Corpse Bride (also known as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride) is a 2005 British-American stop-motion animated musical fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. Corpse Bride was Burton's first full-length stop-motion film as a director.
Plot[]
Victor Van Dort, the son of nouveau riche fish merchants, and Victoria Everglot, the neglected daughter of impoverished aristocrats, prepare for their arranged marriage, which will simultaneously raise the social class of Victor's parents and restore the wealth of Victoria's family (According to Plan). Although they fall in love instantly, the nervous Victor ruins their wedding rehearsal by forgetting his vows and clumsily setting Lady Everglot's dress on fire. Pastor Goswell then declares that until Victor is ready, there will be no wedding. After he firmly tells Victor to learn his vows he flees to the nearby forest, he practices his vows with a tree and places his wedding ring on a root. However, the root is revealed to be the finger of a dead woman named Emily, who rises from the grave claiming that she is now Victor's wife, and after a brief chase spirits him away to the Land of the Dead.
He awakens in a bar after fainting where all the residence have gathered. While initially spooked after first, he asks for answers. Victor learns that Emily was murdered years ago by an unnamed perpetrator whom she fell hard for, on the night of her elopement, and he stole the family jewels she had brought and since then has remained under the tree waiting for someone to marry her and Victor was the one who put the ring on her finger. (Remains of the Day). Back in the Land of the Living, everyone is still waiting for Victor to return (Victoria especially) they soon learn from Lord Barcus about Victor disappearing with a mystery woman which surprises his parents. At first they are unsure what to do but Van Dorts ask to look for Victor, Lady Evergott agrees bt only until dawn. After trying to run away, Emily catches up to Victor and there they are properly introduced. Emily reunites Victor with his long deceased dog, Scraps, and they bond. Desperate to return to Victoria, Victor tricks Emily into returning them to the Land of the Living by claiming he wants her to meet his parents. Emily brings Victor to see Elder Gutknecht, the kindly ruler of the underworld, who grants them temporary passage. Victor, feeling guilty for tricking Emily, asks the bride to wait in the forest. He successfully reunites with Victoria by sneaking to her bedroom window (he tried to use the door but couldn't) and confesses his wish to marry her as soon as possible. Before the pair can share a kiss, Emily discovers them and, feeling betrayed and hurt, drags Victor back to the Land of the Dead. She confronts him for his actions but Victor tells her plainly that the marriage would never work as they are too different and accidentally states that he would never marry her. This deeply hurts Emily and she leaves, causing Victor to regret what he said. After arriving at her home, Widow and Maggot try to convince Emily they are right for each other but she knows that a corpse and human cannot be together ("Tears to Shed"). Back in the Land of the Living Victoria tries to tell her parents of Victor's situation, but neither believe her and assume Victor has left her and she is mad. She tries to go to Pastor Gaswell, but he is no help and sends her home. Against her will, they decide to marry her to a presumed-wealthy visitor named Lord Barkis Bittern, who appeared at the wedding rehearsal. He states he lost his betrothed many years ago and that he wants to share his wealth with someone. Despite her protests, her parents tell her that with Victor gone, she has to marry somebody or they will end up on the street. Unbeknown to them Lord Barkis plans to actually kill Victoria after they marry. Meanwhile Victors parents search everywhere for Victor but during this the coachman dies due to his constant smoking.
After reconciling with Emily, Victor learns of Victoria's impending marriage to Barkis from his family's newly deceased coachman. Upset over this news, Victor decides to marry Emily, learning that this will require him to repeat his wedding vows in the Land of the Living and drink a deadly poison in order to join her in death. The dead swiftly prepare for the ceremony and head "upstairs" ("The Wedding Song"), where the town erupts into a temporary panic upon their arrival until everyone recognizes their departed loved ones, and joyously reunite. The chaos causes a panicked Barkis to expose his own poor financial standing and his intentions to marry Victoria only for her supposed wealth, leading her to reject him.
