Coxie's Army: Letters From the Front

There's something about this story that has stuck with me. The city of Miami where I've resided most of my life is relatively young, compared to some of the other cities in our nation. Incorporated in 1896, it is just barely over a hundred years old.  And the suburb city of North Miami is even younger than that. And while they both have their fair share of stories and folk tales, most of them are lost to us.

The residents in this city have changed so often. Due to the Cubans coming here in the 80's and the exodus from the Caribbean in the 90's, not to mention the retirees from the north. Descendants of the original settlers have moved further north in Florida. The city is full of immigrants, who have their own cultures and beliefs.  while the Cubans tend to embrace the American cultures, because the young adults have very little or few memories of their homeland. The Caribbeans however have brought over some of their fears and superstitions. Halloween tends to be just another day in North Miami for most of the Haitian kids.   And when the majority of the residents in your town, don't celebrate Halloween, well that puts a damper on festivities. South Miami, and West Palm Beach where the Cubans and white folks live, tend to go all out celebrating Halloween. North Miami just wants the kids off the street.

So to hear of a different time in the city of North Miami, when Halloween was embraced as the youth holiday it is supposed to be. A time for mischief and misadventure, well it just warms the cockles of my heart, and leaves me feeling nostalgic for an America that just doesn't exist anymore. At least not in South Florida.

I found a PDF file of the letters Coxie's Army would leave the library, and the the letters from the library to the Army.

Click here to check it out.

Long Live Coxie's Army

In 1969 a group of teenage boys too old for trick or treat, too young to party, gathered together on Halloween. They wanted to pull a prank that would satisfy the rotten kid in all of them. Something big enough to garner attention but not mean-spirited or destructive. They decided to spike a pumpkin through the steeple of the North Miami Public library. The act itself might not seem so impressive, despite its 43 foot climb to the steeple. What was really  impressive is what was foretold in the accompanying poem to the prank:

"The Great Pumpkin shall watch over your library forever. "

And so it has for 37 years. Undeterred by construction, lifestyles changes and weather.  The boys now in their 50's still gather together to fulfill their promise every year.

A group of 6 or 7 boyscouts, they referred to themselves as Coxie's Army.  A moniker given to them by their scout leader who told them they were a mess looking as bad as Coxey's Army, a group of unemployed worker who led a march on Washington in 1894.

They gave themselves codenames such as  Lt. Youthful Yak, Lt. Col. Major Minor, Lt. Col. Yeti .P. Sasquatch, Staff Sergeant Skeeter and Colonel Coxie that they would sign onto every poem attached to the pumpkin.

The army now have all moved away except for one. The former boyscouts have grown up to become a Broward minister and electrician, a boat mechanic in Maryland, a carpenter in Tallahassee and an Orlando restaurant owner.

The library has tried to discover the identity of the army, but to this date they remain anonymous. The library has sort of embraced the yearly prank, or blessing as they call it. They've set up an exhibit showcasing the many poems left by the army and pictures of the prank. They've also left their own poems. In 1984 on the 16th anniversary of the prank, the library installed a new cupola and a larger steeple that now placed  them 47 feet into the air. The work was scheduled to be completed by December but the library pushed to have it done in time for Halloween. In effect daring the army to complete their task that year.

"The steeple is now close to 50 feet high, "If you fall off, I hope you can fly." 

They've considered it a blessing for so many years.  Since The end of October marks the end of peak Hurricane season, the pumpkin signifies another year that the library and the town have been spared. Even through major hurricanes like Andrew and and pesky ones like Wilma.

Wilma in 2005 fact created such slippery condition that kept the pumpkin from making it all the way to the steeple. A smashed pumpkin was found on the roof, denoting that years failure.

They were back again in full form for 2006. But last year the pumpkin only made it so far as the front door. You can blame last years heavy rain, or perhaps old age. The oldest member of the group is 55.

The poem they leave every year always noted the changes in the army's lives, as well as changes in the city, our country and the world. Previous poems have talked about weddings, and children being born, during Hurricanes they gave encouragement to the community, on 9-11 they left us inspiring words, and reminded us all why silly Halloween rituals like these are important. This year comes a huge change, the Army had a casualty, Staff Sergeant Skeeter. The youngest of group passed away on July 20th. Succumbing to cancer at the age of 49. He was the only one left residing in Miami.

It leaves us all wondering if the Great Pumpkin will ever rise again.

