Les Noces funèbres

i just saw this movie at the Toronto film festival. Tim Burton, as with most of his movies, makes the setting and visuals the most important part. And what a beautiful movie it was, the animation was astounding. You could tell that each frame was tirelessly worked on in order to make each little piece have its own distinct look. The plot is unimportant, and cliché, but that doesn't matter. This movie shouldn't be watched for the storyline. The voice acting was very convincing, especially the lead, Johnny Depp, who does a great job as the shy, clumsy Victor. The only character i really didn't think was needed was the worm, who was just included just for some childish comedic relief, which took away from the dark mood of the picture. Though not as enjoyable as "Nightmare Before Christmas" it still was a very good animated movie. 8.5/10

I think that The Corpse Bride is a beautiful story. It's about true love and kindness. Johnny Depp is a perfect Victor Van Dort and all the characters are played wonderfully. The animation is superb from facial expressions to a reflection in a tear drop. The ending is one worth waiting for. It's an excellent film that all families should see. I'd suggest not taking children younger than 8 or 9. They might not understand the story line that young, but they'll love the dancing skeletons and the fun songs! That was a surprise: all the songs they sang. If there's one song you must hear it has to be the skeleton one, but also the piano sequence is beautiful as well. Hope you enjoy the film as much as I did!

Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp) is supposed to marry Victoria Everglot. Both sets of parents are in favor of this arranged marriage, as the Van Dorts have money but are not part of high society and the Everglots have noble blood but are dirt poor. However, at the rehearsal, Victor screws everything up and he's sent off to try to memorize the wedding vows...which he keeps screwing up. While walking through the woods and practicing, he finally gets it right and ends up married to a corpse who has just come back to life after he put the ring on her skeletal finger! What is poor Victor to do? After all, life in the underworld with a skeletal wife isn't most folks' idea of a great marriage!

The animation is pretty spectacular...though the Laika stop-motion films are a bit prettier and are more fluid...though for 2005 this is awfully good. It's also interesting how they used colors in the story. The world of the living is all in gray tones...whereas the underworld is very vividly colored...quite the opposite of what you probably expected.

As for the story, it's very nice. My only complaints about any of this is that the story is perhaps too simple and the music isn't at all memorable (unlike Tim Burton's more famous stop-motion predecessor, "The Nightmare Before Christmas"). But the visuals are amazing and the story is fun.

By the way, I would NOT recommend it to small kids. The story about death is awfully creepy and this is more a film for older kids and adults.

After enchanting audiences with "The Nightmare Before Christmas," Tim Burton brings another stop-motion animated spectacle, "Corpse Bride." In this story, Victor Van Dort, an inept young groom-to-be, can't make his way through his wedding rehearsal. Going outside to get his lines right, he accidentally winds up marrying the corpse of a murdered bride-to-be. The animation is spectacular, proving stop-motion can be good enough to compete with computer animation. Johnny Depp provides the voice of Victor, showing mild-mannered and nervous grace. Helena Bonham Carter is the voice of Emily, the Corpse Bride, giving the dead character lively emotion. One striking element of the movie is the color scheme. In the living world, there is no bright color, making a near-black and white appearance. The story is well-written, and the music is good. Overall, "Corpse Bride" must definitely be seen!

This is not my favourite Tim Burton movie by a long shot, but I did find myself enjoying it. The animation is absolutely amazing with the dark bold colours and inspired visual ideas. The music is good too, it adds very well to the atmosphere. The four songs are pretty decent, if nothing special. Remains of the Day was the one I liked best. The script is witty and deliciously dark in places, while the story is clever and fairly original, even if it drags slightly occasionally. The characters are wonderfully quirky and the voice work from the likes of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter is top notch. All in all, a beautifully crafted film, if not quite Burton's finest hour. 8/10 Bethany Cox