rehearsal for a glorious wedding is underway. Timid Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson) is to wed the clumsy and equally shy Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp), yet it’s part of a secretive scheme by the Everglot family to marry into money. The Everglots still have a mansion and servants, but they’re essentially destitute.

At the ceremony, Victor can’t seem to get his vows straight, much to the disgust of the pastor (Christopher Lee) and the crowd of onlookers. When he wanders off into the woods to practice, he accidentally proposes – ring and all – to a gnarled root, which turns out to be the skeleton of a woman buried deep in the earth: Emily, the corpse bride (Helena Bonham Carter). Thanks to a bit of dark magic, the body emerges, accepting his unintentional promise. “You may kiss the bride.”

Quite cleverly, a skeleton narrator and his backup dancers (who also sing and play instruments made from each other’s bones) explain to the befuddled new groom that he’s now married to a murdered ghost – a curse for him, but a miracle for her. This love triangle understandably upsets the Van Dorts and the Everglots alike, who must get to the bottom of the mystery woman, currently holding Victor prisoner in the land of the dead. “Please! There’s been a mistake! I’m not dead!”

A fitting follow-up (a counterpart in the look and tone) to “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” once again boasting the music and lyrics of Danny Elfman, this macabre fairy tale doesn’t feature as many songs, but the premise accommodates much more romance – in a morbid sort of way. Despite similar proportions of adventure and comedy, the love story takes precedence, generating emotional material that supersedes the lengthier breaks between songs – and the fact that few of them are catchy or memorable. The notion that Victor and Emily are just too different to be together builds a sensible parable for unlikely unions and unthinkable sacrifices. “Are all men like this?”

The extremely exaggerated facial features of disproportionate denizens are once again a highlight; the character designs contain an abundance of humor, even when the personas themselves do as little as shuffle around a room. Innovative scene transitions and stellar animation techniques are also worthy components, while the color scheme is very much in line with writer/director Tim Burton’s aesthetic; it’s virtually a black-and-white picture, thanks to all the shades of gray. Yet, in an amusing twist, the land of the dead possesses a vividness and revelry not found in the land of the living. Burton certainly likes his gothic tales. And here, the otherworldly elements and forbidden love perfectly match that theme. The conclusion doesn’t entirely conform to the rules of life and death, but it’s still a sweet, moving fantasy, clearly geared towards adults over kids – a quality many of the most effective children’s diversions tend to follow.

– Mike Massie