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Edited Text
Juan Diego Illescas
Culminating Experience
Analysis of the Score by Danny Elfman for the Tim Burton’s
Corpse Bride
2
Table
of
Contents
Introduction
........................................................................................................................
3
The
Director:
Tim
Burton
...............................................................................................
4
The
Composer:
Danny
Elfman
.......................................................................................
6
Burton
and
Elfman
............................................................................................................
8
The
Movie:
The
Corpse
Bride
.....................................................................................
11
Introduction
to
music
Analysis:
Life
vs.
Death
.....................................................
14
Conclusion
.........................................................................................................................
23
Cue
List
...............................................................................................................................
24
Bibliography
.....................................................................................................................
26
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Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
3
Introduction
“…I consider that music is, by its very nature, powerless to express anything at
all, whether a feeling an attitude of mind, a psychological mood, a phenomenon of
nature. If, as is nearly always the case, music appears to express something, this is
only an illusion and not a reality…”- Stravinsky
Before the movies use dialogue, all movies were completely silent. Music was
already a typical element used in the theatres and it was brought over movies to add a
depth to the two dimensional image that appeared upon the screen. An added benefit
was that it covered up the annoying noise from the projector. Full orchestras
accompanied the majority of silent films. Books of music were published to provide
the accompanists with ideas for scene music, categorized by the elements used in the
picture and to create different mood along the film. With the advent of the talking
pictures, music once again established itself as a principal element in the film
industry. At first, sound films uses compiled classical music, usually from the 19th
century. This practice soon gave away, and the composing of original scores came as
a new camp in music. Max Steiner wrote the first completely original score for King
Kong in 1933, since then, many composers has decide to focus on the composing for
films, creating their own styles and give a special characteristics to their
compositions. One of those composers, who I personally had admired, event before
understanding and studying the scoring for films is Danny Elfman, not only because
of his particularly way of composing, but for his amazing career with the director Tim
Burton, and the way they start working as a team. Danny Elfman is recognized as one
of the most successful, interesting, and innovative composers in recent film music
composition.
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4
The
Director:
Tim
Burton
Tim Burton is a famed director, producer and screenwriter who born on
August 25, 1958, in Burbank, California. As a child, Burton was feel attracted with
the classic horror films of Roger Corman, many of which featured quintessential
screen villain Vincent Price. Tim Burton also developed a penchant for drawing and
enrolled at the California Institute of Arts, where he majored in animation. In 1980,
upon his graduation, he began working as an apprentice animator for Walt Disney
Studios. After a year of work, Burton grew tired with his work at Disney and decided
to start out on his own. In 1982, he released the award-winning short Vincent, which
paid homage to the enduring work of his childhood idol. In 1984, Burton created a
unique version of the Frankenstein story with the live action short Frankenweenie.
Impressed with Frankenweenie, Paul Reubens commissioned Burton to direct the
comedy Pee-wee's Big Adventure in 1985. The success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure
brought about other opportunities, including the ghost story Beetlejuice in 1988
starring with Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, and Geena Davis. Beetlejuice was
recognized for its visual flair and interwoven themes of fantasy and horror. After
forming his own production company, Burton directed the lavish production Batman
(1989). With a cast that included Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, and Kim Basinger,
the stylized feature became the first film to sell $100 million in the first 10 days of
release. The following year, Burton helmed the bizarre but touching film Edward
Scissorhands. Featuring notable performances by up-and-coming stars Johnny Depp
and Winona Ryder (as well as Price's final feature role as the eccentric inventor),
Edward Scissorhands was acclaimed for being both a social satire and a simple tale of
love and intolerance.
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Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
5
Edward Scissorhands was the first movie that Burton had full creative control
over a feature film, having written the story and also produced the movie. The film
was a hit with moviegoers and critics, and marked the beginning of Burton being
taken seriously as an artist in the movie industry. He followed it up in 1992 with the
sequel Batman Returns. It was not as big a hit as the first film, and suffered a backlash
from parents who considered it too dark and twisted for younger Bat fans. Although
the film was an artistic triumph, the perceived disappointment led to Joel Schumacher
taking over the franchise. The same year Burton also found time to play a small
cameo role in Cameron Crowe's grunge film, Singles, and an even smaller cameo as a
corpse in his buddy Danny DeVito's film, Hoffa. After finally seeing his dream
project realized with the feature length stop-motion film The Nightmare Before
Christmas, Burton returned to smaller filmmaking with his next project, Ed Wood. An
affectionate tribute to the supposed worst filmmaker of all time, but won Burton the
best reviews of his career, as well as two Oscars. It was followed by an indirect
homage to Wood's films, Mars Attacks! The film was a disappointment at the box
office, and scorned by many critics, but has gained a cult status over the years. Burton
made something of a comeback three years later with his first real horror film, Sleepy
Hollow and the stop motion featuring film The Corpse Bride in 2005, which will be
the stop motion movie that I will analyze in this investigation.
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6
The
Composer:
Danny
Elfman
Danny Elfman born on May 29, 1953, is an American composer, record
producer, and actor. He is known as the lead singer and songwriter for the rock band
Oingo Boingo, from 1976 to 1995 and later for scoring music for television and film
and creating The Simpsons main title theme as well as the 1989 Batman movie theme.
He has scored the majority of his long time friend Tim Burton's movies. Elfman re
entered the film industry in 1976, initially as an actor. He made his film scoring debut
in 1980 for the film Forbidden Zone directed by his older brother Richard Elfman. He
has since been nominated for four Academy Awards and won a Grammy Award for
Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other
Visual Media for Tim Burton's Batman and an Emmy Award for his Desperate
Housewives theme. Elfman was honored with the Richard Kirk Award at the 2002
BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made
significant contributions to film and television music. Danny Elfman created one of
the most distinctive and interesting bodies of work in contemporary film music,
bringing his talents to a dark fantasy world populated by superheroes, monsters and
freaks.
Danny Elfman has always said that his training as a film composer happened
when he was a teenager, during the time he spent at the Baldwin Hills movie theater
in the suburbs of Los Angeles. The theaters regular program included reruns of
classics from Hollywood’s Golden Age, specially horror, fantasy, and science fiction
films, and Elfman actively listened to scores in the context of the films he was
watching throughout his adolescence. The effect of this on his approach to scoring is
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Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
7
apparent in the evident influence of Golden Age composers, although his approach to
the use of themes often goes against the standard practice of the classical Hollywood
film score. Elman’s tend to structure most of a score around variations of a single
theme. The context of the film for which it was written, the thematic material helps to
impress the tone of the film on the viewer, creating an atmosphere and identity that
goes beyond the localized events of individual scenes.
When Elfman first began writing film scores, he immediately established
himself as a new and innovative voice. The musical idiom of his score for Pee Wee’s
Big Adventure was inspired by Nino Rota: the bright colors of the visual images and
the brightness of much of the music are both reminiscent of Fellini and Rota’s
collaborations such as Amarcord. Elman’s score was noticeably different from the
type of music that was synthesizer pop music score. Reflecting on the types of films
that he was being asked to score in the early years of his career, Elfman has two
particularly distinct elements in this scoring style, the dark and the comic
compositions. On the dark side, there are ideas of his music being gothic, intense, and
melancholy. On the comic side we can say that his music is unpredictable and kind of
weird for those who doesn’t study music. There is a very distinctive character much
of Elman’s music that results from the mix of this elements. Beetle juice main title is
in a minor key and has a melody played by the brass, the sound of the augmented
forth being repeated along the theme, increase the tension and create a dissonance in
the melody, something that become a Elman’s distinctive sound.
