Corpse Bride

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Corpse Bride
Directed by	Tim Burton Mike Johnson
Produced by	Tim Burton Allison Abbate
Written by	John August Caroline Thompson Pamela Pettler
Starring	Johnny Depp Helena Bonham Carter Emily Watson Albert Finney Richard E. Grant Joanna Lumley
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	September 23, 2005
Running time	75 mins
Language	English
Budget	$40,000,000
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IMDb profile

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is a 2005 Academy Award-nominated stop-motion-animation film based loosely on a 19th century Russian-Jewish folktale version of an older Jewish story and set in a fictional Victorian era England. It was directed by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson, and filmed at 3 Mills Studios in London. It stars Johnny Depp as the voice of Victor and Helena Bonham Carter (for whom the project was specially created) as the voice of the Corpse Bride. This is the first animated film in which Johnny Depp has been a voice actor. The film was nominated in the 78th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. It lost to another stop-motion animated feature, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

The movie exhibits Burton's trademark style and recurring themes (the complex interaction between light and darkness, and of being caught between two irreconcilable worlds). The movie can be particularly compared to The Nightmare Before Christmas, Burton's previous stop-motion feature project (directed by Henry Selick and based on a Tim Burton poem, which Corpse Bride director Mike Johnson worked on as an animator) and Beetlejuice, especially in the scenes depicting the underworld and its deceased denizens. The studio intentionally emphasised the links, as some commercials for Corpse Bride were accompanied by songs from The Nightmare Before Christmas (specifically, "What's This"), and in an issue of Disney Adventures, Emily, the title character, was compared to TNBC's Sally.

Contents 1 Plotline 2 Characters 2.1 Emily, the Corpse Bride 2.2 Victor Van Dort 2.3 Victoria Everglot 2.4 Bonejangles, the Skeleton Band Leader 3 Voice cast 4 Filming techniques 5 Origins 6 Trivia 7 DVD release 8 See also 9 External links

[edit] Plotline

The story is set in a cold, gloomy Victorian era town, a parody of aristocratic England. A nervous young man by the name of Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp), son of rich fishmongers Nell and William Van Dort (Tracey Ullman and Paul Whitehouse), is due to be wed to beautiful young Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson), daughter of bankrupt (as well as ugly and unpleasant) aristocrats Maudeline and Finis Everglot (Joanna Lumley and Albert Finney). Victor isn't too keen on the idea of an arranged marriage until he meets the charming Victoria face-to-face and they fall in love almost instantly. But after botching the wedding rehearsal (and accidentally setting Victoria's mother's skirt on fire in the process), Victor is banished by Pastor Galswells (Christopher Lee) to learn his wedding vows.

Victor wanders through the forest practicing his vows, consistently blundering them. Finally he gains confidence and successfully recites them, and upon spying a tree root that resembles a human hand, places his bride's wedding ring on it. No sooner has he done so than the hand (for it really is a human hand) grabs him by the arm and Emily the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter) emerges from beneath the earth dressed in a moldy, flowing wedding dress and declares Victor her husband. She was mysteriously killed on her wedding day and has been waiting for her groom to come and claim her ever since. She whisks Victor away to the surprisingly colourful, vibrant, and musical Land of the Dead.

At first, Victor deceives Emily, convincing her and the elderly Elder Gutknecht (Michael Gough) to return them both temporarily to the Land of the Living via Ukrainian Haunting Spell (returning only if either one says "Hopscotch") under the pretense of introducing her to his parents. Once back, however, Victor goes to see Victoria instead to confess his love for her, but a betrayed Emily discovers them and spirits him away while Victoria watches helplessly. While Victoria tries unsuccessfully to convince the pastor and her parents that Victor needs help, Maudeline and Finis lock her in her room and plan to match up their daughter with the presumed rich drifter "Lord Barkis Bittern" (Richard E. Grant) instead. Unbeknownst to the others, Barkis intends to kill Victoria and make off with her fortune, which he mistakenly believes is still viable.

A newly-deceased friend of Victor, Mayhew, delivers the news of Victoria's engagement to Victor himself. Victor, thinking that Victoria is marrying Barkis willingly, decides to make the best of his situation below and agrees to drink poison as part of an above-ground ceremony that will make his marriage to Emily official. As Victoria and Barkis are married, the residents of the Land of the Dead busy themselves preparing for a wedding of their own, storming the town and marriage "celebration" on their way to the church. In the ensuing chaos, the newly-wed Lord Barkis learns (to his horror) that Victoria is penniless. Meanwhile, there is panic with the village at the invasion of the dead, until both sides suddenly recognize their respective loved ones and realize to their mutual joy at an undreamed of temporary reunion.