Victoria follows everyone to Victor and Emily's wedding as Victor completes his vows and prepares to drink the poison, only for Emily to stop him when she realizes she is denying Victoria her chance to live happily with him. Just as Emily reunites Victor and Victoria, Barkis arrives to kidnap Victoria. Emily recognizes him as her previous fiancé and reveals he was also her murderer. Victor duels with Barkis to protect Victoria, and Emily intervenes to save Victor's life. Barkis mockingly toasts Emily for dying unwed and unwittingly drinks the poison that Victor nearly took, causing him to die and allowing the dead – who cannot interfere in the affairs of the living – to take retribution against him for his crimes. Emily, now freed from her torment, frees Victor of his vow to marry her and returns his ring, allowing him to marry Victoria, whom she throws her wedding bouquet to. As she steps into the moonlight, she fades away into hundreds of butterflies and flies into the sky, finding peace, as Victor and Victoria watch and embrace.
Cast[]
- Johnny Depp as Victor Van Dort (voice)
- Helena Bonham Carter as Corpse Bride (voice)
- Emily Watson as Victoria Everglot (voice)
- Tracey Ullman as Nell Van Dort/Hildegarde (voice)
- Paul Whitehouse as William Van Dort/Mayhew/Paul the Head Waiter (voice)
- Joanna Lumley as Maudeline Everglot (voice)
- Albert Finney as Finis Everglot (voice)
- Richard E. Grant as Barkis Bittern (voice)
- Christopher Lee as Pastor Gallswells (voice)
- Michael Gough as Elder Gutknecht (voice)
- Jane Horrocks as Black Widow/Mrs. Plum (voice)
- Enn Reitel as Maggot/Town Crier (voice)
- Deep Roy as General Bonesapart (voice)
- Danny Elfman as Bonejangles (voice)
- Stephen Ballantyne as Emil (voice)
- Lisa Kay as Solemn Village Boy (voice)
Uncredited[]
- Paul Baker as Singing Skellingtons (voice)
- Albert Finney as Grandfather Everglot (voice)
- Alison Jiear as Ethel/Land of the Dead Townsperson #1/Land of the Dead Townsperson #2 (voice)
- Gary Martin as Fat Chef/General Wellington (voice)
Musical numbers[]
Main article: Corpse Bride (soundtrack)
- According to Plan- Nell, William, Maudeline & Finis
- Remains of the Day- Bonejangles & The Dead
- Tears to Shed- Maggot, The Black Widow, Emily & Mac
- The Wedding Song- Miss Plum, The Black Widow, Maggot, Mac, Victor & The Dead
Production[]
Development[]
The film is based on a 19th-century Russian-Jewish folktale, which Joe Ranft introduced to Burton while they were finishing The Nightmare Before Christmas. The film began production in November 2003, while Burton was completing Big Fish.
Filming[]
The filming was done at 3 Miles Studios in London. During the shooting of this film, Burton and Depp were working on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. During the day Depp was Wonka, at night he was Victor. Burton had an assistant director who would take his place when he was making Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Reception[]
Critical reaction[]
The critical reaction was generally positive. It even received an Oscar Nomination for Best Animated film but lost to Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Wererabbit. Coincidentally, Helena Botham Carter also starred in that movie as lead character Lady Campanula 'Totty' Tottington. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 197 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "As can be expected from a Tim Burton movie, Corpse Bride is whimsically macabre, visually imaginative, and emotionally bittersweet." Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 based on top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 83 based on 35 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Box Office[]
Corpse Bride grossed $53.4 million in North America, and $64.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $118.1 million.
In North America, the film opened at number two in its first weekend, with $19.1 million behind Flightplan. In its second weekend, the film dropped to number three, grossing an additional $10 million. In its third weekend, the film dropped to number six, grossing $6.5 million. In its fourth weekend, the film dropped to number nine, grossing $3.6 million.
The biggest market in other territories being France, United Kingdom, and Japan, where the film grossed $8.9 million, $8.6 million and $7.1 million respectively.
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- This is Tim Burton's only stop motion film not to be made by Disney.
- This was Depps first animated feature role and his first voice over work.
- One important distinction from the Land of the Dead and the Land of the Living is the lands are the opposite of their names. The Land of the Dead is more colorful and lively while the Land of the Living is more dull colored and deadlike.
- The film itself is based on a Jewish folk tale called "The Finger," both plot lines involve a bridegroom accidentally placing a ring on a finger while practicing their wedding vows.
Goofs[]
- On Victor's missing poster, it says that his hair is brown, despite being shown as black.
External Links[]
References[]