Corpse Bride | The Critique

If you are finding the name strange, then let me tell you this movie is often included in to list of highly recommended animation movies, even tomato-meter gives it 84%. May be this was the reason that I watched it with too many expectations and hence landed up unsatisfied. The thing that I appreciated most is that this is a stop-motion animation and yet stands in competition with digital animations.

The film begins with a marriage being arranged by Victor (Johnny Depp) and Victoria’s parents. Victor is so nervous about the prospect of marriage that he fumbles with the ring, forgets his vows, during the wedding rehearsal. Dejected, he goes to the woods and practices his vows. He places the ring on a twig, but it turns out to be a female skeletal hand.  The “corpse bride” named Emily is now introduced who considers herself to be married to Victor and takes him along with her to the land of dead. The drama follows with whom Victor chooses to be and the world he wishes to live in. To let you know, this originally is a folktale that has been around for centuries.

The thing to appreciate is the director’s imagination that has even made the horrific corpse bride look beautiful, in a tattered wedding dress with bones reflecting behind the makeup. The gleeful dancing skeletons make you feel like having a tour through a haunted house. You will rarely feel that its stop-motion and not digital. The puppets themselves were fitted with intricate mechanics to create subtle nuances. Further, the contrast between the dark & gray real word and colorful & joyful underworld is also a big surprise as vice versa makes most common story.

The major setback for this flick is that its rated PG and story baseline about dead & corpses is not in adherence with the kids, which are the major targeted audience for animation movies. The jokes are identical, infact, boring & out fashioned will be the correct words, making it not a good watch for adults too. The story is dragging often & plot simply doesn't make sense, Victor is caught between two women with no reason for wanting to be with either !! The music score is also a mess, and though I tried very hard but yet couldn’t appreciate it.

As a movie buff, I realize how much labor and hard work is put into producing a flick, hence I will not call it a ’bad’ film. I would only say that the movie is not the worth as per the hype created for it. You may give it a try, if you are falling short of movies to watch.

Verdict : 2.5/5

Written By: Neha Jain