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Author
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Comment
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jillie1374
Registered User
(9/26/05 12:46 pm)
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Corpse Bride
Hello,
Consider this a spoiler warning.
Apparently Tim Burton's latest film [i]Corpse Bride[/i] is based on a Russian fairy tale. However, I'd be shocked to find out that the basics of the plot, and especially the resolution, are straight from the tale itself.
So, any thoughts on what the original story is? I googled it, but have only found movie reviews. It reminds me a lot of a variation of Mr. Fox, where a student promises to marry a village girl if she'll meet him at midnight by a tree, and she realizes that he's going to kill her.
And of course, what do you all think of the movie?
-jill
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lisajensen
Unregistered User
(9/26/05 7:40 pm)
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Corpse Bride
Funny, I was just thinking about Corpse Bride.
What it made me think of was Tam Lin, at least the part about a mortal's love rescuing the enchanted from the grasp of an otherworldly lover. (Although it's done here with a nifty twist, I thought.) I love the visual homages to Edward Gorey & Charles Addams, and I enjoyed the subversive element that the dead have all the fun in their colorful, musical, underworld (not unlike fairyland).
I was interested in other similarities to Tam Lin, so I went to read up on it, but I couldn't find an entry for it in my Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales, or The Beast & The Blonde. It's not even annotated on the Sur La Lune site! (Although I can imagine how busy Heidi is.)
Does anybody know why this should be? Isn't Tam Lin a "real" fairy tale, for some reason? Is it known by a different name? Has anyone who ever heard the tale been enchanted to forget it?
Any enlightenment will be greatly appreciated!
Lisa
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Crceres
Registered User
(9/26/05 8:07 pm)
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Re: Corpse Bride
Major spoilers, since I saw it with my mom this weekend and we analysed it thoroughly (of course!).
The movie seemed to be using elements mainly from the Corpse Bride, Reynardine, with a dash of Rhiannon thrown in for the butterflies. The backstory was very much Reynardine or the Elf Knight, though not through to the end. There were also some parallels to stories of the Hulder (lad is lured underground by a beautiful young woman, where things are just terrific so long as he doesn't mind that his hosts are, in fact, trolls) , especially if you saw the first trailer, which used the Hall of the Mountain King for the music.
As for the plaint about Tam Lin--maybe it gets overlooked because it's a ballad?
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Heidi Anne Heiner
ezOP
(9/26/05 8:26 pm)
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Re: Corpse Bride
Haven't seen the movie nor read much about it, but here are some quick links and further info which may help....
First Tam Lin:
The most comprehensive site about Tam Lin on the web is at www.tam-lin.org/. It's usually discussed more as a ballad, Childe's, than an outright fairy tale.
On SurLaLune, we have lots of archived discussions (search on the front page of SurLaLune) and Joseph Jacobs' Tamlane including source notes at the bottom of the page. Jacobs cites Childe as his source.
Now Corpse Bride:
Also, found the tale cited as Burton's source on the following website. A background note to the tale--it is apparently Jewish in origin--is also provided, but alas no bibliographic information:
The Corpse Bride.
Here's also an article on the Jewish Times site: Burton's New Flick Has Jewish Bones. (This is the article to read if you are at all interested in the folkloric roots of the movie.)
Wikipedia, feel about it how you may, also has some extra notes about the tale including a story with a similar motif: Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.
Heidi
Edited by: Heidi Anne Heiner at: 9/26/05 8:28 pm
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midori
snyder
Registered User
(9/27/05 1:24 pm)
ezSupporter
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Re: Corpse Bride
Heidi, thanks for the reference in the Jewish Times. I actually went looking for my copy of Schwartz's "Lilith's Cave" because I could have sworn I read a version of the tale there (and I was right! "The Finger")
I loved the movie...I thought it was spectacular...and of course I am dying to see the DVD which I hope will have a special feature on the making of the movie.
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Dark Siren
Unregistered User
(9/29/05 12:53 pm)
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Re: Corpse Bride
Saw the trailer when I went to see "Charlie & the Chocolate
Factory" with Senga,and we really wanted to see it,but we haven't
yet.And unlike her,I don't mind some spoilers.So...Keep em comin'!:D
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jillie1374
Registered User
(10/3/05 8:05 am)
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Re: Corpse Bride
Heidi,
Thanks for the link to the article.
Midori,
I think I'm going to see if my library has a copy of Lilith's Cave on hand, it sounds like an excellant source.
thanks,
jill
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Littlegoosegirl
Unregistered User
(10/24/05 7:33 pm)
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corpse bride
I haven't seen the film, but just from what was written it makes me think of several stories such as the Snow Queen, The myth of Hades and Persepone, and Orpheus and Euridice. Just for some input, I know its somewhat off topic.
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chirons daughter
Registered User
(11/16/05 11:39 am)
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Re: corpse bride
Dunno how we feel about Clarissa Pinkola Estes' work -- I like her myself -- but she does a nice Jungian analysis of the Jewish version of the Corpse Bride in her book/talking tape "The Creative Fire." Basically having to do with creativity trampled in youth being replaced and living all its promises by the living bride of adult reflection. In the Jewish story's statement: "The dead have no claim upon the living, in spite of all the binding power of the false marriage vow."
Edited by: chirons daughter at: 11/16/05 11:41 am
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