Corpse Bride (2005) blog by Fanny

Corpse Bride (2005)

Corpse Bride is a stop-motion animated film which is musical supernatural dark comedy that directed by Mike Jonson and Tim Burton in 2005. This film also known as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride which had included the director's name who is also the director for The Nightmare before Christmas (1993) and Frankenweenie (2012). This film is categorized as Horror-Romance genre and also German Expressionism movement due to the filmic style which emerged in Germany from 1919-1926. Below are my review and opinions that support my stand.

German Expressionism is a film style that arise in germany from 1919-1926. It influenced by the Expressionist movement in modern art of early 1900s. Revolt, self-analysis, madness and primitive, sexual savagery are the theme that formed up the movement. It spread into cinema in terms of narrative, set and mise-en-scene as well as the painting. Chiaroscuro lighting and set design are the most important stuff for this movement, such as oblique camera angles, distorted bodies and shapes, bizarre and incongrous settings which usually surreal, gothic and high contrast in terms of ligthing which create the dramatic shadows. This movement faded as 1920s German film industry expressionist tendencies.

This film is talking about a shy groom, Victor (voiced by Johnny Depp) who accidentally make the wedding vows to a mysterious Corpse Bride, a dead woman and ran into the underworld while he is practicing for his wedding later.

Corpse Bride (2005)

There are some scenes that explained Corpse Bride (2005) is categorized as German Expressionism such as many characters was designed as distorted purposely like Pastor Galswells which very long chin,  Maudeline Everglot with very high and huge head and others. Oblique or Dutch angle is applied in the sense when Victor is looking at the moon in the forest with bridge, Emily. The content for film is the way surreal and gothic which had shown as the skeleton moves around, branches catches people, scraps rolls without moves its head and others. Branches are crossing around the camera and there are alot of diagonal lines, vertical lines and curve lines comes together in their building or church which giving the uncomfortable feelings to audience. There is also has high contrast of value between the light and shadow which shown in the film. In the real world, it used alot of dark value and low value such as grey and black which are totally different from the land of death which has a lot of strange colours such as green, purple and others, it suggests that the people or subjects that live in the land of death are more happier and more soul than the real world which seem like dead live. those scenes are categorized Corpse Bride (2005) as German Expressionism with the lighting and styles.

Corpse Bride (2005)

In conclusion, Corpse Bride (2005) is a great stop-motion film that created the sense of love and a lots of sacrifices of a girl who is the corpse bride, Emily to the living man, Victor to get them into relationship. Music and expression of the film are well collaborated and produced the very great visual and auditory for audience.