Why did I wanna watch this movie?:
To celebrate the great gift of summer holidays and to breathe in the fresh air of freedom! Hahaa. Yes, I'm done with my first semester of my sophomore year! My brain has never felt any more relieved and relaxed as now! It feels great! Heheheh. Anyway, I'm a BIG fan of Tim Burton's works, i.e. Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Nightmare before Christmas. For me, I like musicals (eg. Sound of Music). There are still some people who don't fancy the idea of watching this movie though although it was given a good rating. May have some discrimination against animated movies, supposedly kiddish-lar. Some say musicals are cheesy. But if you ask me, I'd choose to watch an animated movie with a great storyline and characters ANYTIME, rather than waste my money on a movie acted by warm-blooded homo sapiens with lousy acting and a storyline that sucks.
The Synopsis:
The story is set in a cold, gloomy Victorian town, a parody of aristocratic England. A young, nervous man by the name of Victor Van Dort, son of rich fishmongers Nell and William Van Dort, is due to be wed to beautiful young Victoria Everglot, daughter of bankrupt (as well as ugly and unpleasant) aristocrats Maudeline and Finis Everglot. Victor isn't too keen on the idea of an arranged marriage until he meets Victoria face-to-face. After messing up his wedding vows at the wedding rehearsal, Victor flees to the forest. There he practices his vows, and discovering what he takes to be a stick protruding from beneath the ice on a pond, places his bride's wedding ring on it. No sooner has he done so than Emily, the Corpse Bride, emerges from beneath the ice, dressed in a moldy, flowing wedding dress and declares Victor her husband. She was mysteriously killed on her wedding day and has been waiting for her groom to come and claim her ever since. She whisks Victor away to the surprisingly colourful, vibrant and musical Land of the Dead. Now he must choose if he wants to stay married, or find Victoria again. Victor soon finds out that he loves the corpse bride and wants to stay married to her, but for it to be able to last forever, he must be dead. When it is time for the true wedding to the corpse bride, Emily sees Victoria, his real love. She turns to Victor, and sacrifices her marriage. She lets him get married to Victoria. The end (This was taken from Wikipedia larr.. malas want to write my own synopsis)
His parents: Nell and William Van Dort
Her parents: Maudeline and Finis Everglot
My Ratings and Reviews:
I'll give a B+ for the overall movie. The story is simple, yet it is intertwined with many mysteries of its own which carefully and gradually unfolds into a touching story of love, dedication and sacrifices. The storyline was properly developed with touches of great humour here and there, leaving no loopholes (if there were any, I couldn't see it!). The Corpse Bride rather gives a refreshing touch cuz the story differs from the stereotype love stories.. possibly the one reason people want to see it, besides the fact that Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter were voicing the characters.
The one thing that I most love and most remember from this movie is the wedding vows. Not the usual ones we hear at weddings.. meaningful, very beautiful, I say. Very beautiful indeed.
With this hand, I will lift your sorrows
This cup will never be empty, for I will be your wine
With this candle, I will light your way in darkness
With this ring, I ask you to be mine.
Like I said, the wedding vows were very beautifully written. However, the contrasting effects of different people reciting the vows were great. You could actually feel what the character feels when they recite the vows. For instance, when Victor recited the vows, we could actually feel his sincerity, trust, love and honesty. On the other hand, when Lord Barkis (the old bad man Victoria was forced to marry after Victor's MIA) recited the vows, it was cold and empty. One could see that it was said out of the mind and not the heart, out of hidden intentions and not sincerity, out of greed and not honesty, and out of mere hastiness and not truly love. Pretty hilarious to see how that old haggard died in the end. Drank to his doom. Muahahaa.
Victoria forced into marriage with Lord Barkis
But she ends up with Victor in the end
I loved the piano duet that Victor and Emily played in the movie. Wondering what piece it was and whether there is a score sheet for that duet. And having a fairly-strong music background, I do look out for notable musicals and sometimes awfully critical of the songs I hear and occasionally, singers (by profession I mean). I did like the idea of having Victor and Emily bond using music. Ah, not forgetting that Victor and Victoria also got acquainted and bonded through the piano too. Just for an extra: The first piano that appears in the movie bares the name "Harryhausen"... an obvious tribute to Ray Harryhausen, one of the great early innovators of stop-motion animation.
