Corpse Bride (2005)

When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her.

Directors:

Tim Burton, Mike Johnson

Writers:

Tim Burton (characters), Carlos Grangel (characters)

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 28 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Depp	...	Victor Van Dort (voice)
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Corpse Bride (voice)
Emily Watson	...	Victoria Everglot (voice)
Tracey Ullman	...	Nell Van Dort / Hildegarde (voice)
Paul Whitehouse	...	William Van Dort / Mayhew / Paul The Head Waiter (voice)
Joanna Lumley	...	Maudeline Everglot (voice)
Albert Finney	...	Finis Everglot (voice)
Richard E. Grant	...	Barkis Bittern (voice)
Christopher Lee	...	Pastor Galswells (voice)
Michael Gough	...	Elder Gutknecht (voice)
Jane Horrocks	...	Black Widow Spider / Mrs. Plum (voice)
Enn Reitel	...	Maggot / Town Crier (voice)
Deep Roy	...	General Bonesapart (voice)
Danny Elfman	...	Bonejangles (voice)
Stephen Ballantyne	...	Emil (voice)

Storyline

Set back in the late 1800s in a Victorian village, a man and woman by the names of Victor Van Dort and Victoria Everglot are betrothed because the Everglots need the money or else they'll be living on the streets and the Van Dorts want to be high in society. But when things go wrong at the wedding rehearsal, Victor goes into the woods to practice his vows. Just as soon as he gets them right, he finds himself married to Emily, the corpse bride. While Victoria waits on the other side, there's a rich newcomer that may take Victor's place. So two brides, one groom, who will Victor pick?

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Plot Keywords:

gothic horror | horror for children | bride | corpse | puppet animation | 

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Taglines:

There's been a grave misunderstanding.

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Genres:

Animation | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some scary images and action, and brief mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros [France]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 September 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$385,078, 18 September 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$53,359,111

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$117,195,061

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.,Tim Burton Productions,Laika Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The puppets used neither of the industry standards of replaceable heads (like those used on The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)) or replaceable mouths (like those used by Aardman Studios in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)), but instead used precision crafted clockwork heads, adjusted by hidden keys. This allowed for unprecedented subtlety, but was apparently even more painstaking than the already notoriously arduous animation. One animator even reported having recurring nightmares of adjusting his own facial expression in this fashion.

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Goofs

When Victor and Barkis Bittern are dueling in the church, Victor scratches Barkis in the chest with a fork, leaving a scratch, but in the next shot, the scratch is gone.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Town Crier: Hear ye, hear ye, ten minutes to go 'til Van Dort's wedding rehearsal.

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Crazy Credits

During the introduction sequence, where the camera follows a butterfly around the town, it pauses and stands on the edge of the "Based on characters by" credit.

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Connections

Referenced in Peep Show: Mugging (2005)

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Soundtracks

According to Plan
Music by Danny Elfman
Lyrics by John August and Danny Elfman
Produced by Danny Elfman
Performed by Albert Finney, Joanna Lumley, Tracey Ullman, and Paul Whitehouse

User Reviews

Magic Music by Elfmann

Corpse Bride works for me on so many levels but outstanding is the integration of music and words. The musical that blended the words and music to such a level that one could hardly imagine the film without the composer's contribution. This should be advertised as Danny's production as was the practice of Rogers and Hammerstein, or Irving Berlin or Cole Porter. We have a new art form here: the animated opera. Music is alive and well in the world of the dead. The music in the titles presents themes which continue into the film. An important part of the love story is the interest of the main characters and their methods of expression of emotion via piano music. The characters exist in an aura of sound. Imagine a Russian epic without the Lara Theme or Rick's place without Sam's piano. This film has achieved an identity that says this is music and this is what the movies has to say. All awards to those involved!