La Casa De Los Trucos

I spent my pre-teen years moving from place to place. From Miramar to Coral Gables, I must have lived everywhere in South Florida, south of Hollywood. 

Probably the best neighborhood I ever lived in was in Coral Way. Near the Planetarium, I had family on the next block. But they also did Halloween up right there. All the houses gave candy. All the kids dressed up. And all the older kids caused serious mischief. In Miami, in the Cuban neighborhoods, traditional Halloween shenanigans are still a right of passage. The egg throwing battlefields are especially hazardous to your health. These mofo's bury the eggs for a month for EXTRA STENCH. Or worse yet, they freeze them for extra hard-hitting stopping power.

I remember one Halloween, my neighbor, a rowdy, yet friendless, teenage boy named Mike, drafted me into his egg throwing crusade. We weren't too bright. We tossed eggs from the side of the road.  In front of our houses.  Most of the cars in Coral Way and Coral gables, were fancy current year models, BMW's and whatever was NEW back then.  After being egged they'd just keep on driving, it's all in good fun after all, right? And to find the culprits in pitch black might prove difficult. On that night Mike got sight of a Porsche and unleashed hell on it. The Porsche screeched to a complete halt and went into reverse. At this point we took off running from the backyard to the front yard at full speed. My Dracula cape flapping in the wind.

<-----That's not me. But you can only imagine how retarded I must have looked at age 8. Running into the cover of darkness, With a black and red cape flapping in the wind.  While I had my reservations on Mike's planning. I had no choice now. I would have to follow Mike into Hell if he so desired. But instead he headed for safety. He ran all the way home. Past both our mothers in the patio And Hid under his bed. And I hit there with him, cowering like Shaggy and Scooby Doo.

The Porsche owner was young and he was fast. he kept up with us most of the way. And I'm pretty sure he saw us duck into Mike's House. But when he reached the patio where our mother's sat, Mike's mother assured us, they had no children. I still remember the Porsche driver's booming voice as it echoed throughout the house.

"I'm Gonna Call the police on your Bastard Children. They Egged my Porsche, My Porsche!"

But I digress, my point was Halloween was exciting there. it was good to be a kid in those days and not be dragged to some stupid mall to ask for candy.  And the starting palace for Halloween shenanigans, was La Casa De Los Trucos.  It was the mythical Shangri-lah every kid talked about. it's where you just HAD to get your costume. Sure you could just go to KMART and buy a ten dollar flammable piece of plastic to drape over your body. Or you can go to La Casa De Los Trucos and get some authentic shit.

Of course as time went by, I forgot about the place, and they seemed to have closed.  But truthfully they just changed locations. This year thanks to some local TV commercials, I realized they were still in business and sought them out.

They are now on Calle Ocho and have been there for years. The first thing that struck me odd was that Calle Ocho has a Walk Of Fame. I must not have noticed or cared about it before.  Here is one such star.

This is their original building at this location. I vaguely remember it. Which they closed and now use strictly as a warehouse.

This is some of the neat artwork on the shutters of the warehouse.

  

This is the front of the actual building and the signage surrounding it.

   

Inside there was tons of teenage cuban jailbait trying on the Sexy ____ costume. the sexy robin Hood, the Sexy Nurse, the sexy witch, the sexy Flintstone.

There's mom's encouraging them like only cuban moms do.

"yes mijita, these assless fishnet leggings would look so Cute on You!"

There were rows and rows of masks.

They also had these awesome Lucha Libre masks.

 

They even had NACHOOOO LIBRE!

Were I a more daring man, I'd embarrass myself and my child trick or treating as Nacho.

Ally had loads of fun trying on hats and costumes.

I think, she's campaigning for McCain!

But really she just wanted to be an elephant. Dumb democrats lost another one. Who really wants to dress up like a Jackass?

I moved on to the Adult Costume area! Where I found these gems.

A priest with a boner! I'm already going to hell. Let's not anger the pope.

Place Breasts here! I think I found my costume.  Who wants a FREE Mammogram!???

I could go on with the costumes. But the place is renown for its trucos. It's tricks. I spent a half hour watching Ally fall for numerous has been old jokes, joy buzzers, fake insects, things that sprung out, and exploded. The man behind the counter was gracious enough to demonstrate over a dozen tricks. And Ally was such a willing foil.

