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(More customer reviews)A dozen years after its release Tim Burton's "A Nightmare Before Christmas" continues to maintain a cult following. Burton returned to the realm of stop-motion animation as well as the deliciously macabre in "Corpse Bride", just released this year. Burton's love and preservation of the art of stop-motion animation is very important. This is a form of animation that is nearly dead in this country yet in the hands of masters such as Willis O'Brien (King Kong, Son of Kong) and Ray Harryhausen (Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans) it has given us many classic films. Burton expresses his deep admiration in a meeting with Harryhausen early on in this book. From Newmarket Press comes this wonderful and informative companion to the film. Unlike the cheaply produced fluff books like other film companion books that are loaded with photos and little worthwhile information, this book takes the reader through the entire filmmaking process from concept to digital filming. It is filled with over 250 color photos, illustrations, and storyboards.
The genesis of "Corpse Bride" began over a decade ago when a friend of Burton's told him about the Russian folklore story that the film is based on. Burton for years had shared his concept for the film with friends and colleagues and the book displays many of Burton's original sketches. The film began pre-production in 2003 and the book takes you through every step of the production process beginning with character creation and storyboards. Most interesting was the team's creation of the dozens of puppets and their armatures that would be used in animating the myriad of characters in the film. Improving upon "A Nightmare Before Christmas" the puppet makers uses a combination of both latex and silicon for the skin which gave a softer, dewy look to the characters and didn't wrinkle like pure latex did.
From there the book covers the casting of the character voices, costume and set design, animation (which was done digitally as opposed to traditional film) and music. The great Danny Elfman composed five songs for the film and the score, as well as providing the voice of the Bone Jangles character. The final fifty or so pages of the book provides an illustrated version of the film told with photos from the film, text, and song lyrics. It's simply a gorgeous book. The photos included are sharp and beautiful. But the real selling point is the wealth of information about the film. It's a must have for fans of the movie.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
Click Here to see more reviews about: Tim Burton's Corpse Bride: An Invitation to the Wedding (Newmarket Pictorial Moviebook)
A stunning visual companion to the newest film from Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), featuring storyboards, movie stills, and Burton's own drawings. Corpse Bride carries on in the dark, romantic tradition of Tim Burton's classic films Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Set in a 19th century European village, this stopmotion, animated feature follows the story of Victor (Johnny Depp), a young man who is whisked away to the underworld and wed to a mysterious Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham-Carter), while his real bride, Victoria (Emily Watson), waits bereft in the land of the living. Though life in the Land of the Dead proves to be a lot more colorful than his strict Victorian upbringing, Victor learns that there is nothing in this world, or the next, that can keep him away from his one true love. It's a tale of optimism, romance and a very lively afterlife, told in a classic Tim Burton style.Like Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, this official visual companion showcases spectacular movie stills, sketches, paintings, and Tim Burton's own drawings. Covering preproduction, production, and post-production, sections detail character realization, set development and construction, puppet fabrication, costuming, and stop-motion filming. The book's final part retells the film's story in images with synopsis, storyboards, and lyrics. 140 color illustrations.
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