Tim Burton - Corpse Bride

Sep 22, 2005

Tim Burton is one of the hippest and raddest cats to ever come the pike. He creates amazing movies and his latest is Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. It’s a stop motion wet dream that has advanced the form to new heights.

Check out the official site for Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride

Daniel Robert Epstein: The Land of the Dead in Corpse Bride is so much better than the land of the living.

Tim Burton: It wasn’t meant to be so literal. It goes back to the way I grew up feeling that everybody’s categorized. A bureaucratic society versus what the land of the dead was representing, the much more of the vibrant creative life. Also just growing up in an environment where the subject of death was a very dark, forbidden subject. I also grew up near Mexico where you were aware of the Day of the Dead ceremonies where there was a lot of humor with music, dancing, skeletons and things. It seemed like a much more appropriate and more spiritual, positive approach to life. I think it was a combination of those things.

I think the challenge on this was the human characters actually. It’s easier to make fantasy characters. I find a lot of times in stop motion when they try to do human characters they’re too realistic. I went back to the short film I did, Vincent and looked at Victor as Vincent grown up. That shaped the start of how to craft the look of the human characters. I think it’s a combination of the character designs and the actors that we had. What was weird was that all characters were designed well before we cast any of the actors. It was amazing that Victor kind resembled Johnny. The same when I see the Albert Finney character and hear his voice, it’s so perfect. This movie was really special because I think all the actors made me feel like it wasn’t an animated movie, it was more of a live action film, because they really nailed their voices well.

DRE:

Could you talk about your relationship with Johnny Depp?

TB:

Well it hasn’t become sexual yet, but ever since I met him for Edward Scissorhands, he’s maintained an artistic integrity that’s amazing. In a movie industry where people can get seduced by certain things he’s always kept doing what he does. That integrity to me is something that find really amazing. I love working with him and I like working with actors that like to change and transform and he’s certainly the type. He’s more like Lon Chaney or Boris Karloff than he is leading man in terms of wanting to become different characters. That’s just a very creative process.

DRE:

Does he represent you in these films?

TB:

I think he’s a lot better looking than I am. What’s great about him is he always tries to get into the spirit of something. Rather than just being himself, he immerses himself in a character with whomever he’s working with. It’s something that’s a part of his art.

DRE:

Do you think if Corpse Bride is successful it could spark a return for stop motion animation?

TB:

It’s unfortunate that Disney closed down their drawn animation. They made a few drawn movies that weren’t too successful and then they go, “Well that’s it, we’re going to go to computers.” I think they forget that the reason why computer animated movies are successful is because Pixar made good movies. So everybody tries to copy that. Someday somebody will get do a beautifully drawn, cell-animated movie that will connect with people and they’ll go; “Now we got to go make that again.” It’s unfortunate that they’re not open to the different aspects and the different medias. One of the reasons I held out on both Nightmare and Corpse Bride to do it in this medium was because I’m very emotional about the process. The handmade puppets and the artistry and the beauty of which they’re made and the sets and all. We even experimented with computers and Corpse Bride. But we did a test and it was very nice looking, but it didn’t have the sort of raw, primal thing that stop motion has.

DRE:

Do you ever see yourself making a CGI movie?

TB:

I think it’s very valid. All forms are valid. You try not to do what Hollywood does which is to say everything now has got to be computer. If the right kind of project for computer-animated thing came up, then you do it. But again, I think it’s important that the story and the medium are compatible.

DRE:

They’re saying already that this is going to win the Oscar.

TB:

I won third prize at a van painting contest, that’s about it. I don’t think too much about it. Honestly, all I hope for in this particular case is that I love the movie and that it connects with enough people.

DRE:

Could you talk about the tragedy of [Corpse Bride producer] Joe Ranft’s death?

TB:

Obviously, it’s one of the most tragic things. I never in my life met a person like Joe. I dare you to find anyone in this room who could say anything bad about this person. Everybody liked him and for good reason. He was the one who introduced me to the Corpse Bride story when we were working on Nightmare and looking for something else to do in this medium. A few months ago, he came to me and we talked. Joe always had ideas so he was just a real inspiration from the beginning. Even though he was with Pixar and doing these other things, we always kept in touch a little bit on the project. He cared about it.

DRE:

How was it when Ray Harryhausen came by the set of Corpse Bride?

TB:

Actually about a week or so before the recordings began Johnny, Helena and I went over to Ray’s house in London. I never met him before but I am obviously a huge fan and it was an amazing experience. He’s such an influential person and such an inspiration for almost any animator, whatever form they do. I think Jason and the Argonauts had some of the most amazing sequences of any movie I’ve ever seen. When he came to set production ground to a halt and everybody was just so in awe of him. People were in a dark room for two years and all of the sudden this god-like figure shows up; it was a good boost for everybody. I think he appreciated the fact that the form is still around.

DRE:

He was a direct influence on Corpse Bride.

TB:

Yes we had dancing skeletons.

DRE:

Corpse Bride was quite well endowed.

TB:

We toned her down a little bit, actually. She is a corpse after all. We wanted to make her pretty and corpses have a way of filling out a person.

DRE:

In Corpse Bride as well as many of your films you had a pointy nosed dog; did you grow up with a pointy nosed dog?

TB:

I had three dogs that meant a lot to me. I think if you had a dog as a child or at any age and you lose them, they’re kind of like unconditional love. I always found them important. In a way they are your first loves.

DRE:

I remember your Rolling Stone interview in 1992 you mentioned David Cronenberg twice as someone you admire. It’s hard not think of that since we are doing this at the Toronto Film Festival. Could you ever go where he goes?

TB:

Well I don’t want to go where he goes. I think I mentioned all that because in Hollywood people try to link things and people together so it’s always nice when people are able to do their individual little projects. You can recognize a David Cronenberg and the more of that the better. I think everyone would like to see more of that. Just not people lumped together as a type, people able to do their thing more.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

SG Username: AndersWolleck

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