Victoria heads for the church as well, and discovers Victor in the midst of the ceremony that will kill him. Emily sees Victoria watching them and, realizing that she is cheating Victoria out of a happy life, stops Victor from drinking the poisoned wine. She gives Victor back to Victoria, but the reunion is interrupted by Lord Barkis, who reminds the crowd that she is still his wife, and moves to kidnap her at swordpoint. Emily recognizes Barkis as the man who both jilted and murdered her long ago. A battle ensues, ending when an overconfident Barkis drinks the poisoned wine in a mock-toast to Emily, and the rest of the deceased, except for Emily, surround (and presumably dismember) his still-fresh corpse.

Emily explains to Victor and Victoria that they belong together. When Victor protests, saying that he "made [Emily] a promise," Emily explains that already he kept it by setting her free, and that now she shall do the same for him. She begins to leave the church, but stops to throw her bouquet to Victoria (but accidentally first to an old woman), then resumes her leave. As she reaches the threshold, Emily transforms into hundreds of butterflies, which soar towards the moon. Victor and Victoria look on together, happy to be finally reunited by all of the world.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Emily, the Corpse Bride

Emily, the Corpse Bride, is portrayed as kind and trusting, with a free spirit and a lust for un-life. Her outgoing persona acts as a foil for the more reserved, tentative Victoria. Despite being dead, Emily is capable of the same amount of love and emotion as any living person, and her unbeating heart can just as easily be broken. She has been waiting for her real true love ever since her murder at the hands of her fiance. Like Victor, Emily can play the piano. She has a spider that follows her around and a maggot that lives in her head (occasionally knocking out her eyeball to speak to her).

Emily bears a marked resemblance to Helena Bonham Carter, her voice actress, with full lips and large dark eyes. Despite being a partially skeletalized, decomposing corpse, Emily is nonetheless hauntingly beautiful. She casts a striking figure in her flowing, rotted wedding dress and tattered veil. These were the clothes she was killed in as she waited for her groom.

[edit] Victor Van Dort

Victor is a shy, sensitive, and handsome young man who hails from a family of nouveaux riches, or "new money". His social-climbing parents have made a fortune, but hail from humble fishmongering origins. They are eager to join the ranks of the aristocracy through the arranged marriage of their son with Victoria Everglot, the daughter of a titled, but penniless, family. Throughout the movie, his heart is torn between the attentions of the sweet, shy Victoria and the free-spirited, but dead, Emily.

[edit] Victoria Everglot

Victoria is the beautiful but shy daughter of Maudeline and Finis Everglot, a repulsive couple in a "sad sad state of affairs." She has long dreamt of marrying a man that she loves, but is afraid that it seems silly to others. She wanted to learn to play the piano, but her mother said that music is "too passionate for a young lady."

Victoria's arranged marriage to Victor was supposed to be her parents' "ticket to our rightful place", which means that Victor's family's money would save them from the poor house. Luckily they liked each other right from the start. When Victor disappeared with Emily, Victoria was forced to marry Lord Barkis Bittern. Shortly after the ceremony, Barkis confronted Victor and Emily, then accidentally drank poison and died. This made Victoria a widow. The film ends before she (presumably) marries Victor.

[edit] Bonejangles, the Skeleton Band Leader

His name is an obvious parody of the dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Bonejangles isn't much to look at. He's a semi realistic looking skeleton with one eye that rolls between his two sockets, depending on which way he is leaning. He sports a gray bowler hat and is extremely large jawed. He seems to be the owner of the "Ball and Socket" pub, for his name appears on the sign. He sings the movie's second song, Remains of the Day, with his fellow skeletons in the pub. He seems to know all about the Corpse Bride's past and has an incredibly raspy voice. His name was never mentioned in the movie, but in the script and merchandise, they refer to him as Bonejangles or The Skeleton Band Leader.

