Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, 2005

I have to wonder, with every Tim Burton film, what it must be like inside his head. Usually he crafts a brilliant story that helps you get lost in the characters and don't mind that they're undead or clay. Unfortunately Burton misfires on this attempt. The animation is magnificent and the craftsmanship is first-rate. There could have been more time spent on the story. So an heiress with no money to inherit is set up to marry a fisher merchant's son, who also has no money. It's arranged and they have never before met. The problem is that he (Johnny Depp) cannot remember his vows during the rehearsal, so he goes and practices out in the woods (reason unknown) and dances around as he slowly learns the actual wording of the vows. Then he places the ring, which he apparently always carries with him, on a stick that looks like a hand. This brings zombie life to the "Corpse Bride." And then the story dies, never to be resurrected. The final 40 minutes painfully drag out and I found myself checking how much time was left in the film. The buildup was much better than the climax or resolution. I watched this because I loved the wizzardry of "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Watching them back-to-back, you wonder how the same person made films on such opposing sides of the greatness spectrum. Don't watch this if you enjoyed "The Nightmare Before Christmas." One star.

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