Corpse Bride

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tim Burton Mike Johnson
Screenplay by	John August Caroline Thompson Pamela Pettler
Produced by	Tim Burton Allison Abbate Joe Ranft Derek Frey
Starring	Johnny Depp Helena Bonham Carter Emily Watson Tracey Ullman Paul Whitehouse Joanna Lumley Albert Finney
Cinematography	Pete Kozachik
Edited by	Chris Lebenzon
Music by	Danny Elfman
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release dates	September 7, 2005 (2005-09-07) (VIFF) September 16, 2005 (2005-09-16) (United States) October 13, 2005 (2005-10-13) (United Kingdom)
Running time	77 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$40 million
Box office	$117,195,061

Corpse Bride (often known as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride) is a 2005 musical stop-motion-animation fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. It is set in a fictional Victorian era village in Britain. Johnny Depp led an all-star cast as the voice of Victor, while Helena Bonham Carter (for whom the project was specially created) voiced Emily, the title character.

The film was nominated in the 78th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, but was bested by Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. On a technical level it was shot with a battery of Canon EOS-1D Mark II digital SLRs, rather than the 35mm film cameras used for Burton's previous stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Plot

The story is set in a cold, gloomy Victorian era town, a parody of aristocratic England. A nervous young man by the name of Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp), son of rich fishmongers Nell and William Van Dort (Tracey Ullman and Paul Whitehouse), is due to be wed to Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson), the neglected daughter of bankrupt aristocrats Lady Maudeline and Lord Finis Everglot (Joanna Lumley and Albert Finney). The Everglots are cold, unpleasant people who are only interested in restoring the family fortunes. Victor is not too keen on the idea of an arranged marriage until he meets the charming Victoria face-to-face and they fall in love almost instantly. But after botching the wedding rehearsal, Victor is banished by Pastor Galswells (Christopher Lee) to learn his wedding vows.

Victor wanders through the forest practicing his vows, consistently blundering them. He feels that practicing is no use, and Victoria surely thought him a fool. However, he gains confidence at the thought of marrying Victoria and successfully recites them; upon spying a tree root that resembles a human hand he places his bride's wedding ring on it. No sooner has he done so, the root, which really is a human hand, grabs him by the arm and the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter) emerges from beneath the earth and declares Victor her husband. Victor is terrified and runs away. Just when he believes he has lost her, he turns around and sees the Bride standing behind him. She tells him that he may kiss her and Victor faints.

Victor awakes in a pub with the dead, who are celebrating him as the 'new arrival' and his 'marriage' to the Corpse Bride. He learns that her name is Emily and that she was killed on the night of her elopement because her fiance only wanted her money. Since then she has been waiting for someone else to marry her. Victor convinces the elderly Elder Gutknecht (Michael Gough) to return him and Emily temporarily to the Land of the Living under the pretense of introducing her to his parents. Once back, however, Victor goes to see Victoria to explain what has happened. He confesses his love, and they are about to kiss when a betrayed Emily discovers them and spirits him away. When Victoria tries to explain that Victor has been abducted by a corpse, Maudeline and Finis decide she is mad and lock her in her room. With Victor gone, they plan to marry their daughter off the (presumably rich) stranger "Lord Barkis Bittern" (Richard E. Grant). However, Barkis intends to kill Victoria and make off with her fortune, which he mistakenly believes is still viable.

Emily is devastated by her discovery and concludes that Victor probably does belong with Victoria, because they are both alive while Emily is not. Finding her dejected, Victor apologizes for lying to her and Emily forgives him after they play a piano duet. Victor's coachman, the recently deceased Mayhew, arrives and tells him about Victoria's engagement to Barkis, leaving Victor distraught. He decides to make the best of his situation and agrees to drink poison in order to make his marriage to Emily official (since the marriage vows bind the couple until "death do them part" and Emily is already dead, the marriage will not exist until Victor is dead too). As Victoria and Barkis are married, the residents of the Land of the Dead busy themselves preparing for a wedding of their own, storming the town on their way to the church. In the ensuing chaos, the newly-wed Lord Barkis is horrified to learn that Victoria is penniless. Meanwhile, there is panic in the village at the invasion of the dead, until both sides suddenly recognize their loved ones and enjoy their temporary reunion.