Victor plays the piano, not knowing Victoria stood nearby listening during their first meeting
Victor attempts to soothe Emily's anger through music
Another aspect I liked was at the end, when the "citizens" of the Land of the Dead had to travel "upstairs" to the living world to attend the wedding of Victor and Emily. The horror of the living people to see dead people walking in their streets, fearing that the dead meant them harm. It was funny to see how the situation turned around.. Cranky, old and almost-blind lady fiercely whacking the skeleton that was attacking her only to find out that he was her dead husband. A couple, keeping their distance away from an approaching old corpse, in fear when their young son recognizes the corpse and runs up to it.. then asks,"Grandfather?". Grandfather corpse carries the young boy and starts laughing (cackle-like) just like a granddad. Terror into many happy family reunions. Hahahaa. Funny turn of events.
One thing I didn't like about the movie was that there were no subtitles during the singings. The thing was, the 3.15 pm Corpse Bride slot was almost fully-booked by the time Pranati and I got to the ticket counter.. AND the only available seats were the first 2 rows. Had to sit sliding downwards with my butt at the edge of the seat and legs dangling on the empty seat in front of me, so that I don't get neckache (but a butt-ache). The sound system from where I sat was pretty bad. Couldn't really make out what they were singing half the time. And my poor friend (who's doesn't read Malay) probably found it hard to follow the movie since the subtitles were in Chinese and Malay only. Forgotten to warn her that Tim Burton's movies would have songs here and there. Oops. But don't get me wrong, the songs were very well composed for the stories they tell. Just the bloody missing subtitles.
Something extra for you:
If you didn't know, the story for "Corpse Bride" was actually adapted from a Jewish-Russian folktale. The folktale was based on actual events that happened in Russia during the 19th century, when anti-semitism (anti-Jewish) was widespread in eastern Europe. Young Jewish brides were attacked and ripped by members of anti-semitism en route to their wedding. And because these young brides would be the ones to bear the future generations of the Jews, they were killed. In the Jewish traditions, the bodies of the dead are normally buried in the clothes in which they had died in, and as such, these murdered brides were buried in their wedding gowns. See the similar concept? Only thing that in the movie, Emily was not killed because she's a Jew. She was rather a victim of greed.
Other interesting characters:
Scraps, Victor's dead dog
Elder Gutknecht, the "rabbi" of the Land of the Dead
The Zombie Lady, the Dead Bird Lady, the Cannonball General and General Bonesapart (mimicking Napoleon Bonaparte)
Maggot living inside Emily's brainspace
Conclusion:
B+, based on storyline and also great animations. Good movie to watch with friends and/or family.
The folklore:
And the story begins...
Once upon a time there was a young man who lived in a village in Russia. He was to be married and he and his friend prepared to go to the village where his bride-to-be lived, two days walk from his own village.
The first night the two friends decided to set up camp by a river. The young man who was going to be married spotted an unusual looking stick in the ground that looked like a bony finger. He and his friend started joking about this bony finger sticking out of the ground and the young man who was going to be married took the golden wedding ring from his pocket and put it on the strange-looking stick. And then he started to do the wedding dance around the stick; he danced around the stick with the golden wedding ring three times and he sang the Jewish wedding song, and recited the entire marriage sacrament as he danced around the stick, he and his friend laughing the whole time.
Haih.. mother never teach you not to simply play play around with people's things ah? Tsk tsk.
Their fun stopped suddenly when the earth started rumbling and shaking beneath their feet. The place where the stick had been opened up and a very bedraggled looking corpse emerged, a living corpse, she had been a bride, but now was barely more than a skeleton held together by shreds of skin, still wearing an old torn white silk wedding dress. Worms and spider webs hung on the once-beaded bodice and tattered veil.
The two young men were aghast.
Aahhh.. Now you see what happen when you don't listen to your mother?
"Ah," she said, "you have done the wedding dance and pronounced the marriage vows and you have put a ring on my finger. Now we are man and wife. I demand my rights as your bride."