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Burton
and
Elfman
Tim Burton is one of three directors that Elfman has said he would always be
happy to work with because of the freedom the allow him as a composer. Their
exclusive collaboration is rare but unconditional in the film industry. They had been
working since 1985 together creating a unique sound and picture work. It’s really
interesting how this team had, not only created an impressive work together, but also
a unique picture accompanied and supported with music. For this analysis I made ann
investigation and listened carefully to most of the score to have a clear idea of their
work together and compare it with the score of The Corpse Bride.
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Elfman's first collaboration with Tim Burton came at the same time, as he was
still involved with Oingo Boingo, before he firmly established himself as a composer
of note. He had another credit to his name with his score for Forbidden Zone, which
was directed by his older brother, Richard. The main theme for the film was
composed by Elfman prior to working on the score, the score as a whole contains
elements that would make his future collaborations with Burton so memorable,
striking a balance between excitement, suspense and whimsy. A promising start to a
wonderful working relationship.
Beetlejuice
The main theme, that's playful and menacing in equal measures, is among the
best pieces Elfman has composed in his career, and after that has played out, the score
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Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
9
is packed full of pieces that are of a similar quality, that match the mood of the film
perfectly, which makes this one of the most consistent pieces in the composer's back
catalogue.
Batman
The film's producers were reportedly a little skeptical that Elfman was up to
task for scoring a major blockbuster like Batman, but Burton soon changed their
minds when he played them Elman’s composition for the main theme, which would
go on to become the key theme for Batman: The Animated Series. With Burton and
Elfman involved, its little surprise that Batman saw the franchise go in a darker
direction, particularly when compared to the campy productions that preceded it, and
the Joel Schumacher film's that followed their efforts. Main theme aside, the score is
packed with amazing cues, with the waltz being a particular highlight for me. It's not
a subtle score by any means, but that's not really what the film called for. This is a
dramatic and incredibly assured piece from a composer who, at the time of its release,
was making a name for himself.
Edward Scissorhands
Further showcasing his ability to balance dark material with lighter themes,
Elfman produced another masterpiece, which at times is absolutely beautiful and at
others incredibly creepy. Elman’s music is as much of a character in the film as any of
those portrayed onscreen by the cast. The title theme is incredibly impressive but
pales in comparison to the grand finale, which is an absolutely stunning piece of
music that's incredibly emotive, with a huge sense of drama.
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10
Batman Returns
Given the success of the score for Burton's first Batman. Instead he only
reuses the main title and comes up with entirely different pieces to make up much of
the score. All of the key characters have their own themes, which adds to a sense of
musical coherence and it is an interesting score. Even this movie had many critics, I
personally think that Danny Elfman score works perfectly with the story line along
the movie.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
This is a film that's been part of my Christmas rotation for a few years now. I
personally think that the movie as a whole is wonderfully executed. Not only does
Elfman compose the music for the film, but he also lends his vocal talents to Jack
Skellington's singing parts. The musical backing itself shares thematic similarities
with much of his other work with Burton, but it's still an incredibly strong listen that's
heightened by Elfman's rather excellent singing voice.
Mars Attacks!
Elfman captures the feel of the sci-fi movies of the fifties and gives it a
modern spin in very much the same way that Burton does with the film itself. A little
more off the wall than some of his previous efforts, as elements of the score resemble
the voices of the Martians and include liberal use of a Theremin. As is typical of his
compositions, there are elements of playfulness and creepiness here. Still, it's not a
classic Elfman score by any means, and ranks as one of his weaker efforts with
Burton up to that point.
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Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
1
1
Sleepy Hollow
For his score for the gothic slice of goodness, Elfman does away with much of
the light heartedness of much of his previous work and instead goes all out on the
darkness. Played by a full orchestra, this is an incredible piece of work, full of tension
and action that also captures a sense of romance at times. It doesn't see a major
thematic shift as it very much keeps in with the mood of the rest of the piece as a
whole.
The
Movie:
The
Corpse
Bride
The Corpse Bride is British-American stop-motion-animated fantasy film
directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. The plot is set in a fictional Victorian era
village in Europe. Johnny Depp led an all-star cast as the voice of Victor, while
Helena Bonham Carter voiced Emily, the title character. Corpse Bride is the third stop
motion feature film produced by Burton and the first directed by him, Henry Selick
directed the previous two films, The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the
Giant Peach. This is also the first stop-motion feature from Burton that was
distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was nominated for the 78th Academy
Awards for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the
Were-Rabbit, which also starred Helena Bonham Carter. It was shot with a battery of
Canon EOS-1D Mark II digital SLRs, rather than the 35mm film cameras used for
Burton's previous stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Most of the scenes are at night, and very dark colors are used in this movie.
Tim Burton has used many varieties of shots, and because of the small characters like
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the worm and the spider, there were a lot of big close-ups. There weren’t many shots
imitating dolling up or real camera shot techniques as well. However, they were a lot
of zoom ins to signify the shocking factor, like when Barkis Bittern swallowed the
laced drink and was dead. The setting of the movie is in a small-secluded town, with
forest and woods. It is shabby and dark, solemn and reeks of despair, much like most
Tim Burton movies. The characters are Victor Van Dort, Corpse Bride, Victoria and
Barkis Bittern as the main characters. Their makeup is tired looking, with purple
shadows under their eyes, with Victorian-era fashion.
They were mostly shot to shot, straight cuts. There was a lot of backlighting
involved as well. The black and white contrast is very high, Tim Burton used many
stripes on his character’s costumes. The camera angles that were mostly used in this
movie were also from low angle. The transitions are commonly the continuity shots.
This movie is also a sort of musical, because there were several songs played, and the
songs composed were very much fitting, while some are a bit cheeky and contain
some dark humor. As usual, his main voice actors are Johnny Depp and Helena
Bonham Carter.
There are also montage shots to signify that the character is very laden
down with the stress from his parents and his peers. As the scenes are beautiful, there
were a lot of establishing shots or long shots that show the character and its
surroundings. Overall, the movie gives a very gothic feel, the stop-motion was
perfect, the color even if its dark goes very well with each other, and paired with the
music altogether forms a perfect jigsaw piece of a great movie.
The storyline is where Victor has to be wed with Victoria, who is the only
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Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
1
3
daughter of Lord and Lady Everglot, who decides to marry beneath their status
because they are close to being in poverty. Victor, who was nervous about his vows
one day before his marriage, practiced on what he thought was a branch, but ended up
being the bony finger of a corpse, who then takes him underground. The corpse bride,
Emily was killed before uniting with her lover, who turned out to be Lord Barkis, who
was a greedy and cold man. He stepped in before Victor could take Victoria’s hand in
marriage just because he assumed that the Everglotts, being Lords are rich and
powerful, but that was not the case.
After marriage, when Lord Barkiss found out that Victoria was not filthy
rich, he threw a big tantrum and swore to get something out of the marriage, but then
was interrupted by the creatures from the underground: the dead, who came up to
celebrate the wedding of Victor and Emily, whom Victor has decided to marry
because Victoria was already married to Lord Barkis. From there we can deduce that
Victor has given up hope that he would find anyone like Victoria, and would rather
live without his life, and at least make someone happy rather than no one.
In the scene where the underground residents came above the ground, when
they approached the people, at first the people were scared. However, it showed a
boy, who due to his innocence, can ignore other elements and recognize his
grandfather despite the bones and haggardness, and it is thanks to this this boy that the
others began to look at the underground residents properly and recognize their loved
ones, re-united once again.
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Introduction
to
music
Analysis:
Life
vs.