Victoria heads for the church as well, and discovers Victor in the midst of the ceremony that will kill him. Emily sees Victoria watching them and, realizing that she is cheating Victoria out of a happy life, stops Victor from drinking the poisoned wine. She gives Victor back to Victoria, but the romantic reunion is interrupted by Lord Barkis. Barkis reminds the crowd that Victoria is still his wife, and moves to kidnap her at sword point. Emily recognizes Barkis as the man who murdered her long ago. Victor tells Barkis to get his hands off Victoria. A brief sword fight ensues between the two men, but Victor is only armed with a fork accidentally thrown to him in place of a knife. Barkis corners Victor and is just about to jam his sword into Victor's heart, when Emily rushes between them and takes the blow herself, saving Victor's life.

Pulling the sword from her ribs, a seething Emily orders Barkis to leave. Knowing that he cannot be harmed, he smugly agrees. The rest of the dead, outraged at what he did to Emily, try to stop him, but they are unable to interfere, since he is still alive. But before leaving, Barkis proposes a mock-toast to Emily. He drinks the wine intended for Victor, which kills him. With the deceased Barkis now under their power, the dead then drag the "new arrival" underground while he screams in horror.

Emily watches Victor and Victoria hold each other lovingly as she begins to leave the church. Feeling guilty, Victor stops Emily and wishes to help her, saying that he "made (Emily) a promise". Emily explains that he kept it by setting her free, and now she shall do the same for him. Placing Victoria's ring in his palm, she then exits the church and dissolves into a flock of butterflies, leaving Victor and Victoria to live happily ever after.

Cast

• Johnny Depp as
  • Victor Van Dort: A hapless, sweet and timid young man who tries to be brave, and gradually becomes more confident as the movie progresses. At first, he is unsure whether he really wants an arranged marriage to Victoria. However, when he meets her, he falls in love almost instantly. He is panic-stricken by Emily when he first sees her but they become much closer as he gets to know her, even though at first he realizes that his fear of matrimony is nothing compared to the wedded felicity that awaits him on the other side.

• Helena Bonham Carter as
  • Emily, the Corpse Bride: Brokenhearted and very romantic, when her heart was beating, she eloped with a 'mysterious stranger'. Unfortunately, he subsequently killed her for her money. She has been waiting for years for someone to marry her. After Victor stumbles into her arms and keeps his promise, she is set free and is allowed to move on.

• Emily Watson as
  • Victoria Everglot: The woman Victor was arranged to marry. Even though her bankrupt, unpleasant parents wish for her to marry him for his money, she and Victor truly love each other, and has no intention of allowing her parents to dampen her dreams of having true love in her hands.

• Tracey Ullman as
  • Nell Van Dort: A full-figured Grande dame who is Victor's overbearing mother. She believes it is very important that the marriage is successful in order for her family and their business to move up the social ladder. She is intoxicated with her new-found wealth and follows every fashion trend. High society desires her money, but not her nouveau-riche taste.
  • Hildegarde: The elderly, hunch-backed maid of the Everglot household. She acts more motherly to Victoria than Victoria's actual mother, and provides her the maternal love and support she needs. She is also Victoria's chaperone.

• Paul Whitehouse as
  • William Van Dort: An Uncle Pennybags stereotype, who is Victor's father and, like his wife, believes the marriage will help them climb the social ladder. In contrast to his wife, he is thinner and is less overbearing. He makes his fortune by putting fish in cans, much to the dismay of the snooty and upper-class Everglots.
  • Mayhew: The Van Dorts' coach chauffeur, who informs Victor of Victoria's wedding to Lord Barkis. He dies after a series of coughing (and smoking) throughout the movie.
  • Paul the Head Waiter: A dead waiter, who is actually just a head that speaks in a French accent and moves around with cockroaches acting as "wheels".

• Joanna Lumley as
  • Lady Maudeline Everglot: Victoria's austere and unaffectionate mother. She believes love has nothing to do with marriage and that the arranged marriage will financially provide for the bankrupt aristocrats. She will stop at nothing to ensure the protection of the family name, even if it means sacrificing her daughter's happiness.

• Albert Finney as
  • Lord Finis Everglot: Victoria's pompous father. He, like his wife, believes the arranged marriage will financially provide for the couple.
  • Grandfather Everglot: Finis' deceased grandfather. He appears when Finis says that if he sees the dead running around in the mansion he'll turn up from his grave. True to his word, this subsequently occurred, scaring Finis and Maudeline away.

