Tim Burton's Corpse Bride [Burton/Johnson, 2005, Grade: B]

This film is well worth watching, but I'm starting to believe that it will garner more fans after it's released on DVD. I tried to recreate the magic I had when I went to the Big Newport (the largest non-IMAX screen west of the Mississippi) when my wife and I saw The Nightmare Before Christmas there, and this is certainly a GOOD film, but it fell short of that experience.

The film begins, and it almost seems like you're watching Murnau's Nosferatu (in B&W, of course.) After that, it's closer to the David Lean versions of Great Expectations and Oliver Twist. An interesting thing is that all the "living" people are much-less-colorful than the dead ones.

Corpse Bride does have some decent music, and it improves as it moves along. Just about when it hits its narrative highlights, it ends, so you could say that YOU wished it were longer. There IS a certain point in the film where EVERYTHING becomes crystal clear, so I guess the earlier it clicks for you, the better.

I agree. Being a Tim Burton fan, I obviously loved it. But of course it wasn't as inspired as Burton's previous animated masterpiece simply because it was very different.
Whereas Nightmare was more of a musical fairy-tale this is more of a gothic melodrama. The animation in Corpse Bride is very impressive, the songs entertaining and the whole thing is very funny and sweet in a gothic kind of way. Overall, I really liked Corpse Bride, definitely the best animated film I've seen this year.

The dvd will be released January 31 (I just pre-ordered my copy). I didn't see the film the first time around, I didn't even know it was in town until after it passed through. It was then that the film was recommended to me. I've enjoyed all Tim Burton films I've seen so far, so I doubt I'll be disappointed.