Death
Analyzing the contrast for The Corpse Bride. Most of the pieces that
soundtrack the land of the living, including the "Main Titles" and "Victor's Piano
Solo," are dark pieces clearly inspired by classical music. Meanwhile, the music of
the dead spans the dark but still vibrant "Remains of the Day" which explains how the
Corpse Bride came to pass, and makes a refrain like "die, die, we all pass away"
sound downright cheerful, as well as the swooning, spooky romance of "Moon
Dance." Indeed, aside from a few slightly scary tracks, we can said that The Corpse
Bride's music is largely darkly romantic: "Piano Duet" and "Finale" both have an
otherworldly sweetness shared by the sad but hope "Tears to Shed," in which the
Corpse Bride's friends including the maggot that lives in one of her eye sockets try to
convince her that lacking a pulse isn't so important when it comes to true love. I will
focus this analysis in the contrast of the music scored by Danny Elfman for the
different plots along the movie, the land of living and the land of deaths, that is
perfectly what Tim Burton try to present in the stop movie animation, and the reason
why both, Burton and Elfman, does and excellent work together.
The others songs are just as concise with their lyrics. "According to Plan"
clearly outlines the living couple's families and their reasons for marrying Victor
VanDorts’ parents are grasping new rich, while Victoria Everglot’s are aristocratic
but penniless and offer some clever commentary on arranged marriages to boot. "The
Wedding Song," meanwhile, recalls the madcap whimsy of The Nightmare Before
Christmas, although for two films with similar looks, themes, and creative teams, The
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Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
1
5
Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride's scores are remarkably, and
admirably different.
A piano is shown at one point in the movie, and we get just a glimpse of its
nameplate. It's a Harryhausen. That would be Burton's tribute to Ray Harryhausen, the
man who brought stop motion animation to the level of artistry ("Jason and the
Argonauts," "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad"). These days most animated movies are
computer-generated, creating effortlessly flowing images. But in the days when they
had to be laboriously drawn one frame at a time, it was scarcely more trouble to do
tabletop animation, building model figures and moving them a tiny bit between each
frame.
Along the movie, Danny Elfman support all the stop motion animation with 3
principals themes with some variations in the melody and harmony that support the
movement of the characters, the plot and the mood of the story; the audience keep
connected and fallow the story line as the movie goes through. Danny Elfman
represent perfectly what Tim Burton wants to present, contrasting ironically life and
death, typical from many of the Tim Burton´s movies, and Danny Elfman does it in a
perfectly musical way. As we see the movie, we relate the themes with the characters
and the plot, behind the dramatic but romantic story.
When the main title start playing, the movie starts with a close up of an empty
drawing book, which is holding by Victor Van Dort, the main character of the story.
Victor Van Dort is nervous, shy, and insecure, we can notices this when the movie
starts. As the camera keep moving we can see in the background a picture of Victor
when he was a child, and we can tell more about his personality; while he is holding a
feather and putting into an inkwell, he is going to draw something. We can listen
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chorus in the main tittle. The background is dark, melancholic and kind of sad as the
main theme. He is drawing a butterfly that is capture in a bottle of glass. At the
beginning we can listen to the harp and piano playing an ostinato, supporting what is
shown in the picture. The chord progression in the main theme correspond to A#min –
FMaj – A#min - G#Maj – C#Maj – D#min – A#min - F#Maj – D#min – FMaj in the
first movement, presenting the first theme that will be played in the entire movie with
variations in the melody and harmony. The Clarinet and the Glockenspiel play the
main melody, while the string and the woodwinds section plays the harmony. One of
the variations comes next when Victor keep drawing softly some curves lines
supported by the strings section and the chord progression correspond to Fmin –
CMaj – Fmin - D#Maj – G#Maj – A#min - Fmin - C#Maj – A#min – Cmaj with the
same melody transposed a third minor down, according to the chord progression. The
string section and the glockenspiel play the melody. When he finishes drawing the
music become softer and we can listen the main melody played by the glockenspiel,
the chorus, and the cello. Danny Elfman does a very interesting movement with the
melody to prepare something that is going to happen in the picture. Victor just frees
the butterfly from the glass and the whole orchestra plays the main melody supported
by the chorus section, creating an ambience of hope and makes hold your breath and
it captures you instantly with the picture. The camera starts fallowing the butterfly
flying out of Victor’s room while the music becomes darker but inspired. It’s really
interesting to listen the sound effect of the butterfly flutter that is on time with the
music and support by the strings and the harp. We can listen to a woodblock like a
clock and now we can see the plot is set as a Victorian era village in Europe for the
first time in the movie. Danny Elfman use the woodblock to represent to clock in the
background of a store, the woodblock are playing quarter notes and does in a
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Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
1
7
mickymousing way. In the picture we see some characters typical from the era, and
the harpsichord is listened for the first time giving and old fashion sound to the main
tittle. The camera keeps moving trying to fallow the butterfly and it looks like if the
butterfly is showing us the village and the representative characters of the era. Some
fishers are shown now and the melody is played once again but this time by the flute
supported by the bassoon and the tuba that plays a melody with a bass sound. For the
first time we can see Lord Barkis, who plays a very important roll in the stop motion
animated movie, the music becomes darker with his appears on the set, he tries to
chase the butterfly who disappear while the next cue is coming.
The main tittle introduce the main melody of the entire movie and the end
prepare the incoming cue, “According to plan” which will tell more about the story
with the lyrics and also in a musical way. For the first time on set we see Nell and
William Van Dort. Nell Van Dort is very conceited and craves any sort of connection
to the higher orders of society. William Van Dort is a very successful owner of a fish
cannery. He is just as obsessed with getting status as his wife is, although his general
nature is much more amiable and humble. They show in scene singing the musical
song “According to plan” lyrics by John August and Danny Elfman and composed by
Danny Elfman
It’s a beautiful day; it’s a rather nice day
A day for a glorious wedding.
A rehearsal my dear, to be perfectly clear
A rehearsal for a glorious wedding.
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Extracted from the Tim Burton´s song book
Finis Everglot and Maudeline Everglot introducing to the movie singing the
song with the lyrics According to Plan as a response for Nell and William Van Dort.
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Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
1
9
It’s a terrible day
Now, don’t be that way
It’s a terrible day for a wedding
Its sad, sad state of affairs we´re in
That has led to this ominous wedding
After this song, we can tell what is the complexity of the story line and also have an
introduction to the characters that support the story line of the main characters. Victor
first meets Victoria when his parents are going to the rehearsal for the wedding. He
sits down to play the piano in her house and she approaches him. The cue “Victor´s
Piano solo, composed by Danny Elfman, also had the main melody from the main
tittles, but this time down up a third and fallows the chord progression: C#min BMaj – EMaj – F#min – AMaj – F#min – Bmaj – G#Maj C#min – F#min Faug – F# G# - EMaj – C# - F#/A#
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20
Figure
1
Victor´s
solo
piano
transcribed
by
Juan
Diego
Illescas
He falls in love with Victoria as they have their first conversation. Victoria is
for the most part shy and soft-spoken; she performs acting the part of the obedient
child to her parents. She's a bit romantic, wanting to marry for love and falling in love
with Victor practically at first sight. Even when she's feeling miserable, she doesn't
typically speak up as evidenced by her silence both when Barkis marries her and
when she's watching Victor and Emily's wedding. However, when Victor is un a
hurry, Victoria shows a streak of bravery and rebelliousness. She defies her parents
and sneaks out of the Everglot mansion to try and find help for Victor. After that goes
awry and she's sealed into her room, she tries to break her way out with a fireplace
poker. Although she falls briefly into inactive despair once she's forced to marry Lord
Barkis, she angrily tells him off and shoves him once it becomes apparent he's
married her only for her nonexistent fortune. The main theme becomes dark just with
variations on the harmony and playing the main melody with long notes. Along the
movie the main theme is presented with some variations but supporting the picture in
many manners. We can listen how Danny Elfman plays around with the main melody
around the entire movie with some variations in the harmony that support the film and
the plot of the picture while the storyline continues.
As I planted before, the music contrasts the land of the living and the land of
the dead with the score. As the same with the characters, Victoria doesn't laugh or
smile as much as Emily, and isn't quite as lively, because with parents like hers, there
isn't much to smile or laugh about in her life. The land of living is full of lies and
hypocrisies. But on the inside she is quite sassy and smart. She is not so much scared
of Emily and the other dead people, but more scared of what happens in real life. For
example, when things don't go according to her plan, she is seen looking scared and
miserable, and shows happiness in a different and calmer way than Emily
As long the storyline continues, we see Victor dumbfounded in the land of
dead. A skeleton is talking to him trying to explain what is going on, some other dead
characters do the same. From the moment that Victor wakes up, we can listen the Cue
“The New Arrival” that has a happy swing big band sound. We can see all the dead
characters having a small party in the land of dead, and we can tell that they are
having a good time together; the music perfectly accompanies what we see in the
picture. From this moment, we have the contrast from the land of life and the land of
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Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
2
1
dead, not only because of the characters and the color on the plot, but the music all of
a sudden changes to happy, intensive and little dramatically. The dialogue opens the
new upcoming song Remains of the Day.
Hey! Give me a listen, you corpses of cheer
'Least those of you who still got an ear
I'll tell you a story make a skeleton cry
Of our own jubiliciously lovely corpse bride
Figure
2
From
WB
Motion
picture,
The
Corpse
Bride.
We can see in the picture a skeleton singing with a deep and low voice. Once
again we have a musical accompanied with lyrics that explains in a comic, dramatic
and subtle way how the story line continues and develops. The reminds of the day
gives an explanation of what had happened to Emily, the Corpse Bride. It’s really
interesting how Danny Elfman mix perfectly the orchestral with the big band sound,
creating a happy swing sound to the land of the dead. The Bonejangles is the band of
skeleton that supports the main voice in the reminds of the day. They perform a
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choreography singing the comic but sad chorus with the lyrics:
Die, die we all pass away
We don't wear a frown 'cause it's really okay
You might try 'n' hide
And you might try 'n' pray
But we all end up the remains of the day
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeahhh
The story gets deep, contrasting with the score. Victor is trapped in the land
of dead in he try to scape from Emily, who just married. Victor is not as bad to hurt
even a butterfly, like the movie begins, and he doesn’t want to hurt Emily, who has a
very lively personality. She's often seen smiling and laughing, She is also extremely
kind-hearted and sweet. However, she has a bit of a temper and gets jealous easily, as
seen when she finds Victor talking to Victoria Everglot instead of finding his parents
like he said he would. Her reaction is to furiously drag Victor back to the Land of the
Dead, then tearfully accuse him of cheating on her. Her jealousy towards Victoria is
shown in the song "Tears to Shed," where she sings about how Victor might prefer
Victoria to her simply because Victoria is living. Her moods tend toward extremes
when she's happy, she's extremely joyful; when she's sad, she lingers in the depths of
despair. Once again we have the story line supported with lyrics in a song scored by
Danny Elfman, the song describe how Emily feels about Victor and the romantic
situation between Victor, Victoria and her.
Emily is at heart a loving soul, however, and forgives fairly it doesn't take too
long for her to forgive Victor after he comes to apologize particularly after they play
piano together. Later, her jealousy towards Victoria finally dissipates, when she sees
her "rival" in the church and realizes that her chance to be a bride has come and gone,
and that letting Victor kill himself to marry her will only destroy Victoria's hopes the
way hers were. The one person whom she doesn't forgive easily is Lord Barkis, with
good reason. In the final fight, she shows off a bit of a protective side, both helping
Victoria avoid being hurt by falling church pews and shielding Victor from Barkis's
final sword blow. Along the film, Danny Elfman plays around with the main melody
with variations in the main theme and the harmony. His creativity make the audience
keeps connected with the film and listened the music relating with the plot and the
22
Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
2
3
characters. The final cue is a mix of dark and hopeful felling that resolves the story
when Lord Barkis, because of his malicious and ambitious, he drinks the poison by
mistake dying slowly.
Conclusion
Danny Elfman did an impeccable and contrasting work with the score of The
Corpse Bride. His particular composition agrees perfectly with the story that Tim
Burton wants to tell in the stop motion film The Corpse Bride. The contrast between
the land of the living and the land of dead are supported with the score in an
impeccable manner. Danny Elman once again create an emotional, romantic and dark
score that support perfectly the story line, creating the mood that Tim Burton wants to
present in his stop motion film. The main tittles opens the film subtle and gives the
audience the main theme that will be listen along the entire film with some variations,
but capturing the audience with the story and the characters. Its really interesting how
the music fallows the dialogue and open the songs also composed by Danny Elfman
as According to plan and Remains of the day, this songs support the story with their
lyrics and also give the contrast of the movie between the land of the living and the
land of the dead. The Victor´s piano solo and the duet are compositions that not only
support the story, but also interact directly with the characters from the film, making
the audience connected to the story. Having worked together for years has created a
very strong bond between composer Danny Elfman and director Tim Burton, and has
also created a unique style that combines perfectly into film production. We can
clearly notice how this team has grown and established an era of movies with an
original music for films. I dare say, after deep research I've done on the impeccable
work of these artists, Burton and Elfman, that Tim Burton would not have reached the
level of his films if not for the work of Danny Elfman as a composer. Similarly,
Danny Elfman would not have founded his own style without collaborating with Tim
Burton´s film. I personally admired the way they work together and how they build a
unique picture supported by music. That is something that they create working all this
years together.
23
Cue
List
Main Title (2:06)
0:00 – 02:03
According to Plan (3:45)
02:03 – 06-20
Victors Piano Solo (1:18)
07:47 – 09:06
Interlude Victor and Victoria Talking (main title)
Harp, Clarinet
09:46 – 10:48
The Ring
13:05 – 14:18
Into the forest (4:36)
14:25 – 18:57
New Arrival (0:42)
18: 58 – 20 :04
Remain of the Day (3:27)
20:35 – 24:00
Main Title Interlude
24:01 – 24:22
Interlude
25:08 – 25:57
Victors Scape
26:00 – 30:58
Casting a Spell (1:26)
31:50 – 33:28
Moon Dance (1:28)
33:28: 35:30
Victors Deception (00:00 – 0:21)
35:31 – 35: 51
35:51 – 36:17Victors Deception (0:22 - 0:40)
36: 18 – 36:40
Balcony
24
24
Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
2
5
36:41 – 36: 56
(Edited music)
Victors Deception (0:41 – 2:09)
(Edited music)
Victors Deception (2:10 – 4:00
38:39 – 40:38
Tears to Shed
40:38 – 43:20
Victoria scape
43:48 45:47
Lord Barkis theme 1st
46:34 – 47: 17
According to plan theme (hit)
48:07 – 48:13
Lord Barkis theme 2nd
48:14 – 48:56
Mayhew death
49:32 – 49:46
The Piano Duet
50:02 – 51:55
New Arrival
52:03 -52:40
Remains of the Day – Combo Lounge version
52: 40 – 53:50
Victoria’s Wedding (0:00 – 0:37)
53:50 – 54: 25
Wedding music
54:25 – 54:53
Victor Solo sits down
54:54 – 55:05 continue..
Victoria’s Wedding (1:22
55:06 - 55:57
25
26
Bibliography
Halfyard, J. K. (2004). Danny Elfman's Batman: A film score guide. Lanham, Md:
Scarecrow Press.
Karlin, F. (1994). Listening to movies: The film lover's guide to film music. New York:
Schirmer Books.
Kassabian, A. (2001). Hearing film: Tracking identifications in contemporary
Hollywood film music. New York: Routledge.