Shuddering with terror at the corpse bride's words, the two young men fled to the village where the young bride was waiting to be married. They went straight to the rabbi.
"Rabbi," asked the young man breathlessly, "I have a very important question to ask you. If by some chance you're walking in the woods and you happen to see a stick that looks like a long bony finger coming out of the ground and you happen to put a golden wedding ring on the finger and do the wedding dance and pronounce the wedding vows, is this indeed a real marriage?"
Looking very puzzled, the rabbi asked, "Do you know of such a situation?"
"Oh no, no, of course not, it's just a hypothetical question."
Stroking his long beard thoughfully, the rabbi said, "let me think about it."
Thank God my dad doesn't look like that (he's a pastor)
And just then, a big gust of wind blew the door open, and in walked the corpse bride. "I lay claim to this man as my husband, for he has placed this wedding ring on my finger and pronounced the solemn marriage vows," she demanded, her bony finger rattling as she shook it at her intended bridegroom.
"This is indeed a very serious matter. I'll have to consult with the other rabbis," said the rabbi.
Soon all the rabbis from the surrounding villages were gathered together. They went into conference, while the two young men anxiously awaited their decision.
The corpse bride waited on the porch tapping her foot, declaring, "I want to celebrate my wedding night with my husband."
These chilling words made every hair on the young man's body stand on end, though it was a warm summer day.
While the rabbis were conferring, the real human bride arrived and wanted to know what all the fuss was about. When her fiance explained just what had happened, she started weeping, "Oh, my life is ruined, all my hopes and dreams are shattered; I'll never be married, never have a family."
Just then the rabbis came out and asked: "Did you indeed put a gold ring on the finger, and did you dance around it three times and did you indeed pronounce the wedding vows in their entirety?"
The two young men who by this time were cowering in a far corner nodded their heads.
Looking very serious the rabbis went back to confer again.
And the young bride wept bitter tears, while the corpse bride was by now gloating at the prospect of her long awaited wedding night.
After a short while the rabbis solemnly marched out, took their seats, and announced, "Since you put the wedding ring on the finger of the corpse bride and you danced around it three times reciting the wedding vows, we have determined that this constitutes a proper wedding ceremony. Even so, we have decided that the dead have no claim upon the living."
Sighing and murmuring could be heard from all corners, the young bride was especially relieved.
The corpse bride, however, howled, "Oh, there goes my last chance for a life; I'll never have my dreams fulfilled now, it's forever lost," and she collapsed on the floor. It was a pathetic sight, a heap of bones in a tattered wedding gown, lying there, lifeless.
Overcome with compassion for the corpse bride, the young bride knelt down and gathered up that old heap of bones, carefully arranging the shredded silk finery and holding her close, half sang, half murmured, as if cradling a crying infant, "Dont worry I'll live your dreams for you, I'll live your hopes for you, I'll have your children for you, I'll have enough children for the two of us and you can rest in peace knowing that our children and our children's children will be well cared for and will not forget us."
Tenderly she closed the eyes of the corpse bride, tenderly she held her in her arms and slowly and with measured steps she marched down to the river with her fragile charge, took her down by the river where she dug a shallow grave for her and laid her in it and crossed the bony arms over the bony chest, the one hand clasping the one with the ring on it, and folded the wedding gown around her.
Then she whispered, "May you rest in peace, I will live your dreams for you, don't worry, we will not forget you."
The corpse bride looked happy and at peace in her new grave, as if she somehow knew that she would be fulfilled through this young bride And the young bride covered up, slowly, the corpse bride, covered up the tattered wedding gown in the shallow grave, covered it all up with earth, then put wildflowers all over the grave and stones all around it.
Then the young bride went back to her fiance and they were married in a very solemn wedding ceremony and they lived many happy years together. And all their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren were always told the story of the corpse bride, and so she was not forgotten, nor was the wisdom and compassion she had taught them forgotten either.
