One of Tim Burton’s best movies,Corpse Bride, was also his first to followThe Nightmare Before Christmas, and it’s currently back on streaming. Over the years, Tim Burton has curated a specific style and brand through movies likeBeetlejuice,Sweeney Todd,Edward Scissorhands, and more. While his live-action films have been huge successes for Burton, his style is at its most potent in his stop-motion movies.The Nightmare Before Christmaslet Burton maximize his visual style without being restrained by the limits of reality, andFrankenweenielet him fully commit to the esthetics of classic horror movies.
Even after 19 years, several more movies and shows, and even another stop-motion film, however,Corpse Brideremains one of Burton’s best works. Though it’s a beloved part of his filmography,Corpse Bridehasn’t been available to streamin the United States since it left Max in the middle of 2023. Luckily, it has finally made its return to Max, andCorpse Bridecan finally be seen online in the U.S. again. That means one of Burton’s best films, and one that connects very well to some of his other work, is back online just in time for Halloween.
Corpse Bride Was Tim Burton’s First Directed Stop-Motion Animated Movie After The Nightmare Before Christmas
Though it’s often cited as one of his best movies,Tim Burton didn’t actually directThe Nightmare Before Christmas.Burton only wroteThe Nightmare Before Christmas, while Henry Selick directed it. The first stop-motion film Burton actually directed himself wasCorpse Bride, 12 years after the release ofThe Nightmare Before Christmas, in 2005. While they are similar movies stylistically, thematically, and in terms of quality,Corpse Bridegave Burton a chance to have nearly complete creative control over both the characters in the story and the way they were depicted. That creative control also madeCorpse Bridea great follow-up toThe Nightmare Before Christmas.
Why Corpse Bride Is Still One Of Tim Burton’s Best Movies
Even with such a long list of acclaimed movies,Corpse Bridestill stands as one of Tim Burton’s best films. It achieved both critical success - with aRotten Tomatoesscore of 84% - and financial success, with its box office earnings of over $117 million (viaBox Office Mojo).Aside from the numbers, though,Corpse Brideis also a resounding success as a Tim Burton movie. It’s quite possibly his most visually distinct movie: everything that Burton is known for, like lanky characters with exaggerated proportions and morbid esthetics like corpses and graveyards, is turned up to 11 inCorpse Bride.
Corpse Bride feels, in many ways, like an amalgamation of Burton’s best work.
Corpse Bridealso presents one of the best stories Burton has ever crafted. It’s a fairly simple love triangle, but his signature macabre take on it has madeCorpse Bridea classic film. Burton also filled that love triangle with so much nuance and such well-developed characters that fans still debate whetherVictor should have ended up with Emily or Victoriaalmost two decades later.Corpse Bridefeels, in many ways, like an amalgamation of Burton’s best work.It has the visual charm ofThe Nightmare Before Christmas, the witty humor ofBeetlejuice, and the lovable characters ofEdward Scissorhands, all wrapped up into a single project.
Corpse Bride’s Streaming Popularity Is Perfectly Timed For Tim Burton’s Comeback
Not only isCorpse Brideone of Burton’s best movies, its return to streaming also couldn’t have come at a better time.All of Tim Burton’s movies experience a spike in popularity every October due to his eerie stories and style and the month’s proximity to Halloween, andCorpse Brideis no different. The fact that it hasn’t been widely available on streaming after nearly a year and a half will also increase the demand for it even further. With both Halloween andCorpse Bride’s return to streaming boosting its popularity, it could quickly become a sign of Tim Burton’s larger return to popularity.
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There’s another factor at play that could contribute toCorpse Bride’s success, though:Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.The sequel to Burton’s 1998 classic premiered less than a month beforeCorpse Bridereturned to streaming services, and it likely reignited fans' hunger for the director’s work.Beetlejuice Beetlejuicebroke several Tim Burton records, secured a Rotten Tomatoes score of 77%, and has already earned over $250 million at the box office. That’s a very good thing for the popularity of Burton’s works, and forCorpse Bridetoo, considering how similar the movies are.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Cast
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the original Tim Burton classic that starred Michael Keaton and Wynona Rider in a horror-comedy that involved ghosts trying to scare off new homebuyers from taking their house. The sequel brings back Michael Keaton as the hilarious and sleazy ghost with selfish intentions, now joined by Jenna Ortega in a new role.
BothBeetlejuice BeetlejuiceandCorpse Bridefocus on the protagonists - Astrid and Victor, respectively - traversing into the land of the dead for love.Both movies even feature characters marrying dead people: Victor and Emily inCorpse Brideand Lydia and Betelgeuse inBeetlejuice Beetlejuice. There’s even a healthy dose of murderous treachery in both films, as Lord Barkis wanted to kill Victoria for her inheritance, while Jeremy wanted to take Astrid’s place in the land of the living. Because of those similarities,Corpse Brideis perfectly poised to piggyback offBeetlejuice Beetlejuice’s success, now that it’s available for streaming.
Corpse Bride
Directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton, Corpse Bride is a stop-motion fantasy-horror musical released in 2005. Set in the Victorian Era in England, a groom named Victor accidentally weds Emily, a skeletal woman, while practicing his vows alone in a forest. Whisked away to the Land of the Dead, Victor attempts to help Emily with the circumstances surrounding her fate while trying to escape his new temporary undead home.