26
Culminating Experience
Analysis of the Score by Danny Elfman for the Tim Burton’s
Corpse Bride
2
Table
of
Contents
Introduction
........................................................................................................................
3
The
Director:
Tim
Burton
...............................................................................................
4
The
Composer:
Danny
Elfman
.......................................................................................
6
Burton
and
Elfman
............................................................................................................
8
The
Movie:
The
Corpse
Bride
.....................................................................................
11
Introduction
to
music
Analysis:
Life
vs.
Death
.....................................................
14
Conclusion
.........................................................................................................................
23
Cue
List
...............................................................................................................................
24
Bibliography
.....................................................................................................................
26
2
Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
3
Introduction
“…I consider that music is, by its very nature, powerless to express anything at
all, whether a feeling an attitude of mind, a psychological mood, a phenomenon of
nature. If, as is nearly always the case, music appears to express something, this is
only an illusion and not a reality…”- Stravinsky
Before the movies use dialogue, all movies were completely silent. Music was
already a typical element used in the theatres and it was brought over movies to add a
depth to the two dimensional image that appeared upon the screen. An added benefit
was that it covered up the annoying noise from the projector. Full orchestras
accompanied the majority of silent films. Books of music were published to provide
the accompanists with ideas for scene music, categorized by the elements used in the
picture and to create different mood along the film. With the advent of the talking
pictures, music once again established itself as a principal element in the film
industry. At first, sound films uses compiled classical music, usually from the 19th
century. This practice soon gave away, and the composing of original scores came as
a new camp in music. Max Steiner wrote the first completely original score for King
Kong in 1933, since then, many composers has decide to focus on the composing for
films, creating their own styles and give a special characteristics to their
compositions. One of those composers, who I personally had admired, event before
understanding and studying the scoring for films is Danny Elfman, not only because
of his particularly way of composing, but for his amazing career with the director Tim
Burton, and the way they start working as a team. Danny Elfman is recognized as one
of the most successful, interesting, and innovative composers in recent film music
composition.
3
4
The
Director:
Tim
Burton
Tim Burton is a famed director, producer and screenwriter who born on
August 25, 1958, in Burbank, California. As a child, Burton was feel attracted with
the classic horror films of Roger Corman, many of which featured quintessential
screen villain Vincent Price. Tim Burton also developed a penchant for drawing and
enrolled at the California Institute of Arts, where he majored in animation. In 1980,
upon his graduation, he began working as an apprentice animator for Walt Disney
Studios. After a year of work, Burton grew tired with his work at Disney and decided
to start out on his own. In 1982, he released the award-winning short Vincent, which
paid homage to the enduring work of his childhood idol. In 1984, Burton created a
unique version of the Frankenstein story with the live action short Frankenweenie.
Impressed with Frankenweenie, Paul Reubens commissioned Burton to direct the
comedy Pee-wee's Big Adventure in 1985. The success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure
brought about other opportunities, including the ghost story Beetlejuice in 1988
starring with Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, and Geena Davis. Beetlejuice was
recognized for its visual flair and interwoven themes of fantasy and horror. After
forming his own production company, Burton directed the lavish production Batman
(1989). With a cast that included Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, and Kim Basinger,
the stylized feature became the first film to sell $100 million in the first 10 days of
release. The following year, Burton helmed the bizarre but touching film Edward
Scissorhands. Featuring notable performances by up-and-coming stars Johnny Depp
and Winona Ryder (as well as Price's final feature role as the eccentric inventor),
Edward Scissorhands was acclaimed for being both a social satire and a simple tale of
love and intolerance.
4
Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
5
Edward Scissorhands was the first movie that Burton had full creative control
over a feature film, having written the story and also produced the movie. The film
was a hit with moviegoers and critics, and marked the beginning of Burton being
taken seriously as an artist in the movie industry. He followed it up in 1992 with the
sequel Batman Returns. It was not as big a hit as the first film, and suffered a backlash
from parents who considered it too dark and twisted for younger Bat fans. Although
the film was an artistic triumph, the perceived disappointment led to Joel Schumacher
taking over the franchise. The same year Burton also found time to play a small
cameo role in Cameron Crowe's grunge film, Singles, and an even smaller cameo as a
corpse in his buddy Danny DeVito's film, Hoffa. After finally seeing his dream
project realized with the feature length stop-motion film The Nightmare Before
Christmas, Burton returned to smaller filmmaking with his next project, Ed Wood. An
affectionate tribute to the supposed worst filmmaker of all time, but won Burton the
best reviews of his career, as well as two Oscars. It was followed by an indirect
homage to Wood's films, Mars Attacks! The film was a disappointment at the box
office, and scorned by many critics, but has gained a cult status over the years. Burton
made something of a comeback three years later with his first real horror film, Sleepy
Hollow and the stop motion featuring film The Corpse Bride in 2005, which will be
the stop motion movie that I will analyze in this investigation.
5
6
The
Composer:
Danny
Elfman
Danny Elfman born on May 29, 1953, is an American composer, record
producer, and actor. He is known as the lead singer and songwriter for the rock band
Oingo Boingo, from 1976 to 1995 and later for scoring music for television and film
and creating The Simpsons main title theme as well as the 1989 Batman movie theme.
He has scored the majority of his long time friend Tim Burton's movies. Elfman re
entered the film industry in 1976, initially as an actor. He made his film scoring debut
in 1980 for the film Forbidden Zone directed by his older brother Richard Elfman. He
has since been nominated for four Academy Awards and won a Grammy Award for
Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other
Visual Media for Tim Burton's Batman and an Emmy Award for his Desperate
Housewives theme. Elfman was honored with the Richard Kirk Award at the 2002
BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made
significant contributions to film and television music. Danny Elfman created one of
the most distinctive and interesting bodies of work in contemporary film music,
bringing his talents to a dark fantasy world populated by superheroes, monsters and
freaks.
Danny Elfman has always said that his training as a film composer happened
when he was a teenager, during the time he spent at the Baldwin Hills movie theater
in the suburbs of Los Angeles. The theaters regular program included reruns of
classics from Hollywood’s Golden Age, specially horror, fantasy, and science fiction
films, and Elfman actively listened to scores in the context of the films he was
watching throughout his adolescence. The effect of this on his approach to scoring is
6
Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
7
apparent in the evident influence of Golden Age composers, although his approach to
the use of themes often goes against the standard practice of the classical Hollywood
film score. Elman’s tend to structure most of a score around variations of a single
theme. The context of the film for which it was written, the thematic material helps to
impress the tone of the film on the viewer, creating an atmosphere and identity that
goes beyond the localized events of individual scenes.
When Elfman first began writing film scores, he immediately established
himself as a new and innovative voice. The musical idiom of his score for Pee Wee’s
Big Adventure was inspired by Nino Rota: the bright colors of the visual images and
the brightness of much of the music are both reminiscent of Fellini and Rota’s
collaborations such as Amarcord. Elman’s score was noticeably different from the
type of music that was synthesizer pop music score. Reflecting on the types of films
that he was being asked to score in the early years of his career, Elfman has two
particularly distinct elements in this scoring style, the dark and the comic
compositions. On the dark side, there are ideas of his music being gothic, intense, and
melancholy. On the comic side we can say that his music is unpredictable and kind of
weird for those who doesn’t study music. There is a very distinctive character much
of Elman’s music that results from the mix of this elements. Beetle juice main title is
in a minor key and has a melody played by the brass, the sound of the augmented
forth being repeated along the theme, increase the tension and create a dissonance in
the melody, something that become a Elman’s distinctive sound.
