Movie: Corpse Bride

I really like Tim Burton. With a few exceptions - Sleepy Hollow, for example - his films always have a great mix of classic story, creepy otherworldlyness, and good fun. I mention Sleepy Hollow because I'm an enormous fan of the source material, and although the movie was good for what it was, they should have changed the name.

A Nightmare Before Christmas I can usually take or leave. But Corpse Bride is going to become my new Halloween tradition methinks.

The movie is a musical (of sorts), and the same stop-motion animation as Nightmare - well, fused with some damn amazing CGI. The plot is pretty thin, and the real star of the show is the animation and imagination that brings everything together. There's a nice moment where the dead people, who are full of life and seem to appreciate everything, are contrasted with the living, who are dull as doornails and concerned with things that don't really matter.

There's enough awesome inside jokes (check out the name on the grand piano towards the beginning of the movie) and awesome monster bits to earn this film the awesomely awesome award. And, you can take the kids to see it!