Every year, when it gets close to Halloween, I feel compelled to review something having to do with my least favorite holiday. Last year, I chose the hilariously awful Zombie Town (2023). If you want a full breakdown of why I dislike marking All Hallows’ Eve, I urge you to read my review of that film. To give you a brief taste, it mainly has to do with my Catholic Faith. This year, I was blessed (to a degree) to avoid the arduous process of picking something associated with this day when I spotted Corpse Bride (2005). It has nothing to do with Halloween, but it has plenty of things people associate with its celebration, not the least of which is director Tim Burton. While I can appreciate the improvement in quality over my previous selection, it suffers from another problem for this reviewer, namely that it is a musical. I suppose I can tell you about the rest.

The rest of Corpse Bride (2005) takes place in a gloomy Victorian village. There, Victor Van Dort (voiced by Johnny Depp), the shy son of wealthy fish merchants Nell (voiced by Tracey Ullman) and William Van Dort (voiced by Paul Whitehouse), is preparing for an arranged marriage to Victoria Everglot (voiced by Emily Watson). Victoria’s aristocratic parents, Finis (voiced by Albert Finney) and Maudeline Everglot (voiced by Joanna Lumley), are secretly impoverished and hope the match will rescue their family finances, while the Van Dorts see it as an opportunity to gain social standing. Although neither young person has chosen the arrangement, Victor and Victoria discover an unexpected connection when they meet, particularly through their shared appreciation of music. Their budding affection does little to calm Victor’s nerves at the wedding rehearsal, where he repeatedly forgets his vows, mishandles the ring, and accidentally sets Maudeline’s dress on fire. The stern Pastor Galswells (voiced by Christopher Lee) declares that the ceremony cannot proceed until Victor learns his lines. Humiliated, Victor retreats into the woods to practice alone. As he finally recites his vows correctly, he slips the wedding ring onto what he mistakes for a tree branch protruding from the snow-covered ground. It is actually the skeletal finger of Emily (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter), a murdered bride who rises from her grave and enthusiastically accepts Victor as her husband. Terrified, Victor flees, but Emily catches him and takes him to the Land of the Dead. Unlike the dreary world above, this underground realm is lively, colorful, and full of music, with skeletons and other departed souls enjoying a bustling afterlife. Victor learns that Emily was once a young woman who planned to elope with the man she loved. He persuaded her to meet him with her family jewels, then murdered her and stole them, leaving her to wait for the marriage she never had. Convinced that Victor has finally fulfilled her longing, Emily treats him with affection and even presents him with his beloved childhood dog, Scraps, now a skeleton. Victor, however, insists that he is alive and already promised to Victoria. Desperate to return home, he persuades Emily that they should visit his parents and seek their blessing. Elder Gutknecht (voiced by Michael Gough), an elderly authority in the Land of the Dead, uses a spell to send them temporarily to the world of the living. Once there, Victor leaves Emily waiting while he rushes to Victoria and tries to explain his extraordinary predicament. Their reunion is cut short when Emily discovers them together and angrily brings Victor back below ground, feeling betrayed by another man she trusted. Victoria attempts to tell her parents that Victor has been taken by a dead woman, but they dismiss her account. She seeks help from Pastor Galswells, who treats her story as evidence of madness. Meanwhile, rumors spread that Victor has abandoned his bride, and the Everglots hastily arrange for Victoria to marry a mysterious newcomer, Lord Barkis Bittern (voiced by Richard E. Grant), who claims to be wealthy. Victoria is horrified by the prospect but has little power to resist her parents’ decision. In the Land of the Dead, Victor gradually understands Emily’s sorrow and begins to sympathize with her, even as he remains devoted to Victoria. He learns that his marriage to Emily cannot truly bind them because his vows were spoken while he was alive and marriage belongs to the living. To complete their union, Victor would have to die. Emily is initially reluctant to demand such a sacrifice, but Victor, mistakenly believing that Victoria has willingly married another man, agrees to drink poison during a wedding ceremony in the world above. The dead prepare an elaborate procession and emerge into the village, terrifying its inhabitants until the living recognize departed relatives and joyfully reunite with them. In the church, Victor and Emily prepare to exchange vows, with a goblet of poison awaiting him. Victoria, who has just been married to Barkis, arrives and watches in anguish. Seeing the love between Victor and Victoria, Emily realizes that she is about to take from another woman the happiness that was stolen from her. She stops Victor before he drinks and releases him from his promise. Barkis then enters the church, furious that Victoria’s family has no money and that the marriage has brought him nothing. As he confronts the gathering, Emily recognizes him as the man who deceived and murdered her. Barkis attempts to leave, but the dead are unable to punish a living man. Mocking them, he drinks from the goblet, unaware that it contains the poison intended for Victor. He dies almost immediately, allowing the departed guests to seize him and take him to face the consequences of his actions. With her murderer exposed and her desire for justice fulfilled, Emily tells Victor that he has kept his promise by setting her free. She steps outside the church, where her body dissolves into a cloud of butterflies that rises into the night sky. Victor and Victoria watch together as Emily finally finds peace, leaving the two living lovers free to marry.

Or at least I guess Victor and Victoria are allowed to marry at the end of Corpse Bride. The conclusion is open-ended, though I will take it since the film was only about an hour and fifteen minutes long. If I must put myself through such material, the shorter the better. Perhaps I am too square a Catholic and person to totally get these things, but I also did not understand the movie’s premise. Then again, had Victor politely explained to Emily that he had simply been practicing his vows instead of saying them with conviction, I doubt it would have made a difference to her, at least initially. Still, the topic of vows is as good a Catholic entry point into this story as any other, particularly when Pastor Galswells tells Victor he must take them seriously before there can be a wedding. One could give poor Victor some grace for being put in such a predicament, and I would also point out that the Church insists upon the free consent of both parties to a marriage, something the arranged marriages depicted here hardly seem to respect. Pastor Galswells is right in a narrow sense, even if he simply means the mechanics of saying the vows during the ceremony. If you are going to enter into marriage, which the Church recognizes as a Sacrament, then you need to be committed to the vows you make. The movie never takes it to this level, though some credit should be given to how our protagonists desire to keep the promises they make to one another. Speaking of sticking to your promises, being willing to poison oneself and die is not exactly Catholic teaching, taking the concept of vows a little too far. There is a slight argument to be made that Victor deserves credit for wanting to do right by Emily, but the Church would never condone somebody taking his own life in this manner. Thankfully, I do not think Catholicism has this film’s idea of the afterlife among its tenets.

Again, I cannot stress how thankful I am that Corpse Bride is so brief. At the same time, there is nothing in it that is too objectionable, though you have to enjoy Burton’s characteristic style to truly appreciate this one. It is not for me, but I am willing to admit that others might like it.