Corpse Bride (2005)

Tim Burton has a very specific style, which I could mainly describe as absurdist gothic, a good example to show what I mean is A Nightmare Before Christmas, which many people is directed by Tim, however, is actually directed by Henry Selick, who also directed Coraline. Tim Burton co-wrote and produced it. I should also mention that I'm not much of a Tim Burton fan, not to say I think they are bad, but I'm not a fan of his work specifically, take that how you will.

On to the film! This was good, the music was alright, but no Poet and the Muse or Dark Ocean Summoning, this is a musical by the way. On the songs, there was one in the film that mildly annoyed me: "Remains of the Day". It was good, but could've been better. At one point, they have a musical interlude, this drags. Skeleton dude, Skelly, Schelemacus, can I call you that? As much as I like your trippy visuals, get back to the story. This instrumental interlude didn't add much to the story, so I feel it kinda drags, as much as I don't mind a good musical interlude, please make it interesting musically.

This film has a rather interesting world, to the point that I wished that this film was more interested in expanding it. Corpse Bride seemed to be more interested in the rushed marriage between Emily and Victor, which I don't mind, but it shouldn't come at flattening the world. I'm not expecting Middle Earth or Game of Thrones level of worldbuilding, but I want more than what I feel I got.

Maybe something that could inform how I feel about this would be that I don't care as much for romance than other people. If you give me a

truly worthwhile mystery and a marriage, I know where I'll be heading.

On the marriage of Victor and Emily, I note that the relationship was rushed. And this idea was tackled indirectly, but I wish Emily tackled why she wanted to rush into a relationship with Victor. I think I have a potential reason that Emily wanted to rush into a marriage with him, you see, before she died, she was about to get married. Seeing as her dream to be married was JUST about to come true, she waited close to 9 years for some almost foolhardy man to unknowingly propose. Now if they made it clear that she was still not entirely over the old relationship, and this was a rebound, and Emily learnt that she should heal before she enters a relationship I think I'd be a bit more interested in the romance.

During the climax, before Victor and Emily's wedding, the people of the dead leave there home to go to the land of the living, I have to wonder: if they could do that the whole time, wouldn't there be a few people who would want to see their loved ones down here? It's directly said that people like it more in the land of the dead and Elder Gutknecht even says "Now, why go up there when people are dying to get down here?". So the idea of waltzing up there doesn't really appeal to the land of the dead. But I kinda want to see more focus on the recently deceased.

Dispite my potentially harsh criticisms, this is a good film, and if you're a fan of Tim Burton, I'll suggest it.