Corpse Bride

"There's been a grave misunderstanding."

2005 1h 17m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

★7.6TMDB · 10,475

RomanceFantasyAnimation

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a 19th-century European village, a young man about to be married is whisked away to the underworld and wed to a mysterious corpse bride, while his real bride waits bereft in the land of the living.

“There's been a grave misunderstanding.”

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Cast

Johnny Depp
Victor Van Dort (voice)
Helena Bonham Carter
Corpse Bride (voice)
Emily Watson
Victoria Everglot (voice)
Tracey Ullman
Nell Van Dort / Hildegarde (voice)
Paul Whitehouse
William Van Dort / Mayhew / Paul the Head Waiter (voice)
Joanna Lumley
Maudeline Everglot (voice)
Albert Finney
Finis Everglot (voice)
Richard E. Grant
Barkis Bittern (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mike Johnson
Writers: Pamela Pettler, John August, Caroline Thompson
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 77-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 21 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

280+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mike Johnson, shot by Pete Kozachik. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Chris Lebenzon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter and Emily Watson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mike Johnson directs. Pete Kozachik behind the camera. Danny Elfman scores. Chris Lebenzon cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 77-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Released 21 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4280+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Mike Johnson, shot by Pete Kozachik. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Chris Lebenzon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter and Emily Watson carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "There's been a grave misunderstanding.".
10IMDB entry: tt0121164 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
1110,475 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
12Classified under 28 themes, including "skeleton", "love triangle", "cheating", "wedding vows".
13Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Pete Kozachik
Original score: Danny Elfman
Editing: Chris Lebenzon
Production design: Alex McDowell
VFX supervisor: Pete Kozachik
Sound: Steve Boeddeker
Runtime: 77 min · 1h 17m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $40,000,000
Box office: $118,133,252
Return: 295% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Corpse Bride (2005)

Also by

Mike Johnson

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-11-07
★ 7/10
The “Van Dort” family have the name but no cash, the “Everglot” family are the nouveau-riche sort who crave respectability and so when needs must, they arrange a mutually beneficial marriage between “Victor” and “Victoria” - perhaps Dame Julie Andrews might sing at the wedding? Well, before we even get that far, the young “Victor” finds his wedding rehearsal in the dark forest sees him unwittingly betrothed to someone altogether bonier, and she is determined to hold onto her new man. Now ensconced in the underworld with an whole new batch of friends, he has to find a solution that will placate his new “bride” whilst getting him back to the land of the living and a beloved who thinks he has just abandoned her. What are the chances, or might he even start to fall in love with his new spouse instead? This is Tim Burton at his best, with some cracking stop-motion animation delivering, at quite a hectic pace, a really fun story of life (or death), love and the pursuit of happiness. The quirky attention to the detail of big eyes and waif-like bodies is worthy of Ray Harryhausen and Danny Elfman’s score imbues these characters with a modicum of mischief, menace and even malevolence - even if much of that latter element comes from the imposing vicar - to complement the story really engagingly. Eighty minutes just flies by and though I didn’t really like the ending, it’s still a classy production to watch.

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