To celebrate the great gift of summer holidays and to breathe in the fresh air of freedom! Hahaa. Yes, I'm done with my first semester of my sophomore year! My brain has never felt any more relieved and relaxed as now! It feels great! Heheheh. Anyway, I'm a BIG fan of Tim Burton's works, i.e. Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Nightmare before Christmas. For me, I like musicals (eg. Sound of Music). There are still some people who don't fancy the idea of watching this movie though although it was given a good rating. May have some discrimination against animated movies, supposedly kiddish-lar. Some say musicals are cheesy. But if you ask me, I'd choose to watch an animated movie with a great storyline and characters ANYTIME, rather than waste my money on a movie acted by warm-blooded homo sapiens with lousy acting and a storyline that sucks.
The Synopsis:
The story is set in a cold, gloomy Victorian town, a parody of aristocratic England. A young, nervous man by the name of Victor Van Dort, son of rich fishmongers Nell and William Van Dort, is due to be wed to beautiful young Victoria Everglot, daughter of bankrupt (as well as ugly and unpleasant) aristocrats Maudeline and Finis Everglot. Victor isn't too keen on the idea of an arranged marriage until he meets Victoria face-to-face. After messing up his wedding vows at the wedding rehearsal, Victor flees to the forest. There he practices his vows, and discovering what he takes to be a stick protruding from beneath the ice on a pond, places his bride's wedding ring on it. No sooner has he done so than Emily, the Corpse Bride, emerges from beneath the ice, dressed in a moldy, flowing wedding dress and declares Victor her husband. She was mysteriously killed on her wedding day and has been waiting for her groom to come and claim her ever since. She whisks Victor away to the surprisingly colourful, vibrant and musical Land of the Dead. Now he must choose if he wants to stay married, or find Victoria again. Victor soon finds out that he loves the corpse bride and wants to stay married to her, but for it to be able to last forever, he must be dead. When it is time for the true wedding to the corpse bride, Emily sees Victoria, his real love. She turns to Victor, and sacrifices her marriage. She lets him get married to Victoria. The end (This was taken from Wikipedia larr.. malas want to write my own synopsis)
His parents: Nell and William Van Dort
Her parents: Maudeline and Finis Everglot
My Ratings and Reviews:
I'll give a B+ for the overall movie. The story is simple, yet it is intertwined with many mysteries of its own which carefully and gradually unfolds into a touching story of love, dedication and sacrifices. The storyline was properly developed with touches of great humour here and there, leaving no loopholes (if there were any, I couldn't see it!). The Corpse Bride rather gives a refreshing touch cuz the story differs from the stereotype love stories.. possibly the one reason people want to see it, besides the fact that Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter were voicing the characters.
The one thing that I most love and most remember from this movie is the wedding vows. Not the usual ones we hear at weddings.. meaningful, very beautiful, I say. Very beautiful indeed.
With this hand, I will lift your sorrows
This cup will never be empty, for I will be your wine
With this candle, I will light your way in darkness
With this ring, I ask you to be mine.
Like I said, the wedding vows were very beautifully written. However, the contrasting effects of different people reciting the vows were great. You could actually feel what the character feels when they recite the vows. For instance, when Victor recited the vows, we could actually feel his sincerity, trust, love and honesty. On the other hand, when Lord Barkis (the old bad man Victoria was forced to marry after Victor's MIA) recited the vows, it was cold and empty. One could see that it was said out of the mind and not the heart, out of hidden intentions and not sincerity, out of greed and not honesty, and out of mere hastiness and not truly love. Pretty hilarious to see how that old haggard died in the end. Drank to his doom. Muahahaa.
Victoria forced into marriage with Lord Barkis
But she ends up with Victor in the end
I loved the piano duet that Victor and Emily played in the movie. Wondering what piece it was and whether there is a score sheet for that duet. And having a fairly-strong music background, I do look out for notable musicals and sometimes awfully critical of the songs I hear and occasionally, singers (by profession I mean). I did like the idea of having Victor and Emily bond using music. Ah, not forgetting that Victor and Victoria also got acquainted and bonded through the piano too. Just for an extra: The first piano that appears in the movie bares the name "Harryhausen"... an obvious tribute to Ray Harryhausen, one of the great early innovators of stop-motion animation.
