Corpse Bride
User Score
7.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 218 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 173 out of 218
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 218
  3. Negative: 24 out of 218

Review this movie

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Halfwelshman
    Sep 17, 2012
    10
    Corpse Bride is sweet and sincere, dark and funny, and perhaps the most technically accomplished and beautiful example of stop-motion animation ever. A great British voice cast fronted by Johnny Depp (OK he's not British but plays the cripplingly shy young English gent Victor Van Dort well) and featuring Emily Watson, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney, Paul Whitehouse, Tracey Ullman, Jane Horrocks, Michael Gough, Christopher Lee and Richard E. Grant simply astounds - few directors other than Tim Burton would be able to command the respect of such an array of talent. Helena Bonham Carter blows all away however with her tender performance as Emily, the tragic character of the title. She's a compelling, rounded protagonist and Bonham Carter takes her characterisation in many directions, from child-like immaturity, to bitterness at her situation to eventual dignified acceptance of her untimely demise, and every emotion in-between. The contrast between the sombre, formal and grey world world of the living and the lively, colourful and free land of the dead is striking and effective - Burton has retained his go-to theme of not belonging in the world you are born in, and still has a unique view of death and a distinctive and individual use of cheerfully macabre imagery. In addition to the detail and expressiveness of the puppets and the energy of the animation (supervised by the film's incredibly talented co-director Mike Johnson), Danny Elfman's rich soundtrack and catchy songs, particularly the jazzy "Remains of the Day" and the rip-roaring "Wedding Song" breathe real life into the film. Though the film has much to say about life, death, class, family, love and loneliness, what makes it so memorable is that Tim Burton has provided us with such an entertainingly oddball piece of fantasy escapism. The world of Corpse Bride is a real pleasure to spend time in, and you really grow attached to the weird and wonderful cast of misfits, be they corpse or not. Burton's kookiness and abundance of unusual ideas can sometimes get in the way of telling a coherent, evenly paced story (most noticeably in his recent efforts Alice in Wonderland and Dark Shadows), but not so here - Corpse Bride is a pleasingly simple tale well-told, and characters and their performers are allowed to make a real emotional connection with the viewer. For a film manufactured using an archaic form of animation that seems to aim to actively reject reality, and which prominently features the reanimated dead, it's an oddly human, and miraculously heart-tugging experience, and is probably the most balanced and immaculate of all Tim Burton's films.… Expand
  2. PeterWhat
    Aug 31, 2011
    10
    When I was going to watch this movie for the very first time, I thought it would be bloody awful. The movie flattered me: it's so beautiful, so full of content, and so carefully made! Tim Burton is yet to make a bad movie.
  3. Trev29
    Feb 8, 2013
    9
    A story about the dead seems so fresh, alive, and beautiful. This is among Burton's best work. His brilliance for creating imagery and tone is why he is one of Hollywood's most distinguished directors.
  4. dante_finn
    Nov 22, 2012
    10
    Tim Burton carries on his dark, romantic tradition
next
Page:

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 35 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    100
    A wondrous flight of fancy, a stop-motion-animated treat brimming with imaginative characters, evocative sets, sly humor, inspired songs and a genuine whimsy that seldom finds its way into today's movies.
    Read full review
  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Justin Chang
    90
    An endearingly schizoid Frankenstein of a movie, by turns relentlessly high-spirited and darkly poignant.
    Read full review
  3. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    88
    It's warped and wonderfully effervescent. Ditto the songs by Danny Elfman, who sings the role of Bonejangles, the frontman for a skeleton jazz band at a swinging underworld club. Best of all is the love story.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »