Apostrophe S

I like to think that death isn’t so bad. So does Tim Burton.

In “Corpse Bride”, the world of the dead is colorful and “alive,” while the land of the living is sad, muted and grey. Makes death seem like the better part of life, to me.

It’s nice to see truly original vision in these days of feature film adaptations of old television shows and mindless action yarns. I don’t predict “Corpse Bride” making any records at the box office. It’s not that kind of movie. It’s a brand-new fairy tale, and kids should enjoy it, even if they are a little frightened by some of the imagery. However, it’s also a story based on very adult themes, including a sinister murder long buried and forgotten.

The imagery is, of course, the key to this movie. It’s perfect. The production design, animation and character modeling are spot-on perfect in every way, or at least in every way that a layperson could discern it to be such. The clean lines and beautiful colors flow smoothly across the screen, and I have to believe that not everything was done with stop-motion animation.

In addition, the story is sweet and sad and melancholy in places, and it has the power to move an adult audience like few movies aimed at kids can. Also, it’s musical numbers rise to a new level, far above the sometimes awkward rhymes from Burton’s “Nightmare Before Christmas.” We can thank Danny Elfman for that.

All in all, “Corpse Bride” is a movie that transcends its medium and its genre. It is enjoyable by kids and adults alike, but for different reasons. Kids will enjoy the songs and dancing skeletons, as well as the cartoon humor injected in just the right places. But I’m afraid the bulk of the story and its meaning will fly over their heads, or six feet below. The two main themes of the movie, marriage and death, are two things easily explained to a child, but both concepts can take a lifetime to truly grasp.

I also like the movie’s not-so-tidy plot. I hate tidy plots. I don’t like simply happily ever after. I don’t like when everyone ends up just where the audience thinks they should. The conflict set up in “Corpse Bride” has no perfect solution, and in the end, we must accept a somewhat wistfully imperfect one. The audience learns to like and love the heroes of the story, and when it comes time to determine which bride Vincent (voiced by Johnny Depp) will end up marrying, I for one would have been happy to see him with either, despite the obvious “complications” of a union with the title character. So who does Vincent end up with? You’ll have to go see it for yourself to find out.

It gives Til Death Do Us Part a whole new meaning.