We left there with an Exploding cigarette box trick to pull on Grandma. I'll let you know if she disowns us later.

 

And this innocent jar of jelly beans.

 

Open the lid and.....

Bwhahahahaah!

We've already pulled that one on a half dozen people.

She's such an awesome prankster, she sets them up like this..

"You want some jelly beans? Here you go, Don't eat them all okay!?"

The Phaaan-tom of the opera is there, inside my mind!

 

Okay so it turns out I love.
love....
love this music. (yeah I'm not gay, I just like showtunes)

But I hate...
hate.
hate this movie.

Before we start have you guys heard? Probably, because I know everyone's heard. In case you haven't heard the word. Click this link.

Phantom of the Opera starts off several years after the events in the book original film. The movie is told via flashback. The flashback themselves have transitions to the past that rival the best in any of the Highlander series.  it pretty much follows the plot of the original film, except in song. This Phantom however is a musical genius, he knows everything behind the theater/opera business. He's a great composer, singer, makeup artist, stuntman, effects coordinator, costume artist and theatre manager, I've a feeling he also might be stellar at running the concession stand if given have a chance. He finds a young ingénue by the name Christine Daee who has been gifted the gift of song. He nurtures her talent and one day plans to make her a star.

Unlike the previous film, our musical Christine Daee is much more innocent. She likes the idea of being the star someday, but she isn't manipulating anyone to get there. She is also in love with the Phantom. The only one who actually has a problem with the Phantom's deformity is the Phantom himself. He owes a lot more to the character of Two-Face than the character Lon Chaney played in the 1925 silent picture. His scarred face is easily obscured, but his tortured soul cannot be hidden by a mask. The third lead, the count is a swashbuckling young man, as skilled in horse riding and fencing as he is in singing.  In the end we don't buy Christine's love for the Count de Chagny, he's just a summer love she had many years ago. The Phantom has helped her blossom into womanhood, and has shown her true passion. The only reason I think they don't end up together in the end is because he's a murderer and he's being hunted down by angry villagers with pitchforks and torches.  Aside from that he's a nice guy, who just need a hug. Once Christine gives him what he needed, he sees the error of his way and lets the heroic duo go.

Why do I hate this film? it's not cause it's directed by Joel Schumacher. I've made my peace with that man. For years I've refused to watch anything with his name attached, ever since he made the worst film ever made: Batman and Robin. It's amazing how one film can tarnish an entire career. How the man who made classics like D.C. Cab, The Lost Boys, Flatliners and Falling Down can be burned at the stake as a heretic for "gaying" up Batman.  He made a great picture called Phone Booth in 2002 and helped made Colin Farrell a star. But it wasn't until the Special Edition DVD releases of the original 4 Batman films that I forgave him. The motherfucker apologized in not so many words for Batman and Robin. He said something along the line of, "The studio was pressuring us to make a giant toy commercial. we are all grown people, we knew what we were getting ourselves into though, in retrospect we should have known better" That was the day I called the Fatwa off of Joel Schumacher that I've had on him since 1997. Seriously, on my old website, The Sci-Fi Buzz and Traveling Circus I posted a wanted poster Dead or Alive for Joel Schumacher for crimes against humanity. I know it's just a movie, but man did it suck.

He did a perfectly good directing job, he turned a static stageplay into a beautiful looking flowing motion picture. most people tend to just do a one camera angle shoot for Musicals brought to film and they turn out dull and horrible. He padded this film with events right out of the original film and book. There was even a great swordfight in a cemetery that just made you believe this was happening in the real world and not on stage.  This was very much like a Disney Animated musical, only boring.

Yes boring. Thanks to the leads and the slow pacing. We definitely needed an intermission here. A pause to let us reflect and brace ourselves for yet another song. it seems like quiet a few extra songs were added. I mean I know it's a musical about making an opera, but did the operas have to have their own full fledged numbers too?

Gerard Butler was a bit stiff and his singing rough. it seemed like he was doing a bad Antonio Banderas  impression, which is coincidental, because he really wanted to do this part and the studio turned him down. Here he is in a duet with the originator of the Christine Daee role on Broadway, Sarah Brightman.

