The Living Dead Kill it for Burton
“We all know interspecies romance is weird.”
Tim Burton
There was a lot of criticism about Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride and I feel he deserves more credit. I have heard many complaints that “I just thought it was going to be more like The Nightmare Before Christmas.” A different film means a different story and a different tone. We are no longer in Halloweentown where Jack Skellington wants more, we are in the confusing lives of Victor Van Dort and the Corpse Bride.
The cast was fantastic as always, but the sets and the movements of the puppets are what is being ignored. If you would watch the behind the scenes features you would see the beauty in the film and the progress that has been made since The Nightmare Before Christmas. The time it took, the beautiful sets, and the tragic story of the Corpse Bride Emily. If you take the time to see the film as art you will appreciate Burton’s work.
Pee Wee Herman’s Darkside
“What’s wrong with me? They tell me I’m weird so I guess I must be, but I don’t feel weird.”
Tim Burton
I took a trip down memory lane and watched Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Before popping in the movie I was thinking, “Pee Wee Herman, bright smile and colorful bow tie, how is this a Tim Burton moive again?” Then it started and I quickly remembered, this is why.
Pee Wee Herman, some may say a strange indivdual. A grown man that wakes up, puts on his rabbit slippers and dances right away. A grown man who slides down a firepole to his kitchen, a grown man in love with his bike. A man who is not completely understood, perfect for Burton.
As Pee Wee goes on his search for his stolen bike, Burton lets you see the dark side of Pee Wee. The man who is constantly laughing no longer can, not until his bike is found. He has a three hour meeting about his missing bike that accomplishes nothing, we see this man break down, we see the darkside.
Pee Wee who is distraught about his lost love is surrounded by a colorful world. This movie is all about the sets. Pee Wee’s house is ridiculously packed with toys and fun objects, such as the lifesize Abraham Lincoln that flips pancakes in the kitcken. Just look at the lawn.
What completes this film as a Tim Burton work is the scene where Pee Wee hitches a ride with Large Marge. She tells her chilling ghostly story of the women who died on that same night ten years prior. Then Large Marge’s eyes pop out of her head as you see in the introduction photo. The eyes of Large Marge were on display at the MOMA.
Burton's View 