In a Victorian neverland, Victor (Depp) is suffering wedding-rehearsal jitters and retreats to a spooky forest to practice his vows in peace.

Unfortunately, the undead are not resting in peace, and Victor accidentally weds Emily (Bonham Carter) a recently deceased bride, murdered by an avaricious husband.

Victor is spirited to the land of the dead, while his fiancé Victoria (Watson) is being forced to marry the dastardly Lord Bittern (Grant).

Burton’s second film this year, after the mega-success of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride may be the best-looking movie of the past twelve months.

Forget George Lucas’ green-screen pastels, this is a real fantasy world: vivid, hallucinogenic, literally eye-popping.

The character design is perfect, with the good guys puppet versions of Edward Scissorhands’ heroes, and the bad guys stop-motion equivalents of Burton’s Bat-villains.

As a creepy aside, the titular corpse bride has the body of Lisa Marie (Burton’s former fiancée) and the voice of Helena Bonham Carter (his current beau)... issues anyone?

The problem is, Burton is so enamoured with character and set design that the story lays dead on the slab. In these days of Harry Potter children can expect complex plotting, but Corpse Bride’s simply told tale robs it of danger or emotion.

Another ten minutes of running time would have put flesh on the bone, and made the all-important villains more villainous.

Danny Elfman’s songs keep the story from blowing away and a wry piece of set-design has the land of the living eternally grey, while the underworld is a playground of infernally bright colours.

The climactic wedding-come-villain’s-comeuppance nimbly juggles Night Of The Living Dead chills and family-friendly togetherness.

So, plenty of meat to feast on to be sure, but ultimately Corpse Bride is a little lifeless.

Rob Daniel