 

I also don't think Emmy Rossum was worth all the fuss. Certainly not worth killing for. I did like Minnie Driver as the operatic Diva Carlotta. she seemed to really have a lot of fun with the role, even though all her singing was dubbed. No one's really cared about Minnie since like Good Will Hunting. It's good to know that she's still working even though like Carlotta, she has to take a backseat to the prettier more talented younger girls. I'm curious how she even got offered the part. It's a musical and she can't sing. It's like someone through her a bone or something. She ends up playing the second or third female lead,  she steals the show away from Emmy Rossum and even Miranda Richardson who was fantastic in Sleepy Hollow but seems to phone this performance in.

In closing, I'd recommend this if you're a fan of the musical only. I wouldn't watch this film again, but It definitely piqued my interests in the Broadway Play. If it's coming back this way I'll definitely be checking it out.

 

     

I Rocked the Vote, I liked it.

My apologies to Katy Perry for this entry's title.

But I registered to vote for the first time ever. Here I am 31 years old an American Citizen and I never bothered to exercise my right to vote. Our forefathers revolted for representation, and as hard as suffragettes fought for the right to vote in this country and yet I've been taking it for granted.

But then again that's my right as an American. Freedom to Slack is one of the Bill of Rights isn't it?

I blame the 90's.  I started off being politically motivated and interested, but by the time my first election rolled around I was 20, and no longer gave a fuck.

It's not like I never tried. I remember registering to vote at a Warped Tour once but nothing ever came of that. I never got my voter registration card.

Now it's 2008. Its time to vote. Time for Change.

But would the slacker in me, let me follow through? Although I registered online like 2 weeks ago. I have to say I waited until the last possible date, the final hour to mail my registration in.

But Whoot, there it is. Frank Sinatra stamp and everything.

If you haven't yet done so. Go down to http://rockthevote.com/ and register. Print it out and get it postmarked by 5 PM today. STAT!

Lon Chaney in Phantom of the Opera

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Today's entry is part one of  a double feature The Phantom of the Opera (1925) the silent film classic starring The Man of 1000 faces, Lon Chaney, and the 2005 adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical directed by Joel Schumacher on HD-DVD.

Besides the themes that have transcended into pop culture into countless parodies and homages into film, television and comic books, I am not too familiar with either the original novel, the classic silent picture or the musical. I had seen the 1989 slasher version starring Robert Englund, which was more Jack The Ripper than Phantom of the Opera.

The 1925 Silent movie starts at  famous Paris Opera house in the midst of a production of Faust. Ironically, the main female character of Christine Daae makes her own pact with the devil. A devil known as the opera ghost or The Phantom. Little is known about the Phantom except he is in love with Christine, a love that drives him to commit all sorts of atrocities in Christine's name. At first wicked woman that she is, she doesn't seem to mind that her suitor drops a chandelier on the star of the show, thus catapulting her into the spotlight. She even rejects her fiancee from the fame the Phantom promises to lay at her feet. it isn't until she  find out he is just as monstrous on the outside as he is on the inside that she rejects the Phantom. At that point she goes crawling back to the fiance she rejected begging for help. And of course he's a handsome wealthy aristocrat. If she can't have fame, she'll take the next best thing, money.  Women are evil.

The disc I watched was the out of print 2004 Delta DVD release. At first it looks promising. You open it an it includes a high quality reproduction of the original poster.

Most big studios barely include an insert in their DVD's. Much less a cool ass poster!

But its all down here from there. While most of the picture upscales rather nicely to my 50 Inch screen, the transfer was horrible. It seemed to come from a video cassette with major tracking problems. The soundtrack really didn't seem to fit the film, except in a few places. And there was a laughtrack that sometimes popped in in inappropriate times. At the beginning of the film there was an announcement made that let us all know this film was made during the silent era and some trivia about the location, which apparently is still standing today. The print also switched from a black and white version to a  tinted version during the Masquerade scene. I don't believe that was intentional.

If you've never seen it, it's worth a view, if only to admire the work that Lon Chaney put into the makeup at great deal of pain to himself, to dilate his eyes and stretch and contort his face. The man was very dedicated to his craft. But if you do, seek out the much better Milestone Collection print which I have linked above. It includes several versions of the film and alternate endings.

For Tomorrow the 2005 Adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Hit musical.

Ichabod, Ichabod, Ichabod Crane...

Man, it's just barely day three and I've missed the movie for day three and the review for day two. Luckily I watched two movies on Day 2 so that it evens out.

I watched Legend Of Sleepy Hollow, which was originally released as one of Disney's packaged films in 1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. And Immediately after I Saw Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow on HD-DVD.

Part of the reason this review is late is that I wanted to read the original short story written by Washington Irving and compare it to the feature films. Along with his other classic Rip Van Winkle, Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of our only few American fairy tales.

  

Growing up I must have watched the Disney Classic at least once every single Halloween. The early Disney animation was polished enough to hold up today's standard. The songs sung By Bing Crosby are quaint but still catchy and mellow. Like the short story, the Disney has a lot of buildup before it gets to what we've all been waiting to see. The Headless Horseman.

What all this buildup led into was one of the most harrowing, intense chases in films. At least when I was 5. Poor blundering Ichabod was barely 1 step ahead of death by the Headless Horseman. Now as an adult I see it for the comical adventure that it is. But for years the ending featuring a flying flaming jack-o-lantern was a frightening site. Disney ran a yearly Halloween special show you only Ichabod's Last ride, which never showed the happy endings and left Ichabod for dead.  If Disney had made an action figure of the Headless Horseman, I would've clamored for it. Cause he was bad ass.

Whether or not, Ichabod is dead at the end of the cartoon, mourn him not. For he is probably one of Disney's least likeable leading men. He is odd, ugly, lanky, nerdy superstitious and intrusive. But worst of all he is a glutton and a gold digger. He cared not for Katrina van Tassel, just for the fortune her rich farmer father would leave to her, that would pass to him by marriage. All he cared about was that wonderful green  green cabbage that we call cash.

Maybe in the 40's he was just a flawed humorous caricature of a man. But in today's world we call him a bastard. Go to hell Ichabod, Ichabod, Ichabod Crane. The real tragedy of this movie where the Dutch schoolchildren, as the short story elaborates without a schoolmaster to teach, the schoolhouse closed down.

Thanks to the glory of youtube you can watch the film here in four parts.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

 

Exactly 50 years later in 1999 came Sleepy Hollow, Tim Burton's first horror movie. And quite possibly his most accessible film and one of the most profitable. Because of the success of this film, the studios let him make that mess we call Planet of the Apes. Tim Burton is no longer a fringe director by any means. He's garnered enough respect and a fan following to make most of his films profitable. The accusations hurled at him by studio big wigs are that he doesn't make them profitable enough, because of his weirdness. Batman Returns should have been one of the most successful sequels ever, and it was at the time. But It needed to be BIGGER. It should  have been bigger. But it featured a weird looking Danny Devito in disgusting fat suit, eating raw fish. How many times are you really gonna want to watch that?

Planet of the Apes made 400 million worldwide. That is by no means a flop. But the studio felt Burton killed the possibility of the franchise and any more films are a financial risk.

So whenever the studios take a big money risk on Tim Burton they like to keep him on a leash. when I first heard of Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane, I thought my god, what obvious yet inspired casting. Yet the studios forced him to audition even though he was Burton's first choice. A different film it might have been indeed if Brad Pitt whom the studio was clamoring for, had accepted the role.

Many people who cared criticized this film from straying so far from the source material. They turned Sleepy Hollow from a fairy tale prank into a bloody, horror murder-mystery full of the fantastique. But the truth is after reading the short story, is is definitely grounded in that era and the mythology of Washington Irving's words. It owes just as much to the Disney version as well. Not only paying it a great homage when Caper van Diem's Brom Bones chases down Johnny Depp as a faux headless horseman. It's an almost shot for shot remake, It almost feels as they used the original Disney film as a storyboard for that sequence. Later on when Ichabod is being chased by the real headless horseman some of the same gags from the Disney film are used. Like when accidentally Ichabod finds himself on the Horsemans' steed. it's just as funny as it was 50 years earlier in 1949.

This time around the characters have more than simple naivete and superstitions fueling their fears of the horseman. They are involved in a major conspiracy and scandal that leads to murder most foul. Ichabod the founder of CSI: New York comes to Sleepy Hollow to use his forensic skills to detect the identity of the murderer. What we get is a tale about faith vs. superstition and Science Vs. the Supernatural.

And audiences ate that shit up. it made 200 million worldwide, and at the time I considered it to be Tim Burton's finest picture. But that was 1999.  It's is now 2008.

What do I think of it now? The movie is still fresh, and I had forgotten most of the plot to enjoy it once again with enough suspense as I did the first two times I saw it. While I still think its great picture, I know longer consider it his masterpiece. I enjoy Beetlejuice, Batman, and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure far too much to bestow that honor on this film.

But I recommend this not only for first time viewers, but a repeated viewing if its been awhile since you last saw it. This is a great film.

A word about the Sleep Hollow HD-DVD

 

The sound is great but this is merely a port of the DVD that came out in 2000. With great sound. The picture is beyond awful for HD. This is the first HD-DVD film I've been utterly disappointed in. I think they Just blew up the 2000 DVD and the result is a hot grainy mess.

 

BONUS VIDEO: The Headless Horseman 1934

Check out this animated short directed by Ub Iwerks during his sabbatical from Disney. He would later return to and serve as Chief Animator for Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It's cool to watch the parallels in animation between both versions. Particularly Ichabod and the movements of the horses.  

Check it out, it's 8 minutes with no dialogue but still manages to convey the heated love triangle, and comedy of the original short story.  Also of note is the racist depiction of the Negro servants, which are portrayed exactly as described by Washington Irving.

And it's got a great twist ending. Check it out  below.

Alas Poor Yorick, I knew him Horatio.... (plus a Corpse Bride Review)

         

I got my Iron Man Blu-ray Disc yesterday. I haven't checked out the Movie or Special Features yet, but the packaging is wicked.

 

Yesterday marked the first day of October. I decided to undertake an ambitious project for me. 31 Movies in 31 days.

31 Horror movies that is. And hopefully 31 reviews.

Yesterdays film was THE CORPSE BRIDE.

It's a beautiful looking picture especially on the Blu-Ray disc I saw it on. The sound was also nothing short of fantastic. Too bad the film had left as cold as the titular character. I had wanted to see this when it first came out. But made plans with a friend that never materialized. The plan and the friend seemed to vanish into thin air.

Even though I owned a copy of the film on DVD and I got the Blu-Ray for free last year with my Playstation 3, I still didn't feel right watching it.

Fuck It. I put on Tim Burton's follow up to Nightmare Before Christmas. And he turned it up to 11. The animation was smoother, the set design amazing. The voice acting talent, was also at a Whole Notha Level, with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter as the leads and not too mention Christopher Lee, Tracey Ullman and Albert Finney as part of the supporting voice cast. The humor and the frights found in the film also do not disappoint.

So why didn't I like this film? Nightmare before Christmas is Wonderful and joyous. I watch it every year and usually pay if it's in 3-D on the Big Screen. It's like if 5 year old Tim Burton's mind exploded on the big screen and that's what we got. Add Danny Elfman's score and catchy music, and lovable characters and you've got a masterpiece.

But Corpse Bride is missing all of this. Aside from the Corpse bride herself, the other characters aren't that interestingly designed. Compared to the citizens of Halloweentown in Nightmare the denizens of the Underworld in Corpse Bride are tame. The music and the songs just seemed phoned in, It feels like Danny Elfman didn't want to sound like Danny Elfman.  Finally it seems also that Tim Burton who put out the wonderful Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that year was way too busy to spend time on Corpse Bride.

He should have hired, who I know believe was the missing quotient, Henry Selick to oversee it all. While Nightmare Before Christmas was developed from an idea by Tim Burton and every frame of the film is stamped with his style, he didn't have the time to make the film because of contractual obligations to make the lunacy that Became Batman Returns. While it's not one of Burton's most remembered films you can tell by watching it that the same man was behind Batman Returns and Nightmare.  Henry Selick was able to make Burton's vision come to fruition. While I love Nightmare to death it isn't a perfect film and it drags a bit near the third act. I always wondered what it would have been like if Tim Burton had directed it. If it's anything like Corpse Bride I might have been disappointed. Henry Selick would go on to make his perfect stop motion animation film in James and the Giant Peach. While it's not as fondly remembered or as entrenched in the subculture, It is in a word, wonderful. And it came from the mind of the one guy who's weirder and wackier than Burton, Roald Dahl.

As for Corpse Bride, it might have been a great live action film in the vein of Beetlejuice or Sleepy Hollow or even comparable to Sweeney Todd. But as an animated musical it fails on every level to charm.I recommend if you like Tim Burton films or animation. But other than that just go ahead and skip it. Watch Nightmare Before Christmas or James and the Giant Peach instead.

 

P.S. If you're interested in following along. Tonight is a double feature. Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow and Walt Disney's Legend Of Sleepy Hollow.