Corpse Bride

Tim Burton goes for stop-motion animation again, and the results are entertaining and enchanting. Victor (voiced by Johnny Depp) is all nervous on his wedding day, screwing up his vows during rehearsal. While practicing in the forest, he inadvertently slips a wedding ring onto the finger of a corpse (Helena Bonham Carter), wreaking havoc on his original nuptial plans. Burton (who co-directed with Mike Johnson) has fun with blues, blacks and grays, infusing the film with an appropriately gothic vibe. The humor is dark, but not so much that it will freak out the little kids. (They were laughing up a storm at the screening I attended.) Danny Elfman provides some decent music, and while the tunes aren’t all that catchy, the lyrics are a crack-up. Overall, not quite as good as The Nightmare Before Christmas but very good nonetheless.