The corpse bride film was inspired by an old myth. Based on actual events that occurred in the 19th century in Russia. During a period when anti-Semitism was rife in Eastern Europe. Thugs who despised Jews would frequently attack Jewish families on their way to a wedding.
The story takes place in an unspecified Victorian British hamlet. Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp), the son of a nouveau riche trader. And Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson), the daughter of bankrupt aristocrats, are betrothed to marriage by their respective families. They enjoy what they see when they meet for the first time. After a bungled wedding rehearsal, the shy, awkward Victor practices his wedding vows in a forest, setting the wedding ring on what appears to be a tree branch.
Summary
The branch is actually the finger of a deceased bride who is so ecstatic about the idea of marriage that she rises from the dead and transports Victor to the Land of the Dead. And Victor discovers his new fiancée’s name in the surprisingly cheerful afterlife.
Moreover, Victor, desperate to return to Victoria, persuades the supernatural Elder Gutknecht (Michael Gough) to briefly transport him and Emily to the Land of the Living under the guise of introducing Emily to Victor’s parents. Victor runs home to visit Victoria and declares his love. Emily feels deceived and pulls Victor back to the Land of the Dead.
Victoria informs her parents that Victor is in trouble. But they believe she is insane and locks her in her bedroom. She tries and fails to flee. With Victor gone, Victoria’s parents intend to marry her off to a purportedly wealthy foreigner named Lord Barkis Bittern (Richard E. Grant).
Emily is first upset by Victor’s deception but eventually recognizes that Victor and Victoria are definitely meant to be together. Victor apologizes to Emily for lying to her.
Victor’s recently departed coachman appears in the afterlife and informs him of Victoria’s planned marriage to Lord Barkis. Victor, feeling betrayed, chooses to commit suicide in order to marry Emily properly. The dead travel “upstairs” to the Land of the Living to attend Victor and Emily’s wedding at the town church. The living is afraid at first, but their dread fades once they realize their gone relatives and loved ones.
Victoria rushes to the church and discovers Victor prepared to take poison. Emily notices Victoria and stops him. Victor and Victoria joyfully reconcile, but Lord Barkis interrupts the festivities to remind them that Victoria is now his wife. Lord Barkis attempts to slay Victor with his sword, but Emily deflects the blow. She then identifies Lord Barkis as her former fiancé, who murdered her for her dowry and planned to do the same to Victoria. Emily requests that he leave. Before leaving, he proposes an offensive mock toast to Emily. He dies after drinking the poison meant for Victor. The dead pull him underground while he cries in terror.
Emily frees Victor from his pledge to marry her. She then morphs into a swarm.
Corpse Bride follows in the dark, romantic footsteps of Tim Burton’s classics Edward Scissor hands and The Nightmare Before Christmas. This stop-motion, the animated film is set in a 19th-century European village and tells the story of Victor (Johnny Depp). A young man has been whisked away to the underworld and married a mysterious Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham-Carter), while his real bride, Victoria (Emily Watson), waits bereft in the land of the living. Despite the fact that life in the Land of the Dead is far more colorful than his rigorous Victorian upbringing. Victor learns that nothing in this world, or the next, can keep him from his one true love. It’s a story of hope, romance, and a very active afterlife.
Corpse Bride continues in the dark, romantic tradition of Burton’s iconic masterpieces Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas. This stop-motion animated picture tells the narrative of Victor (Johnny Depp), a young man who is swept away to the underworld and married to a mysterious Corpse Wife (Helena Bonham-Carter), while his real bride, Victoria (Emily Watson), waits desolate in the land of the living. Though life in the Land of the Dead is far more colorful than his austere Victorian upbringing, Victor learns that nothing in this world, or the next, can keep him from his one true love. It’s a story of hope, romance, and a very vivid afterlife.
Why The Corpse Bride Is a Must watch
“A world in which there are monsters, and ghosts, and things that want to steal your heart is a world in which there are angels and dreams, and a world in which there is hope.” English novelist Neil Gaiman remarked. Life is a gamble that might be lost at any time. However, when we are certain of our feelings about something or someone, death becomes a price worth paying if it implies a better life for who or what we are fighting for.
Suicides were perpetrated by people such as Cleopatra and Mark Anthony, as well as Romeo and Juliet since the world attempted to ruin their love. In Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, his characters demonstrate how far they are willing to go for love. We also watch the characters conquer their fears and find peace with their history. This picture is great because of Burton’s distinct aesthetic and his ability to take something frightening and nurture it in such a way that it no longer appears to be so frightening.
Tim Burton
Tim Burton has a way of creating a passionate love story in an eccentrically frightening way that catches the hearts of many. His films capture our deepest fears and aspirations and magnify them with entertaining gothic aspects that make every day feel like Halloween. The Corpse Bride is no exception; with likable characters and disturbing color schemes, Burton presents a new image of life and death that makes this film a must-see. His distinct manner reveals facets of ourselves we may not have understood previously while stimulating unconventional points of view.