Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (DVD)

Victor Van Dort (voice, Johnny Depp) is bumbling through the woods late one night, having just gone through a very harrowing experience — the rehearsal for his arranged wedding to Victoria Everglot (voice, Emily Watson), a young woman he’d never even met before that day. Fiddling with the gold band intended for his bride and muttering a few practice vows, he slips the ring onto the gnarled branch of a bramble bush… or so he thinks. Read the entire theatrical-release review here.

The additional release material on the DVD is considerable (and the widescreen edition is a must), although there isn't any commentary. The disc menus are cleverer than most, and the featurettes boast nice segues between cuts, cool but easy-to-read fonts, picture-in-picture, and prettily-framed name captions.

Featurettes:

Inside the Two Worlds – This mini-doc is pretty much exactly what it says it is: the cast and filmmakers talking about the difference between the Lands of the Living and Dead (duh!). It's obvious, but tolerable.

Much better is Danny Elfman Interprets the Two Worlds. The composer/singer discusses his process, and what it's like to collaborate with Burton. The former Oingo Boingo frontman also talks about how the delicate piano tune, Victor's Theme, was the foundation for everything and how it's key throughout the story. His signature song in the movie, Remains of the Day, was actually written with the intention of someone else performing it; it's interesting to learn how Elfman became the reluctant vocalist for the memorable number.

The Animators: The Breath of Life – This featurette goes into the art of claymation. Factoring in most prominently are codirector Mike Johnson, and producer Alison Abbate. They also show one of the Canon E-OS still cameras that shot the movie, frame-by-frame. Hands move each puppet, mili-inch by mili-inch. Yes, this featurette is as dull as it sounds.

Much better is Tim Burton: Dark vs. Light. This light-hearted look at the auteur showcases comments from Depp, Watson, Joanna Lumley (who sums the movie up best as "Cartoon comedy-noir"), Christopher Lee, and more. (But not from the Corpse Bride herself, Helena Bonham Carter — who's also Burton's significant other in the real world).

Voices from the Underworld – Finally, we catch a glimpse of a gothy-looking Bonham-Carter doing her shtick in front of the mic, giving full-bodied voice her puppet-creation. She talks about breathing life into an undead character, and her costars join her in giving insight to their own roles.

Making Puppets Tick – Puppet-makers talk about painting, clothing, animating over 200 figures. There's a nice panning shot of heads on a stick that reminded me of the infamous scene in Wolf Creek.

The Voices Behind the Voice – A montage of the actors in their sound-booths doing the dialogue, juxtaposed with the final product in the finished film.

The Corpse Bride pre-production galleries – Just like what is says.

There is also a theatrical trailer and a music-only track.

Overall, the widescreen Corpse Bride DVD is a joy to watch and is worth reserving a permanent spot in your library of Tim Burton films.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson