
The script, by John August, Pamela Pettler and Caroline Thompson, has trouble finding anything funny to say, so the movie tries to use songs to fill in the void where the dialog would normally carry the story along. To say the songs and the tunes are forgettable would be too charitable. Every time the characters start to sing, the audience starts to cringe. The film has trouble maintaining any consistent momentum, and the dismal songs just bring every thing to standstill.
As probably expected, the movie pays homage to a whole host of previous movies, from the bar scene in STAR WARS to the ghoulish paintings in THE HAUNTED MANSION. Rarely, however, is it able to come up with anything original to say. Visuals alone do not a movie make. We need more than just images, especially the same ones over again and again.
CORPSE BRIDE runs 1:18. It is rated PG for "some scary images and action, and brief mild language" and would be acceptable for kids around 8 and up.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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