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Corpse
Bride Wiki
Corpse Bride (often known as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride) is a 2005 musical stop-motion-animation fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. It is set in a fictional Victorian era village in Britain. Johnny Depp led an all-star cast as the voice of Victor, while Helena Bonham Carter (for whom the project was specially created) voiced Emily, the title character.
The film was nominated in the 78th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, but was bested by Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. On a technical level it was shot with a battery of Canon EOS-1D Mark II digital SLRs, rather than the 35mm film cameras used for Burton's previous stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas.[3] The story is set in a cold, gloomy Victorian era town, a parody of
aristocratic England. A nervous young man by the name of Victor Van Dort
(Johnny Depp), son of rich fishmongers Nell and William Van Dort (Tracey Ullman and Paul Whitehouse), is due to be wed to Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson), the neglected daughter of bankrupt aristocrats Lady Maudeline and Lord Finis Everglot (Joanna Lumley and Albert Finney).
The Everglots are cold, unpleasant people who are only interested in
restoring the family fortunes. Victor is not too keen on the idea of an
arranged marriage until he meets the charming Victoria face-to-face and
they fall in love almost instantly. But after botching the wedding
rehearsal, Victor is banished by Pastor Galswells (Christopher Lee) to learn his wedding vows.
Victor wanders through the forest practicing his vows, consistently
blundering them until he suddenly gains confidence at the thought of
marrying Victoria and successfully recites them; upon spying a tree root
resembling a human hand, he places his bride's wedding ring on it.
Abruptly, the root, actually being the hand of the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter),
grabs him by the arm and emerges from beneath the earth, declaring
Victor her husband. Victor runs away terrified. Just when he believes he
has lost her, he turns around to find the Bride standing behind him
scaring him half to death (literally), and causing him to faint.
Victor awakes in a pub with the dead, who are celebrating him as the
'new arrival' and his 'marriage' to the Corpse Bride. He learns that her
name is Emily and that she was killed on the night of her elopement
because her fiance only wanted her money. Since then she has been
waiting for someone else to marry her. Victor convinces the elderly
Elder Gutknecht (Michael Gough)
to return him and Emily temporarily to the Land of the Living under the
pretense of introducing her to his parents. Once back, however, Victor
goes to see Victoria to explain what has happened. He confesses his
love, and they are about to kiss when a betrayed Emily discovers them
and spirits him away. When Victoria tries to explain that Victor has
been abducted by a corpse, Maudeline and Finis decide she is mad and
lock her in her room. Even after several brave attempts to help him
herself, Victoria's results were unfruitful. With Victor gone, the
Everglots plan to marry their daughter off the (presumably rich)
stranger "Lord Barkis Bittern" (Richard E. Grant). However, Barkis intends to kill Victoria and make off with her fortune, which he mistakenly believes is still viable.
Emily is devastated by her discovery and concludes that Victor
probably does belong with Victoria, because they are both alive while
Emily is not. Finding her dejected, Victor apologizes for lying to her
and Emily forgives him after they play a piano duet. Victor's coachman,
the recently deceased Mayhew, arrives and tells him about Victoria's
engagement to Barkis, leaving Victor distraught. He decides to make the
best of his situation and agrees to drink poison in order to make his
marriage to Emily official (since the marriage vows bind the couple
until "death do them part" and Emily is already dead, the marriage will
not exist until Victor is dead too). As Victoria and Barkis are married,
the residents of the Land of the Dead busy themselves preparing for a
wedding of their own, storming the town on their way to the church. In
the ensuing chaos, the newly-wed Lord Barkis is horrified to learn that
Victoria is penniless. Meanwhile, there is panic in the village at the
invasion of the dead, until both sides suddenly recognize their loved
ones and enjoy their temporary reunion.
