TIM Burton is at his best with this dark, animated humour which is sure to delight.

A twisted tale of love and death, with the added warped humour from the director of a Nightmare Before Christmas and the recent re-make of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, this film shows the fantastical adventure and discovery of life, love and, well, death!

In this story, we see the painfully shy Victor Van Dort (voiced by Johnny Depp) being set up to wed the beautiful Victoria. However everything begins to go horribly wrong when he messes up his practice wedding vows in front of their strict Victorian parents.

Mortified, Victor runs into the nearby forest to rehearse his lines further and accidentally ends up married to the corpse of a murdered bride-to-be, leaving his real bride waiting bereft in the land of the living.

The beautiful, if somewhat rotting bride, Emily (Helena Bonham Carter), brings a spark of life to Victor and you almost hope they do end up together, despite knowing Victoria would end up like her if it did happen.

One of the striking elements of the film is the colour and lighting, showing the living world as the dull, dark and grey place it really is, having had life and happiness squashed out of it by the harsh rules they live by.

In contrast, the underworld is a bright, happy place, with colourful lights (and glowing bones!) where material goods no longer matter and a society ready to pull together when it counts.

Musically and visually, this is a must-see, despite its somewhat morbid appearance.

CF