Film review - Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (PG)

From the archive, first published Tuesday 25th Oct 2005.

CORPSE Bride is one of Tim Burton's lovingly crafted, deliciously dark animated fairy tales that, like his The Nightmare Before Christmas, manages to combine romance with the supernatural.

In a little Victorian town, Victor Van Dort (voiced by Burton regular Johnny Depp) is about to be married off to the lovely, and wealthy, Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson), but a set of circumstances lead him to be wed to the equally lovely, but very dead Emily (Helena Bonham Carter).

The shy and retiring Victor is anxious to marry Victoria, but finds his bond to his new murdered Mrs is a difficult one to escape.

Corpse Bride is weird, funny and very original, with a fantastic vocal cast that includes Albert Finney, Christopher Lee, Paul Whitehouse and Joanna Lumley.

The characters are superbly realised ­ despite being grotesque, the Corpse Bride herself is strangely alluring ­ and the animation works like a dream (or should that be nightmare).

Burton's bizarre imagination has again conjured up a treat. 8/10

By Stephen Webb

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

Voiced by: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson

Certificate PG, 77 minutes

Now showing at UGC and Cineworld

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