Victoria heads for the church as well, and discovers Victor in the
midst of the ceremony that will kill him. Emily sees Victoria watching
them and, realizing that she is cheating Victoria out of a happy life,
stops Victor from drinking the poisoned wine. She gives Victor back to
Victoria, but the romantic reunion is interrupted by Lord Barkis. Barkis
reminds the crowd that Victoria is still his wife, and moves to kidnap
her at sword point. Emily recognizes Barkis as the man who murdered her
long ago. Victor tells Barkis to get his hands off Victoria. A brief
sword fight ensues between the two men, but Victor is only armed with a
fork accidentally thrown to him in place of a knife. Barkis corners
Victor and is just about to jam his sword into Victor's heart, when
Emily rushes between them and takes the blow herself, saving Victor's
life.
Pulling the sword from her ribs, a seething Emily orders Barkis to
leave. Knowing that he cannot be harmed, he smugly agrees. The rest of
the dead, outraged at what he did to Emily, try to stop him, but they
are unable to interfere, since he is still alive. But before leaving,
Barkis proposes a mock-toast to Emily. He drinks the wine intended for
Victor, which kills him. With the deceased Barkis now under their power,
the dead then drag the "new arrival" underground while he screams in
horror.
Emily watches Victor and Victoria hold each other lovingly as she
begins to leave the church. Feeling guilty, Victor stops Emily and
wishes to help her, saying that he "made (Emily) a promise". Emily
explains that he kept it by setting her free, and now she shall do the
same for him. Placing Victoria's ring in his palm, she then exits the
church and dissolves into a flock of butterflies, leaving Victor and
Victoria to live happily ever after.
- Johnny Depp as
- Victor Van Dort: A hapless, sweet and timid young man who
tries to be brave, and gradually becomes more confident as the movie
progresses. At first, he is unsure whether he really wants an arranged
marriage to Victoria. However, when he meets her, he falls in love
almost instantly. He is panic-stricken by Emily when he first sees her
but they become much closer as he gets to know her, even though at first
he realizes that his fear of matrimony is nothing compared to the
wedded felicity that awaits him on the other side.
- Helena Bonham Carter as
- Emily, the Corpse Bride: Brokenhearted and very romantic,
when her heart was beating, she eloped with a 'mysterious stranger'.
Unfortunately, he subsequently killed her for her money. She has been
waiting for years for someone to marry her. After Victor stumbles into
her arms and keeps his promise, she is set free and is allowed to move
on.
- Emily Watson as
- Victoria Everglot: The woman Victor was arranged to marry.
Even though her bankrupt, unpleasant parents wish for her to marry him
for his money, she and Victor truly love each other, and has no
intention of allowing her parents to dampen her dreams of having true
love in her hands. Quiet and sweet, but very dertermined and brave while
going to whatever lengths necessary for love.
- Tracey Ullman as
- Nell Van Dort: A full-figured Grande dame
who is Victor's overbearing mother. She believes it is very important
that the marriage is successful in order for her family and their
business to move up the social ladder. She is intoxicated with her
new-found wealth and follows every fashion trend. High society desires
her money, but not her nouveau-riche taste.
- Hildegarde: The elderly, hunch-backed maid of the Everglot
household. She acts more motherly to Victoria than Victoria's actual
mother, and provides her the maternal love and support she needs. She is
also Victoria's chaperone.
- Paul Whitehouse as
- William Van Dort: An Uncle Pennybags stereotype, who
is Victor's father and, like his wife, believes the marriage will help
them climb the social ladder. In contrast to his wife, he is thinner and
is less overbearing. He makes his fortune by putting fish in cans, much
to the dismay of the snooty and upper-class Everglots.
- Mayhew: The Van Dorts' coach chauffeur, who informs Victor of
Victoria's wedding to Lord Barkis. He dies after a series of coughing
(and smoking) throughout the movie.
- Paul the Head Waiter: A dead waiter, who is actually just a head that speaks in a French accent and moves around with cockroaches acting as "wheels".
- Joanna Lumley as
- Lady Maudeline Everglot: Victoria's austere and
unaffectionate mother. She believes love has nothing to do with marriage
and that the arranged marriage will financially provide for the
bankrupt aristocrats. She will stop at nothing to ensure the protection
of the family name, even if it means sacrificing her daughter's
happiness.
- Albert Finney as
- Lord Finis Everglot: Victoria's pompous father. He, like his wife, believes the arranged marriage will financially provide for the couple.
