Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Johnny Showtime: CORPSE BRIDE

 by JB

“We all end up the remains of the day...”

One of the many perks of Scary Movie Month is the chance to enjoy select horror films in honest-to-goodness movie theaters. Fathom Events, as well as individual theater chains such as AMC, smelling blood in the water and sensing money to be made, will often offer up select screenings in the merry old month of October. In fact, one AMC theater within an easy commute from my place is offering a slate of 31 classic horror films: a new one every single day. Will I rouse my ancient ass to see Creature from the Black Lagoon in 3-D? Stay tuned...
This is how I was able to sally forth last Sunday and see Corpse Bride on the big screen. The movie looked great; I’m guessing the Fathom Event screening was some sort of cross promotion because the film was just re-released on disc in 4K. I remember always liking it, but not as much as I liked it at this most recent screening, which was both SOLD OUT and full of kids who loved it. A few of them dressed up; a few of them clutched Corpse Bride dolls.

THE PLOT IN BRIEF: Victor Van Dort is set to marry Victoria Everglot. It is an arranged marriage; the Van Dorts hope to rise in society because the Everglots are aristocrats, and the Everglots hope for an infusion of cash as they are impoverished. At the rehearsal, nervous Victor cannot say the vows correctly, so he goes for a walk to clear his head. He ends up in a forest, recites his vows correctly in practicing them, and accidently places the ring on a decomposing finger sticking out of the ground.

THIS IS ANIMATION.
Emily, the Corpse Bride of the title, takes Victor to the netherworld where the unique problems of their “mixed marriage” become evident. How on earth can these two youngsters stay together? Will Emily ever be reunited with the original fiancé who murdered her? Will Victor and Victoria stay alive long enough to finally be wed? Is this really a film for children?

Corpse Bride is 77 minutes long, so it does not overstay its welcome. In fact, I sometimes wish it were a bit longer; the ending seems rushed and I long for one more musical number. How about a Corpse Bride Special Director’s Cut? The gaggle of kids I saw it with last Sunday loved it. It looked so great on that big screen: the colors popped. This is not an insignificant detail as one of the film’s more subtle jokes is that the netherworld is manifestly more colorful than “modern-day” grey London. I also love how Burton’s use of classic, old school character actors as voice talent makes the cast instantly identifiable: Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Albert Finney, Richard E. Grant, and Tracy Ullman.
SOMETHING I NEVER KNEW: This was LAIKA’s first film; four years before Coraline, they handled the painstaking animation work, utilizing complex dolls that used precision-crafted “clockwork” heads, adjusted by little hidden keys. These puppets used neither switchable heads nor switchable mouths. I know this now because the good people at Fathom Events programmed Blu-ray special feature “Making Puppets Tick” to pad out the runtime! Way to go, Fathom! About half of my audience stuck around to see it.
I cannot overemphasize the puppet angle because I’m afraid that many young people today think every effect in every movie is achieved with computers. A few years ago, I was touring the Academy Museum with a very good friend. AMPAS’s animation exhibit featured puppets from Corpse Bride, which the friendly docent explained to my friend. Said friend expressed surprise. Corpse Bride was one of her favorite films. She expressed incredulity that the film wasn’t created inside an Apple computer somewhere. Museums are good.

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