What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this movie includes multiple
references to dead bodies, skeletons, decay, and death, though
all in good fun. The corpse bride's eye pops out occasionally,
to show the talking maggot who lives inside and offers romantic
advice. The story concerns a young man and woman who meet for a
marriage arranged by their parents, both families in need of
money. The young man's betrothal to the corpse bride leads him
to contemplate his own death, in order to fit in with her
friends. Song and dance numbers feature skeletons, corpses, and
ghosts. Both sets of parents are using their children to
achieve money and status. And when the live bride-to-be asks
the local pastor for help, the film raises questions concerning
the effectiveness of organized religion.
Families can discuss the dilemma facing Victor, who comes to love both the corpse bride and his arranged bride and so must choose between them. How do Victor's and Victoria's parents pressure them to marry? How might Victor have handled the confusion differently, to avoid hurting Victoria's or the Corpse Bride's feelings?
Common Sense Media Review
Self-consciously clever, TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE concerns
the business of marriage. It begins as Victor Van Dort (voiced
by
Johnny
Depp) is preparing to marry the yet-unmet Victoria
Everglott (
Emily
Watson). Their two sets of parents appear in separate
introductions -- nouveau riche Nell and William Van Dort (
Tracey
Ullman and Paul Whitehouse) and recently poor gentry
Maudeline and Finis Everglot (
Joanna
Lumley and
Albert
Finney) -- but all have similar interests in the
arrangement. As they sing it, they want the wedding to go
"according to plan," that is, to leave both families better
off, either by means of money or class status.
Immediately smitten with each other in the way movie romances tend to allow, the youngsters seem ready to do the deed. Except that Victor is nervous, and flubs the ceremony rehearsal, whereupon Pastor Galswells ( Christopher Lee) sends him off to practice his vows. Stumbling around in the dark woods, Victor finally seems to get it right, slipping the ring onto what seems a twig. But no: the wood is really the skeletal finger of the Corpse Bride ( Helena Bonham Carter), made deliriously happy with what she takes as his marital vow to her.
Now Victor's in a fix, not least because he's transported immediately to the Bride's netherworld, even though, as he keeps insisting to all the skeletons and ghoulish sorts he meets, he's not dead. They all welcome him grandly, dancing and singing tales of death and decaying bodies. Though Victor wants to get back to Victoria -- currently menaced by a next suitor, the devious Barkis Bittern (Richard E. Grant) -- he is also sympathetic to the sweet Bride's lonely plight, and he waffles, lies, and generally watches his life and possible death go on around him. He's an exceedingly empathetic sort, but he is, after all, a bit of a wimp who spends so much time trying to please everyone else that he loses sight of what he wants for himself.
And so Corpse Bride follows Victor's coming to terms with himself, as he figures out what he does want. Lucky for him, Victoria and the Bride are both very understanding. And lucky for us, the stop-motion animation is delightful. Though the story runs thin quickly, the visual show remains airy and charming. Especially if you don't mind the clattering of bones during dance numbers.
Families who like this film should also see the other dead-characters comedies The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Beetlejuice , or Burton's other movies with Depp, including Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow .
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
