The Corpse Bride is a wondrous creation, weaving it's tale through the magic of stop motion animation. It's hard to deny the similarities between this picture and Nightmare Before Christmas particularly given that both films are the brain child of Tim Burton and both feature musical arrangements by ex-Oingo Boingo front man Danny Elfman, but The Corpse Bride does stand on it's own.

Based on an old Russian folk tale, The Corpse Bride tells the story of Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp), a loving young chap whom - while practicing his wedding vows in the woods-- inadvertently brings to life the corpse of a woman (Helena Bonham Carter) who was murdered on her wedding night. Soon, Victor finds himself caught between the land of the living and the land of the dead.

This is just a terrific film. Burton finds the perfect way to interject his Gothic sensibility into the project, but there's an underlining sweetness that seeps from nearly every frame of this glorious, energetic movie.

The vocal talent assembled is picture perfect. Johnny Depp is likable and offers up a quick wit as Victor while Helena Bonham Carter and Emily Watson (voice of Victor's fiancee Victoria) are sweet and charming as the women in his life. Albert Finney and Joanna Lumley are a hoot as Victoria's crotchety parents. The big scene stealer however is the comic-relief providing maggot who lives in the Corpse Bride's eye socket. He is hilariously voiced by Enn Reitel in a loving homage to the legendary Peter Lorre.

For the most part, Danny Elfman's tunes are entertaining but I wouldn't call them instantly memorable as his songs in Nightmare Before Christmas were, with the possible exception of an extremely energetic number in which Elfman provides the voice of a skeleton who sings the tale of the Corpse Bride through a creative "skat" style arrangement. At the very least, every song in this film fits in the context of the story where many of the Oompa Loompa song's in Tim Burton's disappointing take on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory did not. Elfman's score for the picture is virtually flawless.

The real stars of this movie are the numerous animators who've brought this magical, gothic world to life. The Corpse Bride is a visual stunner, and the universe these amazing artists have brought to the screen is a vibrant one. I love the way these characters move and speak. And for every fantastical element realized there are two subtle ones that you'll miss if you blink. Take for instance a wonderful sequence in which Victor sits at a piano and begins to play. Not only is the musical arrangement wonderful, I just marveled at the realism and complexity of the scene. You can actually see the individual finger movements throughout the sequence. Simply breathtaking.

I really wish stop motion animated features were more common as the last few we've been witness to (i.e. Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, and, most notably, Chicken Run) were absolutely terrific. I hope the soon to be released Wallace and Gromit movie continues this trend (I'm certain it will). Movies like this take me back to my youth. As a child (and even now) I was a huge fan of the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials, but what I really loved was the little seen 60's gem Mad Monster Party, a picture Mr. Burton has sited as a major inspiration for Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride. For those of you familiar with that picture, you will no doubt see where the inspiration comes from.

The Corpse Bride is simply a wonderful entertainment. Don't let the rather gothic tone of the picture prevent you from taking the kids. This is a lively movie for all age groups. If the little ones can handle something like Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events or Nightmare Before Christmas then they can definitely handle this. And the beautiful thing about the whole experience is that you will most likely be just as entertained as they are.