7
8
Burton
and
Elfman
Tim Burton is one of three directors that Elfman has said he would always be
happy to work with because of the freedom the allow him as a composer. Their
exclusive collaboration is rare but unconditional in the film industry. They had been
working since 1985 together creating a unique sound and picture work. It’s really
interesting how this team had, not only created an impressive work together, but also
a unique picture accompanied and supported with music. For this analysis I made ann
investigation and listened carefully to most of the score to have a clear idea of their
work together and compare it with the score of The Corpse Bride.
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Elfman's first collaboration with Tim Burton came at the same time, as he was
still involved with Oingo Boingo, before he firmly established himself as a composer
of note. He had another credit to his name with his score for Forbidden Zone, which
was directed by his older brother, Richard. The main theme for the film was
composed by Elfman prior to working on the score, the score as a whole contains
elements that would make his future collaborations with Burton so memorable,
striking a balance between excitement, suspense and whimsy. A promising start to a
wonderful working relationship.
Beetlejuice
The main theme, that's playful and menacing in equal measures, is among the
best pieces Elfman has composed in his career, and after that has played out, the score
8
Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
9
is packed full of pieces that are of a similar quality, that match the mood of the film
perfectly, which makes this one of the most consistent pieces in the composer's back
catalogue.
Batman
The film's producers were reportedly a little skeptical that Elfman was up to
task for scoring a major blockbuster like Batman, but Burton soon changed their
minds when he played them Elman’s composition for the main theme, which would
go on to become the key theme for Batman: The Animated Series. With Burton and
Elfman involved, its little surprise that Batman saw the franchise go in a darker
direction, particularly when compared to the campy productions that preceded it, and
the Joel Schumacher film's that followed their efforts. Main theme aside, the score is
packed with amazing cues, with the waltz being a particular highlight for me. It's not
a subtle score by any means, but that's not really what the film called for. This is a
dramatic and incredibly assured piece from a composer who, at the time of its release,
was making a name for himself.
Edward Scissorhands
Further showcasing his ability to balance dark material with lighter themes,
Elfman produced another masterpiece, which at times is absolutely beautiful and at
others incredibly creepy. Elman’s music is as much of a character in the film as any of
those portrayed onscreen by the cast. The title theme is incredibly impressive but
pales in comparison to the grand finale, which is an absolutely stunning piece of
music that's incredibly emotive, with a huge sense of drama.
9
10
Batman Returns
Given the success of the score for Burton's first Batman. Instead he only
reuses the main title and comes up with entirely different pieces to make up much of
the score. All of the key characters have their own themes, which adds to a sense of
musical coherence and it is an interesting score. Even this movie had many critics, I
personally think that Danny Elfman score works perfectly with the story line along
the movie.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
This is a film that's been part of my Christmas rotation for a few years now. I
personally think that the movie as a whole is wonderfully executed. Not only does
Elfman compose the music for the film, but he also lends his vocal talents to Jack
Skellington's singing parts. The musical backing itself shares thematic similarities
with much of his other work with Burton, but it's still an incredibly strong listen that's
heightened by Elfman's rather excellent singing voice.
Mars Attacks!
Elfman captures the feel of the sci-fi movies of the fifties and gives it a
modern spin in very much the same way that Burton does with the film itself. A little
more off the wall than some of his previous efforts, as elements of the score resemble
the voices of the Martians and include liberal use of a Theremin. As is typical of his
compositions, there are elements of playfulness and creepiness here. Still, it's not a
classic Elfman score by any means, and ranks as one of his weaker efforts with
Burton up to that point.
10
Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
1
1
Sleepy Hollow
For his score for the gothic slice of goodness, Elfman does away with much of
the light heartedness of much of his previous work and instead goes all out on the
darkness. Played by a full orchestra, this is an incredible piece of work, full of tension
and action that also captures a sense of romance at times. It doesn't see a major
thematic shift as it very much keeps in with the mood of the rest of the piece as a
whole.
The
Movie:
The
Corpse
Bride
The Corpse Bride is British-American stop-motion-animated fantasy film
directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. The plot is set in a fictional Victorian era
village in Europe. Johnny Depp led an all-star cast as the voice of Victor, while
Helena Bonham Carter voiced Emily, the title character. Corpse Bride is the third stop
motion feature film produced by Burton and the first directed by him, Henry Selick
directed the previous two films, The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the
Giant Peach. This is also the first stop-motion feature from Burton that was
distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was nominated for the 78th Academy
Awards for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the
Were-Rabbit, which also starred Helena Bonham Carter. It was shot with a battery of
Canon EOS-1D Mark II digital SLRs, rather than the 35mm film cameras used for
Burton's previous stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Most of the scenes are at night, and very dark colors are used in this movie.
Tim Burton has used many varieties of shots, and because of the small characters like
11
12
the worm and the spider, there were a lot of big close-ups. There weren’t many shots
imitating dolling up or real camera shot techniques as well. However, they were a lot
of zoom ins to signify the shocking factor, like when Barkis Bittern swallowed the
laced drink and was dead. The setting of the movie is in a small-secluded town, with
forest and woods. It is shabby and dark, solemn and reeks of despair, much like most
Tim Burton movies. The characters are Victor Van Dort, Corpse Bride, Victoria and
Barkis Bittern as the main characters. Their makeup is tired looking, with purple
shadows under their eyes, with Victorian-era fashion.
They were mostly shot to shot, straight cuts. There was a lot of backlighting
involved as well. The black and white contrast is very high, Tim Burton used many
stripes on his character’s costumes. The camera angles that were mostly used in this
movie were also from low angle. The transitions are commonly the continuity shots.
This movie is also a sort of musical, because there were several songs played, and the
songs composed were very much fitting, while some are a bit cheeky and contain
some dark humor. As usual, his main voice actors are Johnny Depp and Helena
Bonham Carter.
There are also montage shots to signify that the character is very laden
down with the stress from his parents and his peers. As the scenes are beautiful, there
were a lot of establishing shots or long shots that show the character and its
surroundings. Overall, the movie gives a very gothic feel, the stop-motion was
perfect, the color even if its dark goes very well with each other, and paired with the
music altogether forms a perfect jigsaw piece of a great movie.
The storyline is where Victor has to be wed with Victoria, who is the only
12
Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
1
3
daughter of Lord and Lady Everglot, who decides to marry beneath their status
because they are close to being in poverty. Victor, who was nervous about his vows
one day before his marriage, practiced on what he thought was a branch, but ended up
being the bony finger of a corpse, who then takes him underground. The corpse bride,
Emily was killed before uniting with her lover, who turned out to be Lord Barkis, who
was a greedy and cold man. He stepped in before Victor could take Victoria’s hand in
marriage just because he assumed that the Everglotts, being Lords are rich and
powerful, but that was not the case.
After marriage, when Lord Barkiss found out that Victoria was not filthy
rich, he threw a big tantrum and swore to get something out of the marriage, but then
was interrupted by the creatures from the underground: the dead, who came up to
celebrate the wedding of Victor and Emily, whom Victor has decided to marry
because Victoria was already married to Lord Barkis. From there we can deduce that
Victor has given up hope that he would find anyone like Victoria, and would rather
live without his life, and at least make someone happy rather than no one.
In the scene where the underground residents came above the ground, when
they approached the people, at first the people were scared. However, it showed a
boy, who due to his innocence, can ignore other elements and recognize his
grandfather despite the bones and haggardness, and it is thanks to this this boy that the
others began to look at the underground residents properly and recognize their loved
ones, re-united once again.
13
14
Introduction
to
music
Analysis:
Life
vs.
Death
Analyzing the contrast for The Corpse Bride. Most of the pieces that
soundtrack the land of the living, including the "Main Titles" and "Victor's Piano
Solo," are dark pieces clearly inspired by classical music. Meanwhile, the music of
the dead spans the dark but still vibrant "Remains of the Day" which explains how the
Corpse Bride came to pass, and makes a refrain like "die, die, we all pass away"
sound downright cheerful, as well as the swooning, spooky romance of "Moon
Dance." Indeed, aside from a few slightly scary tracks, we can said that The Corpse
Bride's music is largely darkly romantic: "Piano Duet" and "Finale" both have an
otherworldly sweetness shared by the sad but hope "Tears to Shed," in which the
Corpse Bride's friends including the maggot that lives in one of her eye sockets try to
convince her that lacking a pulse isn't so important when it comes to true love. I will
focus this analysis in the contrast of the music scored by Danny Elfman for the
different plots along the movie, the land of living and the land of deaths, that is
perfectly what Tim Burton try to present in the stop movie animation, and the reason
why both, Burton and Elfman, does and excellent work together.
The others songs are just as concise with their lyrics. "According to Plan"
clearly outlines the living couple's families and their reasons for marrying Victor
VanDorts’ parents are grasping new rich, while Victoria Everglot’s are aristocratic
but penniless and offer some clever commentary on arranged marriages to boot. "The
Wedding Song," meanwhile, recalls the madcap whimsy of The Nightmare Before
Christmas, although for two films with similar looks, themes, and creative teams, The
14
Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
1
5
Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride's scores are remarkably, and
admirably different.
A piano is shown at one point in the movie, and we get just a glimpse of its
nameplate. It's a Harryhausen. That would be Burton's tribute to Ray Harryhausen, the
man who brought stop motion animation to the level of artistry ("Jason and the
Argonauts," "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad"). These days most animated movies are
computer-generated, creating effortlessly flowing images. But in the days when they
had to be laboriously drawn one frame at a time, it was scarcely more trouble to do
tabletop animation, building model figures and moving them a tiny bit between each
frame.
Along the movie, Danny Elfman support all the stop motion animation with 3
principals themes with some variations in the melody and harmony that support the
movement of the characters, the plot and the mood of the story; the audience keep
connected and fallow the story line as the movie goes through. Danny Elfman
represent perfectly what Tim Burton wants to present, contrasting ironically life and
death, typical from many of the Tim Burton´s movies, and Danny Elfman does it in a
perfectly musical way. As we see the movie, we relate the themes with the characters
and the plot, behind the dramatic but romantic story.
When the main title start playing, the movie starts with a close up of an empty
drawing book, which is holding by Victor Van Dort, the main character of the story.
Victor Van Dort is nervous, shy, and insecure, we can notices this when the movie
starts. As the camera keep moving we can see in the background a picture of Victor
when he was a child, and we can tell more about his personality; while he is holding a
feather and putting into an inkwell, he is going to draw something. We can listen
15
16
chorus in the main tittle. The background is dark, melancholic and kind of sad as the
main theme. He is drawing a butterfly that is capture in a bottle of glass. At the
beginning we can listen to the harp and piano playing an ostinato, supporting what is
shown in the picture. The chord progression in the main theme correspond to A#min –
FMaj – A#min - G#Maj – C#Maj – D#min – A#min - F#Maj – D#min – FMaj in the
first movement, presenting the first theme that will be played in the entire movie with
variations in the melody and harmony. The Clarinet and the Glockenspiel play the
main melody, while the string and the woodwinds section plays the harmony. One of
the variations comes next when Victor keep drawing softly some curves lines
supported by the strings section and the chord progression correspond to Fmin –
CMaj – Fmin - D#Maj – G#Maj – A#min - Fmin - C#Maj – A#min – Cmaj with the
same melody transposed a third minor down, according to the chord progression. The
string section and the glockenspiel play the melody. When he finishes drawing the
music become softer and we can listen the main melody played by the glockenspiel,
the chorus, and the cello. Danny Elfman does a very interesting movement with the
melody to prepare something that is going to happen in the picture. Victor just frees
the butterfly from the glass and the whole orchestra plays the main melody supported
by the chorus section, creating an ambience of hope and makes hold your breath and
it captures you instantly with the picture. The camera starts fallowing the butterfly
flying out of Victor’s room while the music becomes darker but inspired. It’s really
interesting to listen the sound effect of the butterfly flutter that is on time with the
music and support by the strings and the harp. We can listen to a woodblock like a
clock and now we can see the plot is set as a Victorian era village in Europe for the
first time in the movie. Danny Elfman use the woodblock to represent to clock in the
background of a store, the woodblock are playing quarter notes and does in a
16
Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
1
7
mickymousing way. In the picture we see some characters typical from the era, and
the harpsichord is listened for the first time giving and old fashion sound to the main
tittle. The camera keeps moving trying to fallow the butterfly and it looks like if the
butterfly is showing us the village and the representative characters of the era. Some
fishers are shown now and the melody is played once again but this time by the flute
supported by the bassoon and the tuba that plays a melody with a bass sound. For the
first time we can see Lord Barkis, who plays a very important roll in the stop motion
animated movie, the music becomes darker with his appears on the set, he tries to
chase the butterfly who disappear while the next cue is coming.
The main tittle introduce the main melody of the entire movie and the end
prepare the incoming cue, “According to plan” which will tell more about the story
with the lyrics and also in a musical way. For the first time on set we see Nell and
William Van Dort. Nell Van Dort is very conceited and craves any sort of connection
to the higher orders of society. William Van Dort is a very successful owner of a fish
cannery. He is just as obsessed with getting status as his wife is, although his general
nature is much more amiable and humble. They show in scene singing the musical
song “According to plan” lyrics by John August and Danny Elfman and composed by
Danny Elfman
It’s a beautiful day; it’s a rather nice day
A day for a glorious wedding.
A rehearsal my dear, to be perfectly clear
A rehearsal for a glorious wedding.
17
18
Extracted from the Tim Burton´s song book
Finis Everglot and Maudeline Everglot introducing to the movie singing the
song with the lyrics According to Plan as a response for Nell and William Van Dort.
18
Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
1
9
It’s a terrible day
Now, don’t be that way
It’s a terrible day for a wedding
Its sad, sad state of affairs we´re in
That has led to this ominous wedding
After this song, we can tell what is the complexity of the story line and also have an
introduction to the characters that support the story line of the main characters. Victor
first meets Victoria when his parents are going to the rehearsal for the wedding. He
sits down to play the piano in her house and she approaches him. The cue “Victor´s
Piano solo, composed by Danny Elfman, also had the main melody from the main
tittles, but this time down up a third and fallows the chord progression: C#min BMaj – EMaj – F#min – AMaj – F#min – Bmaj – G#Maj C#min – F#min Faug – F# G# - EMaj – C# - F#/A#
19
20
Figure
1
Victor´s
solo
piano
transcribed
by
Juan
Diego
Illescas
He falls in love with Victoria as they have their first conversation. Victoria is
for the most part shy and soft-spoken; she performs acting the part of the obedient
child to her parents. She's a bit romantic, wanting to marry for love and falling in love
with Victor practically at first sight. Even when she's feeling miserable, she doesn't
typically speak up as evidenced by her silence both when Barkis marries her and
when she's watching Victor and Emily's wedding. However, when Victor is un a
hurry, Victoria shows a streak of bravery and rebelliousness. She defies her parents
and sneaks out of the Everglot mansion to try and find help for Victor. After that goes
awry and she's sealed into her room, she tries to break her way out with a fireplace
poker. Although she falls briefly into inactive despair once she's forced to marry Lord
Barkis, she angrily tells him off and shoves him once it becomes apparent he's
married her only for her nonexistent fortune. The main theme becomes dark just with
variations on the harmony and playing the main melody with long notes. Along the
movie the main theme is presented with some variations but supporting the picture in
many manners. We can listen how Danny Elfman plays around with the main melody
around the entire movie with some variations in the harmony that support the film and
the plot of the picture while the storyline continues.
As I planted before, the music contrasts the land of the living and the land of
the dead with the score. As the same with the characters, Victoria doesn't laugh or
smile as much as Emily, and isn't quite as lively, because with parents like hers, there
isn't much to smile or laugh about in her life. The land of living is full of lies and
hypocrisies. But on the inside she is quite sassy and smart. She is not so much scared
of Emily and the other dead people, but more scared of what happens in real life. For
example, when things don't go according to her plan, she is seen looking scared and
miserable, and shows happiness in a different and calmer way than Emily
As long the storyline continues, we see Victor dumbfounded in the land of
dead. A skeleton is talking to him trying to explain what is going on, some other dead
characters do the same. From the moment that Victor wakes up, we can listen the Cue
“The New Arrival” that has a happy swing big band sound. We can see all the dead
characters having a small party in the land of dead, and we can tell that they are
having a good time together; the music perfectly accompanies what we see in the
picture. From this moment, we have the contrast from the land of life and the land of
20
Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
2
1
dead, not only because of the characters and the color on the plot, but the music all of
a sudden changes to happy, intensive and little dramatically. The dialogue opens the
new upcoming song Remains of the Day.
Hey! Give me a listen, you corpses of cheer
'Least those of you who still got an ear
I'll tell you a story make a skeleton cry
Of our own jubiliciously lovely corpse bride
Figure
2
From
WB
Motion
picture,
The
Corpse
Bride.
We can see in the picture a skeleton singing with a deep and low voice. Once
again we have a musical accompanied with lyrics that explains in a comic, dramatic
and subtle way how the story line continues and develops. The reminds of the day
gives an explanation of what had happened to Emily, the Corpse Bride. It’s really
interesting how Danny Elfman mix perfectly the orchestral with the big band sound,
creating a happy swing sound to the land of the dead. The Bonejangles is the band of
skeleton that supports the main voice in the reminds of the day. They perform a
21
22
choreography singing the comic but sad chorus with the lyrics:
Die, die we all pass away
We don't wear a frown 'cause it's really okay
You might try 'n' hide
And you might try 'n' pray
But we all end up the remains of the day
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeahhh
The story gets deep, contrasting with the score. Victor is trapped in the land
of dead in he try to scape from Emily, who just married. Victor is not as bad to hurt
even a butterfly, like the movie begins, and he doesn’t want to hurt Emily, who has a
very lively personality. She's often seen smiling and laughing, She is also extremely
kind-hearted and sweet. However, she has a bit of a temper and gets jealous easily, as
seen when she finds Victor talking to Victoria Everglot instead of finding his parents
like he said he would. Her reaction is to furiously drag Victor back to the Land of the
Dead, then tearfully accuse him of cheating on her. Her jealousy towards Victoria is
shown in the song "Tears to Shed," where she sings about how Victor might prefer
Victoria to her simply because Victoria is living. Her moods tend toward extremes
when she's happy, she's extremely joyful; when she's sad, she lingers in the depths of
despair. Once again we have the story line supported with lyrics in a song scored by
Danny Elfman, the song describe how Emily feels about Victor and the romantic
situation between Victor, Victoria and her.
Emily is at heart a loving soul, however, and forgives fairly it doesn't take too
long for her to forgive Victor after he comes to apologize particularly after they play
piano together. Later, her jealousy towards Victoria finally dissipates, when she sees
her "rival" in the church and realizes that her chance to be a bride has come and gone,
and that letting Victor kill himself to marry her will only destroy Victoria's hopes the
way hers were. The one person whom she doesn't forgive easily is Lord Barkis, with
good reason. In the final fight, she shows off a bit of a protective side, both helping
Victoria avoid being hurt by falling church pews and shielding Victor from Barkis's
final sword blow. Along the film, Danny Elfman plays around with the main melody
with variations in the main theme and the harmony. His creativity make the audience
keeps connected with the film and listened the music relating with the plot and the
22
Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
2
3
characters. The final cue is a mix of dark and hopeful felling that resolves the story
when Lord Barkis, because of his malicious and ambitious, he drinks the poison by
mistake dying slowly.
Conclusion
Danny Elfman did an impeccable and contrasting work with the score of The
Corpse Bride. His particular composition agrees perfectly with the story that Tim
Burton wants to tell in the stop motion film The Corpse Bride. The contrast between
the land of the living and the land of dead are supported with the score in an
impeccable manner. Danny Elman once again create an emotional, romantic and dark
score that support perfectly the story line, creating the mood that Tim Burton wants to
present in his stop motion film. The main tittles opens the film subtle and gives the
audience the main theme that will be listen along the entire film with some variations,
but capturing the audience with the story and the characters. Its really interesting how
the music fallows the dialogue and open the songs also composed by Danny Elfman
as According to plan and Remains of the day, this songs support the story with their
lyrics and also give the contrast of the movie between the land of the living and the
land of the dead. The Victor´s piano solo and the duet are compositions that not only
support the story, but also interact directly with the characters from the film, making
the audience connected to the story. Having worked together for years has created a
very strong bond between composer Danny Elfman and director Tim Burton, and has
also created a unique style that combines perfectly into film production. We can
clearly notice how this team has grown and established an era of movies with an
original music for films. I dare say, after deep research I've done on the impeccable
work of these artists, Burton and Elfman, that Tim Burton would not have reached the
level of his films if not for the work of Danny Elfman as a composer. Similarly,
Danny Elfman would not have founded his own style without collaborating with Tim
Burton´s film. I personally admired the way they work together and how they build a
unique picture supported by music. That is something that they create working all this
years together.
23
Cue
List
Main Title (2:06)
0:00 – 02:03
According to Plan (3:45)
02:03 – 06-20
Victors Piano Solo (1:18)
07:47 – 09:06
Interlude Victor and Victoria Talking (main title)
Harp, Clarinet
09:46 – 10:48
The Ring
13:05 – 14:18
Into the forest (4:36)
14:25 – 18:57
New Arrival (0:42)
18: 58 – 20 :04
Remain of the Day (3:27)
20:35 – 24:00
Main Title Interlude
24:01 – 24:22
Interlude
25:08 – 25:57
Victors Scape
26:00 – 30:58
Casting a Spell (1:26)
31:50 – 33:28
Moon Dance (1:28)
33:28: 35:30
Victors Deception (00:00 – 0:21)
35:31 – 35: 51
35:51 – 36:17Victors Deception (0:22 - 0:40)
36: 18 – 36:40
Balcony
24
24
Danny
Elfman
Score
analysis:
The
Corpse
Bride
2
5
36:41 – 36: 56
(Edited music)
Victors Deception (0:41 – 2:09)
(Edited music)
Victors Deception (2:10 – 4:00
38:39 – 40:38
Tears to Shed
40:38 – 43:20
Victoria scape
43:48 45:47
Lord Barkis theme 1st
46:34 – 47: 17
According to plan theme (hit)
48:07 – 48:13
Lord Barkis theme 2nd
48:14 – 48:56
Mayhew death
49:32 – 49:46
The Piano Duet
50:02 – 51:55
New Arrival
52:03 -52:40
Remains of the Day – Combo Lounge version
52: 40 – 53:50
Victoria’s Wedding (0:00 – 0:37)
53:50 – 54: 25
Wedding music
54:25 – 54:53
Victor Solo sits down
54:54 – 55:05 continue..
Victoria’s Wedding (1:22
55:06 - 55:57
25
26
Bibliography
Halfyard, J. K. (2004). Danny Elfman's Batman: A film score guide. Lanham, Md:
Scarecrow Press.
Karlin, F. (1994). Listening to movies: The film lover's guide to film music. New York:
Schirmer Books.
Kassabian, A. (2001). Hearing film: Tracking identifications in contemporary
Hollywood film music. New York: Routledge.
26
