Well, better to chime in almost two years late than not at all, right?
I wanted to see this film when it first came out, but my life was VERY hectic in the final months of 2005.
I recently borrowed the DVD from a co-worker who was raving about how well done the film was. I was amazed and very pleased with The Nightmare Before Christmas, both the twisted cool and dark story and the amazing, groundbreaking stop motion animation. I figured I couldn't go wrong with Corpse Bride.
I watched it with the wife a couple weeks back. She and I both loved the movie. The story wasn't as elaborate or as busy as TNBC was, but it was still twisted, dark, cool and full of great moments.
Here's the weird thing - the animation was so outstandingly well done and smooth and the characters were so incredibly expressive (amazing facial expressions and emotions) that it actually distracted me a little. I say that only in the sense of I know about stop motion - I toy with it and have used it in some of my little productions and to see something that is so incredibly life-like and... well, perfect like this with those amazing facial expressions - all I could do was mentally think of how long each shot must have taken, how many consecutive frames each cut was, how many animators worked on each scene, and HOW THE HELL DID THEY DO THOSE FACES SO DAMN WELL?? I can't help it. I'm a film/video geek and have trouble enjoying anything these days because in the back of my head, I'm analyzing each shot, the visuals, what kind of FX techniques were used, etc.
Distracting as the amazingly beautiful animation was, I was totally blown away. I had to watch the behind the scenes to see how they pulled off those incredibly articulated faces like that. Ingenious! I knew they couldn't have been manipulating the faces from the outside only. I would have lost sleep had I not been able to see how they pulled that off.
I've since seen the film a few more times (having temporarily copied it to my computer because I had to return the borrowed DVD). I've got the DVD on order and eagerly await its arrival.
In subsequent viewings, I've been able to enjoy the film's amazing artwork and animation without being distracted by how well done it is (I know, I'm not normal). I've noticed so many more things from the reoccurring butterfly/freedom symbolism to the subtle things that make these colorful characters really seem so lifelike. Each little movement or facial expression - there are so many subtle things that make these characters really come alive on screen.
It is truly amazing how the characters in this film almost seem more lifelike than many live action characters.
There have been only a handful of films that really wow'd me with a high cool factor and/or groundbreaking effects or cinematics. The original, original Star Wars films, TRON (of course), Beatlejuice, The Abyss, T2, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jurassic Park, and now Corpse Bride. I left some out of the list, but you get the point.
Tim Burton is an amazing a filmmaker to me. Not all of his films have been to my liking, but most of them really drew me in and made me have to see them repeatedly to truly appreciate all that they are. Corpse Bride is an outstanding work of art that is cool on so many levels.
As with any film that really captivates me, the first thing I wanted to do after seeing Corpse Bride (a few times) was to make something just as cool and amazing, probably utilizing stop motion animation. Of course, I wanted to do the same thing after Star Wars, TRON, etc. I can't. But when a film has this impact on me, I know I've been taken on a magical ride that was more than worth the price of admission as it has become more than just a work of entertainment - it has become an influence and inspiration.
Oh jeez, I'm just gushing now!
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