It's been a busy year for the duo of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton. First was the surreal Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and this time around it is the equally surreal Corpse Bride, with providing the voice for the main character and Burton shooting it in stop action photography in the same manner he made A Nightmare Before Christmas. Corpse Bride is just a stunning as its predecessor and is a movie worth watching yet I do get lost on some of the plot points.

Johnny Depp (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) stars as Victor Von Dort, a young man who is nervous about being in an arranged marriage. During the rehearsal, he screws up his lines and is forced to leave until he can get the vows right. He goes into the woods and begins to practice and when he finally says the vows right he places the ring on what he thought was a tree branch but instead was the hand of the Corpse Bride, voiced by Helena Bonham Carter (The Wings of the Dove), a ghost who he discovers was killed on what was supposed to be on her wedding night. Because she heard the vows, she thinks they are married and Victor is now stuck in the land of the dead trying to get out of the marriage.

I love the animation in this movie. It is just amazing at what Tim Burton does to make the characters come to life. My fear is that I will get used to seeing movies like this and then ignore the special effects and the time it takes to create this kind of movie. The movie is visually amazing and it is worth seeing for that reason alone.

The one problem I did have was that I got confused as an audience member what to root for, was I too root for the Corpse Bride and Victor, which is kind of demented, or was I hoping to see Victor and Victoria, voiced by Emily Watson (Red Dragon,) which would be great but what would happen to the Corpse Bride? How about the murder of the Bride and when are we going to see that bastard killed? All of these plot points were answered but I left with a feeling of unrest because it was over before I had a chance to root for something. The ending was good, and happy, but in a sad way. The perfect ending for the 'goth' crowd or what's left of it, and should be one of their favorites.

As for me this movie is quite enjoyable even though I couldn't get into it. It's also a musical and I am never very fond of those so it may be another reason I can't jump on board with both feet. However, it is still worth seeing and should be ok for kids too.

Brian - the Naked Gun