[edit] Voice cast

Character	English voice actor	German voice actor	Spanish voice actor	Japanese voice actor
Victor Van Dort	Johnny Depp	David Nathan	Roger Pera	Hidenobu Kiuchi
Corpse Bride	Helena Bonham Carter	Melanie Pukass	Mar Roca	N/A
Victoria Everglot	Emily Watson	Heidrun Batholomäus	Graciela Molina	Sayaka Kobayashi
Nell Van Dort	Tracey Ullman	Dagmar Biener	Concha García Valero	N/A
Hildegarde	Tracey Ullman	N/A	N/A	N/A
William Van Dort	Paul Whitehouse	Bodo Wolf	Javier Viñas	N/A
Mayhew	Paul Whitehouse	N/A	N/A	N/A
Paul the Head Waiter	Paul Whitehouse	N/A	N/A	N/A
Maudeline Everglot	Joanna Lumley	Kerstin Sanders-Dornseif	Aurora García	N/A
Finis Everglot	Albert Finney	Jürgen Kluckert	Jordi Vila	Takaya Hashi
Barkis Bittern	Richard E. Grant	Lutz Mackensy	Óscar Barberán	Jin Yamanoi
Pastor Galswells	Christopher Lee	Otto Mellies	Josep María Ullod	Iemasa Kayumi
Elder Gutknecht	Michael Gough	Wolfgang Völz	Santiago Cortés	N/A
Black Widow	Jane Horrocks	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mrs. Plum	Jane Horrocks	N/A	N/A	N/A
Maggot	Enn Reitel	Michael Pan	José Javier Serrano	N/A
Town Crier	Enn Reitel	N/A	N/A	N/A
General Bonesapart	Deep Roy	Stefan Krause	Juan Fernández	N/A
Bonejangles	Danny Elfman	Thomas Fritsch	Jordi Boixaderas	N/A
Emil	Stephen Ballantyne	N/A	N/A	N/A
Solemn Village Boy	Lisa Kay	N/A	N/A	N/A

[edit] Filming techniques

Corpse Bride is the first movie to be shot with still cameras. Previous stop-motion movies (such as Aardman Animations' Chicken Run) were shot on modified Mitchell film cameras, the same old cameras used to shoot King Kong. The camera chosen for the production of Corpse Bride was Canon EOS-1D Mark II, a digital single-lens reflex camera, which also makes it the first stop-motion feature to be shot in digital. Additional work was required to develop systems to permit precise camera positioning, the mounting of Nikon optical lenses, and previewing a scene in camera. Corpse Bride was the first stop-motion animated film to use Apple's Final Cut Pro as well. To give the film the traditional look of movie film stock, each image was processed with a color profile based on a type of film used in feature length movies.

The film was the first stop-motion animated movie to use the new "gear and paddle" technique for the maquette's heads. This new system involved the maquettes being built with a complex gear system inside of the main character's heads. The various gears were attached to external paddles. A soft skin-like material, mainly made of silicone and foam, was placed over these paddles to create the head and then painted. By adjusting the gears, done by inserting an allen wrench into small holes located on the maquette's head and in the ears, the paddles would move, therefore adjusting the facial expression of the character. This allowed for a much more smooth system of emotion change and lip-sync than the old style of replacing heads. The soft "skin" also gave the characters a much more natural look.

The puppets were made in Altrincham, near Manchester, England, by the leading puppet manufacturers Mackinnon and Saunders. They were also responsible for a major contribution to another Tim Burton film (Mars Attacks), as well as numerous British animated series like Bob the Builder (Hit Entertainment), Andy Pandy (Cosgrove Hall) and Pingu (Hit Entertainment).

[edit] Origins

The origin of the folktale can be traced back to Rabbi Isaac Luria of Safed, a 16th century mystic. In the original folktale, "The Finger," the "corpse bride" in question is not a deceased woman, but a demon. In the 19th century Russian-Jewish adaptation, a woman is killed on her wedding day and is buried in her wedding gown. Later, a man on his way to his own wedding sees her ring finger poking out of the ground and thinks that it's a stick. As a joke, he puts his bride's wedding ring on the finger and dances around it, singing and reciting his marriage sacrament. The woman's corpse emerges from the ground (with the man's ring on her finger) and declares herself married to the man.

The folktale adaptation was born of the anti-Jewish Russian pogroms of the 19th century, in which young women were said to have been ripped from their carriages and killed on the way to their weddings. The folktale usually ends with the rabbis deciding to annul the corpse's marriage and the live bride swearing that she will live her marriage in the corpse's memory, part of the Jewish tradition of honoring the dead through the lives and good works of the living.

A similar motif has also been used by Prosper Mérimée in his story La Vénus d'Ille [1]. Instead of the corpse bride, the ancient statue of Venus figures in the story.

A recurring image through the movie is that of a blue butterfly, ranging from a drawing Victor makes at the beginning, using a live model, to the Corpse Bride herself dissolving into mass of butterflies. This resonates with a European folktale that a brutally murdered woman would be reborn as a butterfly.

