Stop-Motion October: Rebecca Fisher Discusses “Corpse Bride”

by Rebecca Fisher

Introduction:

An old and macabre Jewish folktale does not seem like the most appropriate source material for a children’s film, and perhaps if the weight and eccentricity that Tim Burton’s name carries hadn’t been behind it, Corpse Bride would have never been made.

The original tale is recorded in a 17th century volume called Shivhei ha-Ari, and involves a young man on his way to his wedding. Halfway there he jokingly puts his bride’s ring on a gnarled twig poking out of the gr...