Vincent (1982)

As I've said in the past few weeks, finding horror animated films has been a real struggle; so when I stumbled upon Tim Burton's short stop-motion horror film, Vincent, I watched it right away. 

The film tells the story of Vincent Malloy, a 7-year-old boy who dreams and pretends to be just like actor Vincent Price. He does experiments on his dog Abercrombie to create a Zombie dog; he is obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe's tales and while reading them, he loses touch with reality completely to the point that he believes he's been deprived of the woman he loves and he is afraid of being tortured. He is a very well-mannered boy but his continuous macabre daydreaming really annoys his mother who always finds a way to get in the way and bring him back to his lonely, tedious life. 

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

The first time I watched Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street I was 15 and I didn't like. The thing is that I didn't know it was a musical and I guess that spoiled the movie for me. Despite the fact that I can't stand Depp, I decided to give it another chance. 

The film tells the story of Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp), a London barber whose life was destroyed when the powerful Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) fell for Barker's beautiful wife, Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly), and accused and exiled Barker for a crime he did not commit so that he could have her. Fifteen years later, Barker returns to London under the name of Sweeney Todd, seeking revenge against Turpin. In order to get his revenge, he sets up a barber shop and teams up with Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), the owner of a meat pie shop below his shop.

Frankenweenie (2012)

Genre

Animation | Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

Director

Tim Burton

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Charlie Tahan, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Landau, Winona Ryder, Frank Welker, Dee Bradley Baker, Atticus Shaffer, Robert Capron, Conchata Ferrell, James Hiroyuki, Tom Kenny, Christopher Lee

Storyline

Young Victor (Charlie Tahan) conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences.

Opinion

I am a Tim Burton fan, I really am, but I fail to see why others claim this to be one of his best - if not the best - works. Actually I don't really see anything special about it. Why is that? Because "Frankenweenie" essentially is just an average Tim Burton movie that doesn't have that something to stand out from the others.

Even if you haven't seen Burton's 1984 short on which the film is based on, I'm positive the story will sound familiar to anyone because it is an adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic "Frankenstein", only having a boy resurrecting his dog instead of a scientist resurrecting a dead body. And it's a great way to go if you want to introduce a classic to kids. But then Disney stepped in, and ruined everything.

I am not saying Disney can't make good films, but I just don't think Disney and horror make a great pair. They are more family comedy oriented that horror oriented, and the story - especially the ending - suffered from that. Who is to be blamed? Tim Burton, of course. He should have never signed with Disney in the first place.

The film also suffers from the lack of character development, not to mention that it is supposed to be a comedy but there is little to laugh at as the humour is quite mild.

However, despite everything, I have to admit that the story is quite well paced and has some genuine suspense that keeps you watching the film. Some other positive notes are the use of black and white instead of colours, the stop-motion animation, obviously, and the voice cast who overall does a good job.

Corpse Bride (2005)

Genre

Animation | Comedy | Fantasy | Musical

Director

Tim Burton | Mike Johnson

Country

UK | USA

Voice Cast

Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Paul Whitehouse, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney, Richard E. Grant, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Jane Horrocks, Enn Reitel, Deep Roy, Danny Elfman, Stephen Ballantyne

Storyline

When an arranged marriage between Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp) and Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson) reaches the rehearsals, Victor messes up his vows. Spending time alone in the forest, Victor decides to practice on his own. Everything seems to go well, unite he accidentally puts the ring upon the hand of a corpse (Helena Bonham Carter), who returns as a zombie and insists that she is now Victor's lawfully wedded wife.

Opinion

I remember the first time I watched this film, and I also remember I did not like it. Now, after several views, I've witnessed a growth in pleasure each time, and I think most of the credits goes to Tim Burton.

A sight for sore eyes, Corpse Bride is a macabre and strangely touching dark Gothic tale that everybody can enjoy. In fact, while the adults can enjoy the darkness and gloominess of the film, able to cleverly play with macabre - main reason I didn't like it when I was a kid -, nowadays kids, definitely more shrewd, can appreciate the nice and creepy characters.

All the characters are visually stunning, and are able to create an emotional bond with the audience, especially Victor and the Corpse Bride, and although we like to see Victor getting married to Victoria, we can't help but feel sympathy to the Corpse Bride. The characters are well developed and there are some for all tastes, from the spooky villain to the funny worm who keeps popping in and out of the Bride's eye socket.

The most fascinating thing about this film is how it comes to life when we are among the deads. Joyful, colourful, and full of real emotions, it make you feel a lot better about death.

The songs deserve a special mention because they all are wonderful and well performed.

The leading voices could only be those of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, whose voice work is absolutely fabulous. Equally important is the supporting cast, including big names such as Emily Watson, Albert Finney, Richard E. Grant, and Christopher Lee.

Quotes

Corpse Bride: I've spent so long in the darkness, I'd almost forgotten how beautiful the moonlight is.