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Corpse Bride
In a 19th-century European village, a young man about to be married is whisked away to the underworld and wed to a mysterious corpse bride, while his real bride waits bereft in the land of the living.
2005 · Directed by Tim Burton · 77 min · Romance · Fantasy · Animation · Screenplay in the scene database · 15 frames
Tagline
There's been a grave misunderstanding.
Plot
In an English village in the 1800s, Victor Van Dort, the son of nouveau riche fish merchants, and Victoria Everglot, the neglected daughter of impoverished aristocrats, prepare for their arranged marriage, which will simultaneously raise the social class of the Van Dort family and restore the wealth of the Everglot family ("According to Plan"). Although the two are initially nervous, they become smitten and fall in love instantly when they meet; however, the nervous Victor ruins their wedding rehearsal by forgetting his vows, dropping the ring, and accidentally setting Lady Everglot's dress on fire.
Fleeing to a nearby forest, Victor successfully rehearses his vows with a tree and places his wedding ring on what appears to be an upturned root. However, the "root" is revealed to be the skeletal finger of a deceased woman named Emily, who, gowned in a wedding dress, rises from the grave and proclaims herself as Victor's new wife. She spirits them both away to the Land of the Dead, a colorful and whimsical realm in which the spirits of the deceased reside.
During his time with Emily, Victor learns that she was murdered years earlier on the night of her elopement by her fiancé, who stole the family jewels and gold she had brought ("Remains of the Day"). She reunites him with his long-dead dog Scraps, and they bond. However, desperate to return to Victoria, Victor tricks Emily into returning them to the Land of the Living by claiming he wants her to meet his parents.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Screenplay: John August, Caroline Thompson, Pamela Pettler
- Cinematography: Pete Kozachik
- Edited by: Chris Lebenzon, Jonathan Lucas, Claire Dodgson
- Music: Danny Elfman
- Production design: Alex McDowell
- Produced by: Allison Abbate, Tim Burton
Cast
- Johnny Depp as Victor Van Dort (voice)
- Helena Bonham Carter as Corpse Bride (voice)
- Emily Watson as Victoria Everglot (voice)
- Tracey Ullman as Nell Van Dort / Hildegarde (voice)
- Paul Whitehouse as William Van Dort / Mayhew / Paul the Head Waiter (voice)
- Joanna Lumley as Maudeline Everglot (voice)
- Albert Finney as Finis Everglot (voice)
- Richard E. Grant as Barkis Bittern (voice)
- Christopher Lee as Pastor Galswells (voice)
- Michael Gough as Elder Gutknecht (voice)
Production
- Country: United Kingdom, United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: Tim Burton Productions, LAIKA, Patalex Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures
- Budget: $40,000,000
- Box office: $118,133,252
- Themes: skeleton, love triangle, cheating, wedding vows, shyness, arranged marriage, marriage, grave, halloween, villain
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