The Corpse Bride

This movie harkens back to the times when stop motion photography was the norm for special effects in films, and the story itself seems like it comes right out of Edgar Allen Poe's library. Tim Burton's earlier film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, was sheer genius when it came out and now with the Corpse Bride he shows that lightning can indeed strike twice. The voice acting here is flawless; every performance is top notch and could not be made any better. This is truly a great story, it has all of the elements that it needs, romance, humor, and a murder mystery that is perfect to tie the whole thing together. Victor is nervous about his impending wedding, and while practicing his vows accidentally marries a mysterious dead bride. If the afterlife is as lively as it is portrayed here then people wouldn't mind dying, the music is catchy and the neighbors are relatively quiet. As the story moves you along you get the feeling that there will be a happy ending but with who, the living or the dead, and you find out its both. With the photography playing with the light and shadows it is easy to miss some of the effects that are done so you may have to watch it a few times in order to catch everything.
This movie is an instant classic for the season and is so enjoyable and fun that the kids will fall in love with it. I hope this will not be the end of the stop motion movies that Burton does, he does it so well it's as if Ray Harryhausen, the master of stop motion photography, for those who don't know, himself was working on the project. Just watch out for that little voice you hear in your head, it may not be your conscious it might be the your very own maggot giving you advice.