Les Noces funèbres (2005)

The “Van Dort” family have the name but no cash, the “Everglot” family are the nouveau-riche sort who crave respectability and so when needs must, they arrange a mutually beneficial marriage between “Victor” and “Victoria” -  perhaps Dame Julie Andrews might sing at the wedding? Well, before we even get that far, the young “Victor” finds his wedding rehearsal in the dark forest sees him unwittingly betrothed to someone altogether bonier, and she is determined to hold onto her new man. Now ensconced in the underworld with an whole new batch of friends, he has to find a solution that will placate his new “bride” whilst getting him back to the land of the living and a beloved who thinks he has just abandoned her. What are the chances, or might he even start to fall in love with his new spouse instead? This is Tim Burton at his best, with some cracking stop-motion animation delivering, at quite a hectic pace, a really fun story of life (or death), love and the pursuit of happiness. The quirky attention to the detail of big eyes and waif-like bodies is worthy of Ray Harryhausen and Danny Elfman’s score imbues these characters with a modicum of mischief, menace and even malevolence - even if much of that latter element comes from the imposing vicar - to complement the story really engagingly. Eighty minutes just flies by and though I didn’t really like the ending, it’s still a classy production to watch.