Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 17 November 2005.

Overall comments and recommendations

Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride is a romantic comedy made with stop motion animation. The movie is very well done, and will be entertaining for older children and adults. The humour in the movie is clever, funny and the animation very well done. Parents are cautioned that the film’s macabre animation and themes may scare, or have an adverse impact on younger children.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

In Victorian England, a marriage has been arranged between Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp), son of rich, but socially downcast Nell and William Van Dort (Tracy Ullman, Paul Whitehouse) and Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson), daughter of the aristocratic, but broke Maudeline and Finis Everglot (Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney). Initially both Victor and Victoria are less than enthusiastic about the arranged marriage until they meet for the first time at the wedding rehearsal, and find they are instantly attracted to each other. Victor, who is extremely nervous, manages to botch the rehearsal forgetting his wedding vows. He is sent off in disgrace and the wedding postponed.

Victor heads off into the dark gloomy woods in shame to practise his vows. After some time he manages to get the words right, at the same time slipping the wedding ring onto a tree branch poking out of the snow, which he pretends to be is his bride’s hand. The tree branch turns out to be the skeletal hand of the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter), who had previously been murdered by her husband, shortly after their wedding. After receiving Victor’s wedding vows, the Corpse Bride returns to the land of the living, claims Victor for her husband and then returns to the land of the dead with her new husband. In the land of the dead, Victor finds himself in a land more alive and colourful than the land of the living, with cheerful rollicking skeletons, shaking, rattling and rolling all night long. Back in the land of the living, the mysterious Lord Barkis Bitten (Richard E. Grant), the same villain who had murdered the Corpse Bride, has arrived on the scene. With Victor out of the picture, Victoria’s parents quickly arrange for Lord Barkis to marry Victoria.

When Victor returns to the land of the living to repeat his marriage vows and commit himself to the Corpse Bride and the land of the dead for ever, the fate of all characters is decided by some strange twists and turns.

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is infrequent violence in this movie, with the greater part of it presented in a macabrely humorous manner. Some examples are:

• when Victor arrives with the Corpse Bride in the land of the dead, he impales a skeleton through the chest with a sword. The skeleton is unaffected by the sword and pays it no attention.
  
• a staff-wielding priest cracks Victor over the head when he forgets his marriage vows
  
• the murder of the Corpse Bride by Lord Barkis is inferred rather than visually depicted; the images appear as shadowy forms resembling shadow puppets. Nevertheless the scene is still dark and menacing, leaving the impression that brutal violence and murder had been committed.
  
• Lord Barkis violently shakes his new bride, Victoria, and later threatens her by holding a sword to her throat
  
• verbal threats of violence, such as when Victoria’s father states in relation to Victor, “If I ever see that boy again I’ll strangle him with my bare hands”.

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above mentioned violent scenes, there are frequent scary scenes in this movie, particularly scenes depicting the residents of the land of the dead. While these scenes are intended to be humorous, they could still scare or disturb children under the age of eight years. For example:

• when Victor places the ring on what he thinks is a tree branch, the branch takes on a skeletal appearance and then pulls Victor into the ground
  
• the Corpse Bride is puppet-like in appearance, containing skeleton-like appendages that regularly fall off, with patches of rotten flesh on her face and the side of her chest cavity
  
• the Corpse Bride’s right eye regularly falls out of its socket with the eye socket containing a talkative worm
  
• animated corpses with gaping holes in their chests
  
• corpses drinking from mugs, with the liquid pouring from the gaping holes.
  
• dozens of black crows with a threatening appearance.
  
• a decapitated talking head.
  
• a corpse that often splits in two, revealing inner organs still pumping blood.

Aged eight to thirteen

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Children between the ages of eight and thirteen years should be able to interpret the macabre visual images presented throughout the film in the humorous manner in which they were intended. However, younger children in this age range, and particularly sensitive children, may still be adversely affected by some of the more macabre images.

Over the age of thirteen

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

Children over the age of thirteen years should be okay with the images and themes in this movie.

Sexual references

There are no sexual references in this movie.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is no nudity or sexual activity in this movie.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances, including:

• a coach driver regularly smokes a pipe. He is constantly coughing and wheezing, and part way through the film, during one of his coughing fits, he drops dead. The inference is that his death is directly attributable to his pipe smoking.
  
• corpses drink ale, or beer, which flows out of their bodies as fast as it goes in
  
• skeletons literally fall apart as a result of being intoxicated.

Coarse language

There is no coarse language in this movie, but there are occasional mild putdowns, including:

• Victoria’s parents remark that Victoria had a slim choice of marriage partners as she had a face like an otter’s
  
• the priest refers to Victor as a ninny.

The movie's message

The movie’s message is that love is something that is to be valued higher than wealth or financial position, and is something that must be freely given, not coerced. The film also makes the statement that compassion and personal sacrifice for the sake of others are qualities that will be rewarded.

This movie could give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children the value of selfless behaviours and the importance of placing value on relationships, over money and social status.