Stop motion on Blu-ray was already like you are there in the sets with the figures. 4K takes that and hones in the subtle details. The 20th anniversary of Tim Burton’s third stop-motion movie, and the only one he co-directed, lets us experience Corpse Bride intimately.
The details include the texture on the sets, horses and carriages, the wardrobe and the faces of each figure. You can see dust disappear from frame to frame. A puddle is unreal because it’s probably real water.
The living world is a pseudo black and white movie so it’s bringing a fantastical color and lighting scheme to vivid life too. That makes the colorful world of the dead all the more vibrant.
Of course a dark Tim Burton movie is going to have lots of shadow which are the deepest possible in 4K. There’s a shadow pocket under Victoria’s mother’s breasts. Throughout their castle and under the arches in the rain, and every corner of the Underworld highlights the deep void.
The dead creatures scamper throughout the background in surround sound, and the Danny Elfman music swells.
New features with producer Allison Abbate, writer John August and co-director Mike Johnson focus on looking back and the context of the film in 2005. Archival features from the original DVD release cover the making of the film.