Tim Burton and Mike Johnson’s canonical “Corpse Bride” was released 20 years ago today.
This stop-motion film is set in a fictional town in Victorian England. It follows a young man named Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp) and his journey of participating in an arranged marriage with Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson) to satisfy his family’s wealth.
Tim Burton’s staple aesthetics of dark, gothic visuals are prominent in the film. Each scene is filled with black and white filters with hints of vibrant greens and blues that contrast the two worlds of both the living and the dead.
The soundtrack features many ambient songs consisting of loud orchestral pieces with organs, violins and pianos to properly execute the late 19th century feel.
The film’s composer, Danny Elfman, won the 2005 GoldSpirit Award for Best Horror Theme for “Into the Forest.” This piece in particular is special because it rings out during the successful attempt of Victor practicing his vows under the moonlight and accidentally proposes to the corpse bride, Emily (Helena Bonham Carter).
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The song is intensely whimsical. Its haunting vocals and thrashing instruments are the perfect way to introduce a decomposing corpse in a wedding dress protruding from the soil.
The stop-motion film was made possible by crafting intricate, handmade puppets that have stainless steel skeletons and silicone skin. Lead editor Jonathan Lucas commented on the misconceptions about the film due to its seamless editing style in Cinemontage.
“A lot of folks think our footage is CGI,” Lucas said.
This film was nominated for many awards for its interesting visuals, including for Best Animated Feature at the Critics Choice Awards. The year after its release, it won a Saturn Award for Best Animated Film.
The setting and character design offer complex details that are essential to the plot. In one scene in particular, Victor is in the forest practicing his vows and slips a ring onto Emily’s deceased hand that is disguised as a branch in the forest.
The illusion allows Emily to transform and rise from her grave with dramatic movements as her wedding dress and veil blow with the wind and leaves.
In the midst of Emily and Victor’s new love affair, the subplot of the man responsible for Emily’s death brews among the land of the living. The money-hungry Lord Barkis Bittern (Richard E. Grant) weasels his way into marrying Victoria, hoping to gain her family’s nonexistent wealth.
At the end of the film, Lord Bittern recites a very reflective quote to the corpse bride: “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.” There is a strong message of unrequited love as well as the heartbreak of being “the other woman.”
Emily had an eternal yearning for love that was so strong that she waited in the afterlife for someone to reciprocate. She did everything she could to keep Victor, including momentarily pondering the notion of killing him so they could be together.
In the end, Emily is set free from her life of tragedy when she realizes she has to let Victor go because he was meant to be with Victoria. She disintegrates into a flock of blue glowing butterflies and ascends into the moonlight.
After 20 years, the film remains among one of Burton’s best animated works alongside “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Frankenweenie.” It is the perfect film to binge-watch during autumn, with its dark themes and eccentric imagery.
For another year, “Corpse Bride” continues to be a visually stunning animation that is timelessly relatable to those with lonely hearts.