Victor plays the piano, not knowing Victoria stood nearby listening during their first meeting
Victor attempts to soothe Emily's anger through music
Another aspect I liked was at the end, when the "citizens" of the Land of the Dead had to travel "upstairs" to the living world to attend the wedding of Victor and Emily. The horror of the living people to see dead people walking in their streets, fearing that the dead meant them harm. It was funny to see how the situation turned around.. Cranky, old and almost-blind lady fiercely whacking the skeleton that was attacking her only to find out that he was her dead husband. A couple, keeping their distance away from an approaching old corpse, in fear when their young son recognizes the corpse and runs up to it.. then asks,"Grandfather?". Grandfather corpse carries the young boy and starts laughing (cackle-like) just like a granddad. Terror into many happy family reunions. Hahahaa. Funny turn of events.
One thing I didn't like about the movie was that there were no subtitles during the singings. The thing was, the 3.15 pm Corpse Bride slot was almost fully-booked by the time Pranati and I got to the ticket counter.. AND the only available seats were the first 2 rows. Had to sit sliding downwards with my butt at the edge of the seat and legs dangling on the empty seat in front of me, so that I don't get neckache (but a butt-ache). The sound system from where I sat was pretty bad. Couldn't really make out what they were singing half the time. And my poor friend (who's doesn't read Malay) probably found it hard to follow the movie since the subtitles were in Chinese and Malay only. Forgotten to warn her that Tim Burton's movies would have songs here and there. Oops. But don't get me wrong, the songs were very well composed for the stories they tell. Just the bloody missing subtitles.
Something extra for you:
If you didn't know, the story for "Corpse Bride" was actually adapted from a Jewish-Russian folktale. The folktale was based on actual events that happened in Russia during the 19th century, when anti-semitism (anti-Jewish) was widespread in eastern Europe. Young Jewish brides were attacked and ripped by members of anti-semitism en route to their wedding. And because these young brides would be the ones to bear the future generations of the Jews, they were killed. In the Jewish traditions, the bodies of the dead are normally buried in the clothes in which they had died in, and as such, these murdered brides were buried in their wedding gowns. See the similar concept? Only thing that in the movie, Emily was not killed because she's a Jew. She was rather a victim of greed.
Other interesting characters:
Scraps, Victor's dead dog
Elder Gutknecht, the "rabbi" of the Land of the Dead
The Zombie Lady, the Dead Bird Lady, the Cannonball General and General Bonesapart (mimicking Napoleon Bonaparte)
Maggot living inside Emily's brainspace
Conclusion:
B+, based on storyline and also great animations. Good movie to watch with friends and/or family.
The folklore:
And the story begins...
Once upon a time there was a young man who lived in a village in Russia. He was to be married and he and his friend prepared to go to the village where his bride-to-be lived, two days walk from his own village.
The first night the two friends decided to set up camp by a river. The young man who was going to be married spotted an unusual looking stick in the ground that looked like a bony finger. He and his friend started joking about this bony finger sticking out of the ground and the young man who was going to be married took the golden wedding ring from his pocket and put it on the strange-looking stick. And then he started to do the wedding dance around the stick; he danced around the stick with the golden wedding ring three times and he sang the Jewish wedding song, and recited the entire marriage sacrament as he danced around the stick, he and his friend laughing the whole time.
Haih.. mother never teach you not to simply play play around with people's things ah? Tsk tsk.
Their fun stopped suddenly when the earth started rumbling and shaking beneath their feet. The place where the stick had been opened up and a very bedraggled looking corpse emerged, a living corpse, she had been a bride, but now was barely more than a skeleton held together by shreds of skin, still wearing an old torn white silk wedding dress. Worms and spider webs hung on the once-beaded bodice and tattered veil.
The two young men were aghast.
Aahhh.. Now you see what happen when you don't listen to your mother?
"Ah," she said, "you have done the wedding dance and pronounced the marriage vows and you have put a ring on my finger. Now we are man and wife. I demand my rights as your bride."
Shuddering with terror at the corpse bride's words, the two young men fled to the village where the young bride was waiting to be married. They went straight to the rabbi.
