Film proves that love is just six feet away

BY JEREMY KOPP AND PHILIP LEMASTER koppj@marietta.edu and pcl001@marietta.edu Jeremy: It’s like the old jokes goes: Why are there fences around movie theatres? Because audiences will just be dying to get into see ‘Corpse Bride,’ Tim Burton’s animated gothic opus telling an eerily adorable tale of love lost. Victor Van Dort’s (Johnny Depp) wealthy parents have arranged a marriage with the aristocratic Everglots’ daughter, Victoria (Emily Watson). Victor and Victoria meet only after the arrangement has been made, but fall in love despite the circumstances. The story complicates when Victor wanders into a cemetery while rehearsing his wedding vows, placing his bride’s ring on a corpse finger he mistakes as a twig protruding from the ground. Emily is the corpse bride (Helen Bonham Carter), now legitimately wedded to Victor according to the laws of the underworld.

‘Bride’ stands out from most animated films because much of it looks so dull. The land of the living is overcast with grays and whites, contrasted to the afterworld’s vibrant and cheerier array of colors. Adding to this unique look is Burton’s revival of stopmotion animation, which we’ve seen very little of since his last ani mated outing in 1991’s ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas.’ ‘Bride’ reportedly consisted of a 55week shot in which nearly 110,000,000 individually animated frames were constructed and filmed. The wellworth it result has the characters move with a very subtle jerkiness, which seems appro priate for walking, talking skeletons.

Though ‘Bride’ may be too intense for younger audiences, it doesn’t rely on Hollywood’s latest “animated movietrend” by littering the film with racyremarks geared toward adults. The focus is on clever oneliners that will appeal to all audiences (“Play dead,” Victor commands his skeletal dog upon meeting him in the afterworld).

But ‘Bride’s real pleasure derives from Danny Elfman’s (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Chicago) original music. Recent animated films have shied away from telling their tale through song, but Victor and friends perform multiple numbers throughout. ‘Corpse Bride’ is visually stunning, hilarious and heartfelt; Tim Burton puts the “fun” in “funeral.” Philip: In one word: AMAZING! Tim Burton’s latest offering ‘Corpse Bride’ exceeds all previous expectations set by his last stopmotion film ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas.’ While ‘Nightmare’ simply preferred to be an animated musical, ‘Corpse Bride’ reveals a more mature Burton. The film transports us to a dark realm similar to that of ‘Nightmare’ but presents an original twist on the clichéd love triangle story. As Victor struggles to choose between his bridetobe Victoria and his accidental Corpse Bride, real human emotion permeates the animated characters.

That being said, the film does elicit some laughs as well. While the dialogue isn’t exactly rife with jokes, the character and set design provide some comic relief. I almost died laughing (pun intended) at the Corpse Bride’s similarity to Calista Flockhart in all her emaciated beauty. Once again, Danny Elfman contributes his macabre musical voice with haunting piano melodies and fun singalongs.

From the opening to closing butterfly sequences not too far removed from a Lunesta commercial, the film never wastes a frame or overextends its welcome. Like Rachel Long, ‘Corpse Bride’ is short and sweet. Plus, you have to give Burton credit for incorporating necrophilia and still getting a PG rating.

CORPSE BRIDE Directed by Tim Burton Mike Johnson Starring Johnny Depp Victor Van Dort Helena Bonham Corpse Bride Emily Watson Victoria Everglot Tracey Ullman Nell Van Dort MPAA: Rated PG for some scary images and action, and brief mild language. Runtime: 76 min 3 out of 4 Stars Film proves that love is just six feet away 3 out of 4 Stars

“What they do is enchanting.” Said Lindsay Koob of International Record Review as quoted on the Cantus website, “The singers produce a wonderfully warm, gutsy and masculine sound as well as a kind of smooth delivery, overt emotionality, and uncanny sense of ensemble. [They have] a certain gusto, a sense of boundless joy in music making. They achieve amazing precision, balance and interpretive unity. Male chorus fans are in for rare and enchanting treats here.”

The concert will be free of charge and open to the entire Marietta community. The singing begins at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary's Catholic Church on the corner of Fourth and Wooster Streets. For more information about the group, visit their website: www.cantusonline. org, or for specific information about their performance in Marietta or any other Esbenshade event email Dr. Monek, Esbenshade Coordinator, at monekd@marietta.edu.