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Tim Burton's Corpse Bride Our rating: Rate this movie   MPAA rating: PG (for some scary images and action, and brief mild language) Genre: Animated Theater release: September 23, 2005 by Warner Bros. Directed by: Mike Johnson and Tim Burton Runtime: 1 hour 18 minutes Cast: Johnny Depp (Victor Van Dort), Helena Bonham Carter (Corpse Bride), Emily Watson (Victoria Everglot), Tracey Ullman (Nell Van Dort/Hildegarde), Paul Whitehorse (William Van Dort/Mayhew/Paul the Head Waiter), Joanna Lumley (Maudeline Everglot), Albert Finney (Finnis Everglot), Richard E. Grant (Barkis Bittern), Christopher Lee (Pastor Galswells) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

Hey kids, what movie do you want to go see this weekend? "Mom, Dad, can we see Corpse Bride?" (The formal title is actually Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, but that's even less likely to win over the parents.)

Rest easy, families. The plot may revolve around murder, death, and the supernatural, but this is not the horror film you think it is—no more so than other fairy tales, at least. Still, who else but the delightfully demented Tim Burton (director of Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Beetlejuice, and Edward Scissorhands) can root such a potentially twisted, macabre film in such sweetness?

Johnny Depp provides the voice of Victor

The film is also lightened (figuratively, not literally) since it's animated—more precisely stop-motion animation, which relies on posable and expressive figurines instead of hand drawings or computer graphics. The most familiar examples are the classic Rankin-Bass TV specials from the '60s and '70s, particularly Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Some will also recall 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas, produced by Burton. Corpse Bride is similar—consider it The Nightmare Before My Wedding Day—but it's less twisted, more fun, and more imaginative than any stop-motion movie to this point.

Vaguely set in a 19th century East European village, the story is reportedly inspired by an old, Russian folk tale. Longtime Burton collaborator Johnny Depp gives voice to Victor Van Dort, an awkwardly shy young man whose parents have arranged him to marry the equally shy Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson). Her cold and calculating parents (humorously voiced by Albert Finney and Joanna Lumley) have recently bankrupted, so their intention is to again secure their place in high society through the union with the rich Van Dort family.

But the wedding rehearsal goes badly for nervous Victor, and curmudgeonly Pastor Galswells (Christopher Lee) declares that the groom needs to learn his wedding vows if the ceremony is to continue. Distraught, Victor runs off into the woods and practices for his big day. Though he finally articulates the love in his heart, he innocently places the wedding ring on a branch vaguely resembling a hand, and to his surprise, the it becomes the arm of Emily (Helena Bonham Carter), the Corpse Bride of the title, who readily accepts Victor's proposal and whisks him off to the land of the dead.

Waiting in the underworld is the corpse bride (Helena Bonham Carter)

Meanwhile, Victoria waits anxiously for Victor's return. Her parents, showing no patience, decide the wedding most go on and agree to marry off their daughter to the potentially sinister Barkis Bittern (Richard E. Grant). How will this romantic row resolve? What is the secret to Emily's past? Though observant viewers will see where the story is going fairly quickly, it does take a couple unexpected turns.

It's worth reminding moviegoers that not all animated movies are intended for small children. You'd think that'd be clear after 15 years of adult humor from The Simpsons, crass creations like South Park and Family Guy, and PG-rated fare like The Incredibles and Shrek. Yet despite Corpse Bride's PG rating, parents still blindly and inappropriately brought infants and toddlers to the screening I was at.

Is Corpse Bride family friendly? Absolutely, provided that said family doesn't include younger children easily frightened by comical images of skeletons and ghouls, or a mature fairy tale involving murder and the underworld, or a portrayal of the afterlife rooted more in fantasy than Christianity or the occult. Corpse Bride herself is missing some skin in a few spots and has a bothersome eyeball that keeps popping out at the wrong times—not to mention the little maggot living in her head that speaks like Peter Lorre and serves as comic relief.

Dark, yes, but the directors and screenwriters make great efforts to keep it safe and playful. Corpse Bride keeps things in the traditional realm of animated Halloween spooks and skeletons. Nightmare Before Christmas went much further when Halloweentown residents kidnapped Santa Claus and put him in peril while terrorizing children with twisted toy-making. Parents may take greater issue with some subtle, but unnecessary innuendo (see The Family Corner below).

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