"Rabbi," asked the young man breathlessly, "I have a very important question to ask you. If by some chance you're walking in the woods and you happen to see a stick that looks like a long bony finger coming out of the ground and you happen to put a golden wedding ring on the finger and do the wedding dance and pronounce the wedding vows, is this indeed a real marriage?"
Looking very puzzled, the rabbi asked, "Do you know of such a situation?"
"Oh no, no, of course not, it's just a hypothetical question."
Stroking his long beard thoughfully, the rabbi said, "let me think about it."
Thank God my dad doesn't look like that (he's a pastor)
And just then, a big gust of wind blew the door open, and in walked the corpse bride. "I lay claim to this man as my husband, for he has placed this wedding ring on my finger and pronounced the solemn marriage vows," she demanded, her bony finger rattling as she shook it at her intended bridegroom.
"This is indeed a very serious matter. I'll have to consult with the other rabbis," said the rabbi.
Soon all the rabbis from the surrounding villages were gathered together. They went into conference, while the two young men anxiously awaited their decision.
The corpse bride waited on the porch tapping her foot, declaring, "I want to celebrate my wedding night with my husband."
These chilling words made every hair on the young man's body stand on end, though it was a warm summer day.
While the rabbis were conferring, the real human bride arrived and wanted to know what all the fuss was about. When her fiance explained just what had happened, she started weeping, "Oh, my life is ruined, all my hopes and dreams are shattered; I'll never be married, never have a family."
Just then the rabbis came out and asked: "Did you indeed put a gold ring on the finger, and did you dance around it three times and did you indeed pronounce the wedding vows in their entirety?"
The two young men who by this time were cowering in a far corner nodded their heads.
Looking very serious the rabbis went back to confer again.
And the young bride wept bitter tears, while the corpse bride was by now gloating at the prospect of her long awaited wedding night.
After a short while the rabbis solemnly marched out, took their seats, and announced, "Since you put the wedding ring on the finger of the corpse bride and you danced around it three times reciting the wedding vows, we have determined that this constitutes a proper wedding ceremony. Even so, we have decided that the dead have no claim upon the living."
Sighing and murmuring could be heard from all corners, the young bride was especially relieved.
The corpse bride, however, howled, "Oh, there goes my last chance for a life; I'll never have my dreams fulfilled now, it's forever lost," and she collapsed on the floor. It was a pathetic sight, a heap of bones in a tattered wedding gown, lying there, lifeless.
Overcome with compassion for the corpse bride, the young bride knelt down and gathered up that old heap of bones, carefully arranging the shredded silk finery and holding her close, half sang, half murmured, as if cradling a crying infant, "Dont worry I'll live your dreams for you, I'll live your hopes for you, I'll have your children for you, I'll have enough children for the two of us and you can rest in peace knowing that our children and our children's children will be well cared for and will not forget us."
Tenderly she closed the eyes of the corpse bride, tenderly she held her in her arms and slowly and with measured steps she marched down to the river with her fragile charge, took her down by the river where she dug a shallow grave for her and laid her in it and crossed the bony arms over the bony chest, the one hand clasping the one with the ring on it, and folded the wedding gown around her.
Then she whispered, "May you rest in peace, I will live your dreams for you, don't worry, we will not forget you."
The corpse bride looked happy and at peace in her new grave, as if she somehow knew that she would be fulfilled through this young bride And the young bride covered up, slowly, the corpse bride, covered up the tattered wedding gown in the shallow grave, covered it all up with earth, then put wildflowers all over the grave and stones all around it.
Then the young bride went back to her fiance and they were married in a very solemn wedding ceremony and they lived many happy years together. And all their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren were always told the story of the corpse bride, and so she was not forgotten, nor was the wisdom and compassion she had taught them forgotten either.
Wow. What a detailed review!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the Harryhausen bit!! Thanks for the info.
Oh yeah. I can't help comparing Corpse Bride to Nightmare before christmas!!! I mean, Corpse Bride was so short and not as much fun... the music wasn't memorable. You might leave the cinema saying 'well that was fun' but you won't leave saying 'One of my favourite movies definitely' like you could for Nightmare before Xmas. Heck, you wouldn't even say it was the best movie of the year.