• Richard E. Grant as
  • Lord Barkis Bittern: The film's main antagonist who eloped with Emily and killed her for her money. He returned to the village to marry Victoria, get her money and kill her. However, he was foiled, died and became an undead, leaving the dead to ravage, attack and torture him grotesquely.

• Christopher Lee as
  • Pastor Gallswells: The village pastor who is intended to wed Victor and Victoria. He hides behind the austerity of his clerical position. Inside, he is a cold, mean-spirited and unforgiving man. In an interview, he is described by Christopher Lee as a very unsympathetic character.

• Michael Gough as
  • Elder Gutknecht: An ancient and rickety skeleton, who acts as a kindly and sagacious leader to the denizens of The Land of the Dead. He is Emily's most trusted adviser and will do anything to help her realize her dreams of love.

• Jane Horrocks as
  • The Black Widow: An affable, obsessive-compulsive black widow spider seamstress. She is at first unforgiving of Victor as he upsets Emily but soon helps him in preparation for his wedding. She is also one of Emily's best friends.
  • Mrs. Plum: The deceased, plump and bawdy proprietress of the Ball and Socket Pub, who makes the cake for Emily and Victor's wedding. She is a lively old woman with a taste for old-fashioned romance.

• Enn Reitel as
  • Maggot: A sarcastic, green maggot who lives inside Emily's head and acts as her conscience. He is very skeptical of Victor at first. He, along with Black Widow, is one of Emily's best friends. He is a twisted parody of Jiminy Cricket.
  • The Town Crier: A man who holds a bell and delivers the news. His physical appearance resembles a bell.

• Deep Roy as
  • General Bonesapart: A dwarfish skeleton in a military uniform with a sword stuck in his chest. He is a parody of Napoleon Bonaparte (hence the name "Bonesapart").

• Danny Elfman as
  • Bonejangles: A one-eyed, singing skeleton who tells the story of Emily through the song 'Remains of the Day'.

• Stephen Ballantyne as
  • Emil: The Everglots' pompous butler.

• Lisa Kay as
  • Solemn Village Boy: The little boy who recognizes one of the corpses as his 'grandpa'.

Origins

A similar motif has also been used by Prosper Mérimée in his story La Vénus d'Ille. Instead of the corpse bride, the ancient statue of Venus figures in the story.

A similar narrative also occurs in early Islamic literature. The 10th century Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity contains an Arabic anecdote of a "prince who strays from his palace during his wedding feast and, drunk, spends the night in a cemetery, confusing a corpse with his bride. The story is used as a gnostic parable of the soul's pre-existence and return from its terrestrial sojourn".

Another similarity is found in Shivkhey HoAri - the biographical collection of mystical stories about a renowned kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Luria Ashkenazi. There someone jokingly put a ring on a finger sticking from the ground and pronounced the formal betrothal phrase, thus unwillingly becoming married to a woman from an underworld who subsequently came to claim him as a husband. The case was brought in front of the Arizal, who ruled that since the man did not willingly perform the betrothal he was not bound by the marriage, but to be sure that the woman should remain free to marry one of her kind, the man had to give her a formal divorce according to the Jewish law. It is actually claimed, that this particular story inspired the creation of the film.

Lord Barkis is based on the fairy tale figure Bluebeard.

Emily's release in the end of the movie indicates that the Underworld represents the concept of Purgatory.

Release

The film was a financial success, grossing $53,359,111 domestically and $117,195,061 worldwide. It was also met with a positive reaction from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported 83% of their critics gave the film a positive review. The film also maintains an identical 83/100 rating from Metacritic. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film three stars out of four, praising the voice acting and animation, stating that it is not a "macabre horror story as the title suggests", and calling the film a "sweet and visually lovely tale of love lost".

See also

• List of animated feature films
• List of stop-motion films
• Tim Burton
• Claymation

External links

• Official website
• Corpse Bride at IMDb
• Corpse Bride at AllMovie
• Corpse Bride at Box Office Mojo
• Corpse Bride at Rotten Tomatoes
• Corpse Bride at Metacritic
• Music samples from the motion picture (4 complete songs)
• Tim Burton's Corpse Bride: From Concept Art to Finished Puppets - an interview with Graham G. Maiden's narrates the process involved with taking Tim Burton's concept drawings and making them into fully articulated puppets.