movie of the day: Corpse Bride (2005)

speaking of Oscar nominated films, i finally managed to sit down and watch Tim Burton's Corpse Bride last night, even though i got it from Netflix last week. i wanted to watch it since i knew it was going up against Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (a film i absolutely loved) for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. we'll get to my prediction later, but let me just say now that Wallace and Gromit have little to worry about.

Corpse Bride is like all Tim Burton films--beautifully filmed and visually stunning. i was immediately drawn to the stylistic design of the puppets and their movements. i have seen Roger Ebert lament the lost art of stop-motion animation on his web site, and it is obvious that Tim Burton is a big believer in the stop motion process, even when it may be more convenient to do such things on a computer nowadays.

the problem with Burton's recent work, however, is that he makes it look good, but it just doesn't feel good. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Planet of the Apes looked great, but were an absolute travesty to watch. i won't go that far with Corpse Bride--it's watchable. the problem is, it wants to be a children's movie in the worst way...but the subject matter and the mannerisms of the characters are simply too horrific for children. at the core of the story is a brutal murder, and that's just not something you take the little ones to for a good time. all of the musical numbers and oddly shaped puppets in the world are going to make a difference when it comes to that.

it's interesting that Corpse Bride and Wallace and Gromit are up for the same award this year, because they parallel each other in so many ways. but the difference is that while Corpse Bride pretends to be a children's story, Wallace and Gromit is great for the whole family. i think Burton could have come up with a story that was equally engaging and charming as Curse of the Were-Rabbit, but then he let his own morbidity get in the way, and the end result isn't nearly as charming as Burton thinks it is. Three Stars (out of Five)