Puppet Animation 11 Feb 2006 08:53 am

Corpse Bride

- Last night I was invited to a screening of The Corpse Bride and a gallery opening, adjacent to the theater. The gallery featured a choice collection of puppets, storyboards and production art for the film. Tim Burton was in attendance, and producer, Allison Abbate, and animation supervisor, Anthony Scott, were also there to answer questions. It was a delightfully small gathering, so there was ample opportunity to meet the three and take in the remarkable artwork.

I was particularly caught by the set illustrations of Luc Desmarchelier. They had a particular style, all his own. The other designs by huy Vu and Simon Varela also were brilliant.
(An illustration by Tim Burton – click to enlarge. )

The puppets were larger than I’d thought which made me realize how large their master sets had to have been. Those on display were about 18″ tall. The delicate armatures were part of the feature of the skeleton puppets with intricate little screws holding their joints together. The coach with horse that carries Victor and his parents in the film’s opening was also on display.

They gave opening night guests a copy of the DVD, which seems to feature quite a few extras, and a copy of the book, handsomely illustrated with many paintings. I’m sorry that a number of the set drawings aren’t pictured in the book. But beggars can’t be choosers.

The film is extremely attractive, and its production design should have been rewarded with. at least, a nomination by the Motion Picture Academy. However, we now have this new category, Best Animated Feature, which relegates all animation into the proper box, and we’ll see how long it takes to get a nomination outside of that pigeonhole. Things haven’t changed much since 1941 when Walt Disney quit the MPAA for not nominating Fantasia. He felt he had been slighted and that animation would alwas be relegated as an afterthought.


(A storyboard panel by Chris Butler – reminiscent of Ub Iwerks.)

The gallery will feature these puppets and models and drawings until February 20. If you’re in New York during this period, I urge you to visit. It’s at the Tribeca Cinemas Gallery at 13 Laight Street (at Canal Street) adjacent to the Tribeca Cinemas. Noon-8pm daily.

4 Responses to “Corpse Bride”

  1. on 10 Mar 2009 at 2:54 pm 1.yo moma said …

    tim burton is nothing with out artists like huy Vu and Simon Varela. and his story telling skills havent really improved that much. he’s just a name now but it’s really the people behind him that make him. they dont get enough credit. so I’m happy to see them getting some here.

  2. on 23 Dec 2009 at 8:21 pm 2.Helena Burton said …

    I loved this movie, but the original drawong looks so diferent, and I can’t tell which look I like better. I just have 1 little question…wht is every part of her decaying exept her boobs? That is so Burton it’s almost not funny.

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