Corpse Bride

Typical - you don't go to the movies for ages then you end up going twice in the same day! Today was Halloween and collecting my daughter from school I thought it was the perfect time to go and see Tim Burton's latest animation. He has been quite prolific in the last few years and his hard work culminates in this project that was mostly done simultaneously with the live action Charlie and the Chocolate factory. Johnny Depp provides the voice for the main character, a bumbling young man who inadvertently raises the dead when practicing his wedding vows in a haunted wood. Since the days of the magnificent Nightmare Before Christmas the animation has come on lightyears, of course, and looks absolutely beautiful in every Goth tinged detail. There are some cute songs in the mix, some colourful characters of all shapes and sizes and almost too much to take in on first view, such is the depth of imagination. Mesmerizing was never a more appropriate word and if you are a fan of what Burton does then this will be perfection for you from start to finish. I much preferred it to the Roald Dahl remake - it just seemed as if there were no bounds to what could happen and the simplicity of the tale made it all the more entertaining. Taking it from a child's point of view I can only say that this got a better reaction from Josie than anything we have seen all year, bar none. It is very clever, very funny and has that quaint old fashioned atmosphere that Burton does so well. 9/10. Kx