Is Corpse Bride animation or claymation? Explained

A scene from the film (Image via Warner Bros. Entertainment)

Corpse Bride is a 2005 animated dark fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. The film premiered at the 62nd Venice International Film Festival on September 7, 2005, and was theatrically released in the United States on September 23, 2005.

Corpse Bride is set in the Victorian period, and revolves around Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp), a shy young man who unwittingly ends up marrying a semi-dead woman. The film deals with themes like love, social mobility, domestic abuse, revenge, among others.

The synopsis of the film on Amazon Prime Video reads:

“A man marries a dead woman, who takes him to the underworld.”

Corpse Bride is a claymation film. In other words, the makers of the film used clay puppets and the technique of stop-motion animation to bring the various characters to life.

Read on to find out more about the same.

Corpse Bride is a claymation film

Stop-motion is a technique of filmmaking in which objects are photographed in succession. Between the photographs, the objects are physically manipulated in small measures. Hence, when the photographs are played back, the frames produce the illusion of motion.

Objects made out of a variety of substances can be used for the purpose of stop-motion animation. A claymation film is a type of animated film in which clay puppets are used during photography. Thus, Corpse Bride qualifies as a claymation film since the characters were essentially figurines made of clay that were manipulated and photographed.

Animation World Network published a report on September 16, 2005, detailing the various strategies adopted in order to bring out the varied emotions of the characters in the film. For instance, apart from clay, materials like silicone, foam, steel, and others were used to build the puppets in ways that would allow more flexibility in the movements of the puppets.

Exploring the plot of Corpse Bride

The story revolves around Victor Van Dort and Victoria Everglot, who are a couple to be married soon. However, on their wedding day, the socially awkward and shy Victor messes up his wedding vow, and commits other errors that cause chaos. He momentarily leaves the place and goes to the nearby forest to practice his wedding vow.

As he practices the ritual, he tries to put the ring on what appears to be a root. However, as soon as he puts the ring there, it becomes clear that it is the skeletal hand of a dead woman, still dressed as a bride. This woman turns out to be Emily, the titular Corpse Bride.

Emily now states that she and Victor are a couple, and takes him to the Land of the Dead. Victor tries various tricks to get back to the Land of the Living and marry Victoria, but all his efforts are in vain. Once Emily realizes how deeply the two love each other, she devises a plan to take him back to the real world.

Meanwhile, Emily’s parents have arranged her marriage with another man. This man turns out to be Emily's fiance who had killed her on their wedding day. Through a series of adventures, justice is meted out to the murderer as he unknowingly drinks from a glass of poison.

Following this, Victor and Victoria are finally free to marry each other. Emily also has her revenge since her murderer is dead and so, her soul ascends up into the sky as she finally finds peace in death.

Corpse Bride: Streaming options and cast

At the time of writing, Netflix, Apple TV+, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video are streaming the film. The table below lists the minimum monthly plans for the platforms currently streaming the film: