The dead have more fun than the living, again, in Burton’s new stop-motion animated feature, a gift to gothlings everywhere. It’s also arguably Burton’s most self-assured turn behind the camera in ages, and coupled with Mike Johnson’s seamless animation it makes for a splendid All Hallows treat. As in the director’s previous animated outing, the now-classic The Nightmare Before Christmas, this is a musical romantic comedy with dead things, and while Danny Elfman’s jaunty tunes fail to engage as memorably as in that film, John August, Pamela Pettler, and Caroline Thompson’s script is pure Burton, marrying (literally, in this case) the worlds of the dead and the might-as-well-be-dead to a Hammeresque tale of love, murder, and the redemptive power of, um, death. But the true stars are the cinematography by Pete Kozachik and the art direction by Nelson Lowry, which give Burton and Johnson’s film a magnificent polish, making it eye candy of the highest order.
Opened 09/23/05