[edit] Trivia

• Most of the characters in the film bear a strong resemblance to the original cast of the British period drama, Upstairs, Downstairs. In the Special Features section of the DVD, Tim Burton states that the films' setting pays tribute to the series, with the Land of the Living being the "upstairs", and the Land of the Dead being the "downstairs".
• The film's initial release was two weeks prior to that of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, marking the first time that a stop-motion animated film and a claymation animated one were in simultaneous wide theatrical release. Interestingly, both films feature the voice of Helena Bonham Carter in a lead role and a character named Victor.
• The piano that Victor plays is a Harryhausen. This is a reference to Ray Harryhausen, who is possibly the most famous of all stop-motion animation artists.
• In the Bonejangles musical number, "Remains of the Day", the piano player acts and looks like Ray Charles.
• The maggot's voice, mannerisms and facial appearance are an impersonation of Peter Lorre.
• Near the end of the movie, Victor's suit greatly resembles Jack Skellington's suit during The Nightmare Before Christmas, with the exception of the bat-bowtie and the stripes absent from Victor's outfit.
• The main character, Victor, is named after Victor Frankenstein, a character in one of Burton's earlier works, Frankenweenie.^{[citation needed]}
• A skeletal version of Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man can be seen in Elder Gutknecht's book.
• A sub-plot in LucasArts' "The Curse of Monkey Island" resembles the story of Corpse Bride. On Blood Island, Guybrush Threepwood meets Minerva Stronheim ("Minnie Strone") Goodsoup, who fell in love with a pirate. Alas, he stole the diamond from her heirloom ring before their wedding and ran off. She died a week later of a broken heart. After a number of years haunting the family crypt in her wedding dress, Minnie was eventually reunited with her other suitor, Charles de Goulash. They presumably lived happily ever hereafter.
• "Remains of the Day" may have been named after a book that was later made into a movie in which a butler misguidedly pledges his loyalty. This plot resembles that of the story of how Emily became the Corpse Bride.
• Bonejangles is a reference to dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and the song "Mr. Bojangles", originally written by Jerry Jeff Walker and popularized by a variety of performers.
• After the reference to Gone With the Wind with the line "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" between the skeleton and the old lady, the two swing into the classic pose seen on Gone With The Wind movie posters, and the music changes to play several bars of that movie's main theme.
• The chef with the long face greatly resembles Vincent, the main character from Tim Burton's first stop animation feature, Vincent; indeed, Victor himself looks like Vincent in his own right.
  • Also, Finis Everglot mistakenly calls Victor "Vincent" once.
  • At the end of the film, the dog Scraps meets greatly resembles Vincent's dog Abercrombie, and in the photo at the beginning of the movie, Scraps is shown alive, and also looks like Abercrombie.
• Albert Finney was the leading choice to play Grandpa Joe in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but when Tim Burton was attached he nixed the idea because the only big name he wanted in the movie was Johnny Depp, though he cast Christopher Lee as Wonka's father. So Tim cast Albert in this movie to apologise. Tim Burton reportedly offered a role to Sam Neill, who turned it down.^{[citation needed]}
• The film is dedicated to the memory of Joe Ranft.
• During the scene of the dead walking the Earth, the little boy who sees his dead grandfather has a strong resemblance to the boy who receives a shrunken head in The Nightmare Before Christmas while Jack is handing out rogue presents.
• The image of Emily on the DVD cover is mirrored. Her skeletal arm is left in the movie, while it is her right arm on the cover.
• For a moment, as Elder Gutknecht reaches out in his tower, the shadow of his arm passes across the candlelit wall, much like a famous scene in the film Nosferatu.
• In the films theatrical trailer; the background music is not of Danny Elfman's (the film's soundtrack composer), but is In the Hall of the Mountain King, by Edvard Grieg.

[edit] DVD release

The DVD was released in the US on January 31, 2006. It was available with only one disc, but a special set at Wal*Mart includes a special behind the scenes book with interviews with Tim Burton and the rest of the crew.

[edit] See also

• List of animated feature films
• List of stop-motion films
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• James and the Giant Peach (film)

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Corpse Bride at the Internet Movie Database
• Corpse Bride at Rotten Tomatoes
• Corpse Bride at Metacritic
• Corpse Bride trailer
• Music samples from the motion picture (4 complete songs)
• Corpse Bride Fansite
• Read the folk tale here!
• Film Review

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