The first time I saw the stop-motion animation film, "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas," I thought it really good. I didn't love it, and I certainly didn't think it was a masterpiece, I just thought it was a cool movie. It wasn't a huge box office success, but those who saw it liked it at least as much as I did. That was 1993, and it's been twelve years since the release of that film, and time has been good to it. The DVD sells very well, and there's a huge demand for "Nightmare Before Christmas" merchandise. Stores like Hot Topic sell tons of "Nightmare Before Christmas" stuff. As for me, well, like I said, time has been good to it, and so has repeated viewings. I've probably seen the movie more than ten times now. I absolutely love it, and yes, I now consider it a masterpiece. I'm not sure why I didn't feel that way immediately after seeing the film, perhaps I just needed time to let it all sink in. Well, I'm getting the same feeling after having seen Tim Burton's latest stop-motion animation film, "Corpse Bride." I thought it was really good. I didn't love it, and I certainly didn't think it was a masterpiece, I just thought it was a cool movie.
When it comes to Tim Burton movies, you can expect dark, quirky, and whimsical, and you can also expect "Burtonesque" visuals, like spirals, slanted doorways, and things like that. "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride" is no different. What did surprise me was how bittersweet it is. It's not a depressing movie, but it's a little sadder than I thought it would be. Another surprise is the color scheme that differentiates the living world from the dead world. The living world is a world of desaturated colors, muted to the point of being almost grayscale. The dead world is bright, colorful, and full of life, so to speak. Only in a Tim Burton film would the living world be grim and dreary while the dead world looks like a fun place to be.
Danny Elfman is one of my favorite film score composers, and he's one of the main reasons that "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" is as great as it is. His music and his songs are a highlight in a film full of highlights, and just about every song in the movie is awesome. I can't say the same thing about the music and the songs in "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride." The songs just aren't as memorable, and even the first time I walked out of "The Nightmare Before Christmas," I knew that "This is Halloween" and "What's This?" were songs I'd be singing to myself for some time to come. Walking out of "Corpse Bride," there wasn't a single song that stuck with me. Hopefully after I see the movie a few more times, I'll feel differently. Don't get me wrong, I like the music, and I like the songs, I just don't think they're as good as the music and songs in "The Nightmare Before Christmas." No matter, Danny Elfman still kicks ass. He's the man.
Tim Burton rounded up a great voice cast, most of whom he's worked with before. They include Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Paul Whitehouse, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney, Richard E. Grant, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Deep Roy, Danny Elfman and others. All of them are excellent, especially Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Emily Watson, who play the three main characters.
With "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas," although Burton was certainly the man in charge, the only director credited is Henry Selick (who also directed "James and the Giant Peach," a film produced by Tim Burton that combined stop-motion animation with live-action... it was based on a children's book by Roald Dahl, as was Burton's film before this one, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"). For this film, Tim Burton shares directing credit with Mike Johnson (my boss at the Miami-Dade Elections Department is named Mike Johnson, but I seriously doubt it's the same guy). He was an assistant animator on "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas," and in "James and the Giant Peach," he was an animator. For Tim Burton's third stop-motion animation film, he was promoted to director, so he's clearly doing something right.
The script for the movie was written by three people, two of whom have written for Burton in the past. Caroline Thompson helped write "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Edward Scissorhands," and John August wrote "Big Fish" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." The third person credited with the screenplay is Pamela Pettler, whose work I'm not familiar with, but she'll be working on future projects with Tim Burton. I should also mention that the script is an adaptation of an old Russian folk tale that has its roots in tragic historical facts. In 19th century Russia, anti-Semitic gangs would attack Jewish wedding parties on their way to the wedding and single out the bride, since she would be the one to bear future generations of Jews. The bride would be snatched out of the carriage, killed, and buried in her wedding gown. Pretty horrific. Hopefully those evil anti-Semitic assholes are burning in hell as we speak.
Anyway...
I enjoyed "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride," but my hopes were really high, and I'd be a liar if I didn't say that I wasn't at least a little bit disappointed. But thinking back to the first time I saw "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas," I'm certain that when I watch the movie again, whether in theaters or on DVD, I know that I'll like it even more. Perhaps 12 years from now, I'll consider "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride" to be just as much of a masterpiece as "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Right now, however, "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is the better film, and the best I can tell you about "Corpse Bride" is that I thought it was really good. I didn't love it, and I certainly didn't think it was a masterpiece, I just thought it was a cool movie.
Scale of 1-10: 8