Corpse Bride

2005 saw the long awaited return of Tim Burton to the world of stop motion animation. Since the release of Burton’s previous foray into this genre as a producer of the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas fans were eagerly anticipating the release of Corpse Bride, this time as director.

This puppet is Victor Van Dort the unfortunate hero of the story, he was voiced by Burton regular Johnny Depp one of six collaborations with the director. He stands approximately 19 inches tall and was constructed by Mackinnon and Saunders of Altrincham, England. The puppets themselves are also more elaborate than previous incarnations. A “Gear and Paddle” method was introduced allowing the intricate movement of the face to be controlled via the turning of a tiny screw in the characters ear. The screw moves a complicated system of gears that then move a paddle giving lifelike movements. This also gave less wear and tear to the delicate structures. The main body is a more traditional pose-able stainless steel frame. The skin is foam and silicone covered with real cloth to help protect the puppet and add a level of realism to the tiny costume. The face has been painstakingly detailed and finished.

Corpse Bride was filmed at “Three Mills Studio” in the East End of London, it was the first stop motion movie to be shot in digital, using still (Canon EOS) cameras. It premiered at the Venice Film festival on September 7th 2005 and went on to be nominated for an Oscar as best animated movie.