- Grandfather Everglot: Finis' deceased grandfather. He appears
when Finis says that if he sees the dead running around in the mansion
he'll turn up from his grave. True to his word, this subsequently
occurred, scaring Finis and Maudeline away.
- Richard E. Grant as
- Lord Barkis Bittern: The film's main antagonist who eloped
with Emily and killed her for her money. He returned to the village to
marry Victoria, get her money and kill her. However, he was foiled, died
and became an undead, leaving the dead to ravage, attack and torture
him grotesquely.
- Christopher Lee as
- Pastor Gallswells: The village pastor who is intended to wed
Victor and Victoria. He hides behind the austerity of his clerical
position. Inside, he is a cold, mean-spirited and unforgiving man. In an
interview, he is described by Christopher Lee as a very unsympathetic
character.
- Michael Gough as
- Elder Gutknecht: An ancient and rickety skeleton, who acts as
a kindly and sagacious leader to the denizens of The Land of the Dead.
He is Emily's most trusted adviser and will do anything to help her
realize her dreams of love.
- Jane Horrocks as
- The Black Widow: An affable, obsessive-compulsive black widow
spider seamstress. She is at first unforgiving of Victor as he upsets
Emily but soon helps him in preparation for his wedding. She is also one
of Emily's best friends.
- Mrs. Plum: The deceased, plump and bawdy proprietress of the
Ball and Socket Pub, who makes the cake for Emily and Victor's wedding.
She is a lively old woman with a taste for old-fashioned romance.
- Enn Reitel as
- Maggot: A sarcastic, green maggot
who lives inside Emily's head and acts as her conscience. He is very
skeptical of Victor at first. He, along with Black Widow, is one of
Emily's best friends. He is a twisted parody of Jiminy Cricket.
- The Town Crier: A man who holds a bell and delivers the news. His physical appearance resembles a bell.
- Deep Roy as
- General Bonesapart: A dwarfish skeleton in a military uniform with a sword stuck in his chest. He is a parody of Napoleon Bonaparte (hence the name "Bonesapart").
- Danny Elfman as
- Bonejangles: A one-eyed, singing skeleton who tells the story of Emily through the song 'Remains of the Day'.
- Stephen Ballantyne as
- Emil: The Everglots' pompous butler.
- Lisa Kay as
- Solemn Village Boy: The little boy who recognizes one of the corpses as his 'grandpa'.
[edit] Origins
A similar motif has also been used by Prosper Mérimée in his story La Vénus d'Ille.[4] Instead of the corpse bride, the ancient statue of Venus figures in the story.
A similar narrative also occurs in early Islamic literature. The 10th century Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity contains an Arabic anecdote
of a "prince who strays from his palace during his wedding feast and,
drunk, spends the night in a cemetery, confusing a corpse with his
bride. The story is used as a gnostic parable of the soul's pre-existence and return from its terrestrial sojourn".[5]
Another similarity is found in Shivkhey HoAri - the biographical collection of mystical stories about a renowned kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Luria Ashkenazi.
There someone jokingly put a ring on a finger sticking from the ground
and pronounced the formal betrothal phrase, thus unwillingly becoming
married to a woman from an underworld who subsequently came to claim him
as a husband. The case was brought in front of the Arizal,
who ruled that since the man did not willingly perform the betrothal he
was not bound by the marriage, but to be sure that the woman should
remain free to marry one of her kind, the man had to give her a formal divorce according to the Jewish law.[6] It is actually claimed, that this particular story inspired the creation of the film.[7][8]
Lord Barkis is based on the fairy tale figure Bluebeard.
Emily's release in the end of the movie indicates that the Underworld represents the concept of Purgatory.
[edit] Release
The film was a financial success, grossing $53,359,111 domestically
and $117,195,061 worldwide. It was also met with a positive reaction
from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported 83% of their critics gave the film a positive review. The film also maintains an identical 83/100 rating from Metacritic. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times
awarded the film three stars out of four, praising the voice acting and
animation, stating that it is not a "macabre horror story as the title
suggests", and calling the film a "sweet and visually lovely tale of
love lost".
[edit] See also
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Art Wallpapers 3d, art Painting Wallpapers
