In celebration of its 20th birthday, Tim Burton's beautifully morbid stop-motion animation Corpse Bride is back in cinemas in 4K, ready to both terrify and awe a new generation of children just as it did for me. However, as the movie claws its way back to the big screen (much like the film's corpse Emily desperately digs herself out of the dirt in search of marriage), I can't help but feel as though the meaning of the movie has changed for me, and Emily's story is much more relatable than I originally thought.
Although Corpse Bride follows shy and awkward Victor, anxious about marrying Victoria, the movie is really about Emily and her journey of self-discovery. Through her own internalized idea of who she should be and what society wants from her, Emily's eagerness to marry sends her into an early grave. But even when she is dead, she still cannot shake the pressure of one day being a real bride. As a child watching the film, you presume that Emily's obsessive quest for love comes from her cruel death and the fact that she is now a monster of sorts, when, actually, it's very real societal pressure following her even into the afterlife.
This is much like how, in our real world, even if women find the perfect job, can wholly support themselves and achieve their dreams, if we are alone, we can't help but feel as though something is missing. Despite the film being released 20 years ago and being based on a centuries-old myth, Emily's story highlights the fact that we haven't really shaken the need to be in a relationship, to be loved, or even wanted. Have we really learned nothing in 20 years?
Unearthing the Corpse Bride
Rewatching the classic two decades on, after I have grown into a woman close to Emily's age in the movie, I can't help but feel that my perception of Emily's journey has altered. Throughout the film, we learn how she was led on by an evil man who murdered her for her money. In the afterlife, Emily pines for true love, and when living human Victor accidentally proposes to her when mistaking her hand for a branch, she thinks her luck has changed. But no, the proposal was a mistake, and Emily is forced to once again long for a man who does not want her, so obsessed with the idea of marriage that it consumes her.
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Now, as an adult living in a more modern age that seems obsessed with love and relationships, from reality shows on almost every TV channel to dating diaries plastered all over my TikTok For You page, I can't help but feel that Corpse Bride is not just a fairytale – it's real. Emily's fate sadly reflects our own reality. Her whole story is centered on finding 'the one,' and, until then, she feels as though she is not really complete or is 'other' in society. As someone who was single for my whole life until a couple of years ago, I can fully connect with the idea of feeling different, almost like a corpse walking in the land of the living, alone and alien.
It's time to fly away
However, it doesn't have to be that way. After spending the whole movie hellbent on marrying Victor, which turns her against Victoria and sees her completely lose herself in the process, Emily realizes this is not what she really wants. Marrying Victor would only trap them both in a miserable situation, just as Emily was trapped by death. By giving up on the idea of being in a relationship, Emily sets herself free, finding her worth and accepting her life alone. In doing so, she finds true freedom and happiness, and physically turns into beautiful blue butterflies and flies away.
Differing from usually fairytale-esque animated movies and traditional fairytales like Snow White, Rapunzel, and even Shrek, Corpse Bride's Emily doesn't have to find love to find peace. But despite Burton's movie demonstrating what we all know to be true, it seems as though we are still getting caught up in the need to be constantly in a relationship. We put so much stock in having a partner, obsessing over TV shows such as Love is Blind and Married at First Sight, gawking at celebrity engagement posts, and consuming so much dating content on social media.
Although it's not necessary to die and come back to life and then die again in order to achieve happiness in your relationship with yourself, we can all take heed of Emily's journey and apply it to our lives. Instead of getting caught up in what others are doing in their lives, we can put that energy back into ourselves. Because being in a relationship is great, but being happy in yourself is even better.
The 4K re-release of Corpse Bride begins on October 10 in US and UK theaters. For more on what to watch, check out the rest of our Big Screen Spotlight series.
