Corpse Bride 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Corpse Bride 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

"Death has already parted you."

Reviewed by Randy Miller III September 25, 2025

Released in celebration of its 20th anniversary, Warner Bros. proudly debuts Mike Johnson and Tim Burton's Corpse Bride in 4K UHD, replacing an early-format Blu-ray edition that coincidentally turns 19 tomorrow. It's a solid all-around upgrade for this somewhat underappreciated feature, one that certainly exhibits a healthy visual upgrade, offers a full-bodied Dolby Atmos remix instead of the Blu-ray's lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 EX audio, and even throws in a pair of short retrospective crew interviews just for fun. A pretty nifty 4K Steelbook variant is also available.

For a synopsis and critique of Corpse Bride, please read Martin Liebman's Blu-ray review linked above. As implied by my much higher rating, I quite enjoy Corpse Bride and still find it to be one of the most artistically beautiful films ever made via stop-motion animation. Visually there's a lot going on here and its lyrical tone, beautiful story, unforgettable ending, and entirely Burton-esque atmosphere -- from character designs, based on his original sketches, to its featured voice actors -- contribute to a modern near-masterpiece in my book. I'm admittedly not a huge fan of Danny Elfman's featured songs, few and far-between as they are, and the villainous Barkis Bittern (Richard E. Grant) still feels woefully underwritten. Yet Corpse Bride's many strengths far outweigh it weaknesses, making it a true four-star effort whether you're a devoted fan of Burton or just like a good movie about life and love after death.

Corpse Bride 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: This review's screenshots are sourced from the 2006 Blu-ray edition.

Martin Liebman awarded Corpse Bride perfect marks on Blu-ray nearly 19 years ago and, although that VC-1 disc still holds up at least decently well, time marches on. It's important to note that Corpse Bride was the first film to be shot digitally on consumer equipment, which dramatically sped up production time and kick-started a new trend that's now considered standard practice in stop-motion animation. Delivered to theaters with a 2K digital intermediate, the "lesser" resolution of Corpse Bride's source material means that Warner Bros.' fresh new 2160p/HDR10 transfer is an upscale... yet as history as taught us, there's plenty of room for upscales in the world of UHD.

Now authored with the much, much efficient HEVC codec and running at a substantially higher bit rate (even on a dual-layered disc, which is more than enough room for this brisk 77-minute film), Corpse Bride enjoys a much more refined and precise visual presentation that allows die-hard fans to soak in the film's inverted atmosphere more fully. Both the dour and near-monochromatic world of the living and the substantially more vivid world of the dead are again totally separated, but surprisingly perhaps in a more naturally heightened way that allows color and shadow to do the driving while noticeably tightening up mid-range values and darker elements. Fine detail gets at least a perceivable boost in clarity, and more depth is achieved at critical moments too. No obvious encoding issues could be spotted along the way, save for subtle color fluctuation during a few moments when extremely vivid hues emerge from shadowy backgrounds. Unsurprisingly, it's dangerously close to perfection and should thrill long-time fans of the film.

Corpse Bride 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Corpse Bride's original 5.1 EX mix, for those unfamiliar with the format, can offer additional surround channel separation equivalent to 6.1 that's otherwise downmixed in the rears if you have a much more common 5.1 setup. Nonetheless, 6.1 is how Corpse Bride was presented in most theaters and that's the mix we got on Blu-ray, albeit in lossy Dolby Digital format but at least encoded in a modestly beefy 640kbps. In contrast, then, it's no surprise that this new Dolby Atmos remix doesn't reinvent the wheel, offering an experience that more or less mimics the original with a bit of height channel activity and more playfully discrete pans here and there. Dialogue is typically anchored up front with atmospheric location-based effects -- large crowds, echoes, etc. -- filling out the sides and rears in a way that sounds natural... at least relatively speaking, given the subject matter. Danny Elfman's outstanding original score and small mixed bag of lyrical songs sound rich and dynamic, as expected. Overall, it's a solid upgrade over the original mix, although I've no choice but deduct a half-point for not included the 5.1 EX track as well. (Please note that this original format is retained for the included foreign dubs, although again in lossy Dolby Digital.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are offered during the main feature and all extras listed below.

Corpse Bride 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with attractive, character-themed cover art and a matching matte-finish slipcover with tasteful embossing and spot-gloss elements. The bonus features are led by two short new retrospective pieces and include almost everything from the 2006 Blu-ray edition, only leaving off the isolated Danny Elfman score track and theatrical trailer. Both are sorely missed, so hang onto those older discs if you're a completionist.

• NEW! Digging Up the Past: The Minds Behind Corpse Bride (8:26) - This short but enjoyable interview features producer Allison Abbate, screenwriter John August, and co-director Mike Johnson, who offer nostalgic group comments about Corpse Bride's development, execution, and legacy, which are flanked by supportive clips from the film and candid behind-the-scenes footage of stop-motion sculptors and animators in action.

• NEW! 'Til Death Do Us Art: A Corpse Bride Reflection (6:18) - Abbate, August, and Johnson return for a like-minded retrospective piece that focuses a bit more intently on Corpse Bride's visual merits, which if nothing else should help younger viewers appreciate the huge amounts of planning that go into the process.

• Inside the Two Worlds of the Corpse Bride

• Making Puppets Tick

• The Animators: The Breath of Life

• The Corpse Bride Pre-Production Galleries

• Tim Burton: Dark vs. Light

• Voices from the Underworld

• The Voices Behind the Voice

Corpse Bride 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mike Johnson and Tim Burton's Corpse Bride was a modest hit back in 2005, yet the film is rarely mentioned among Burton's more enduring works. It's a wonderfully haunting, romantic, and ultimately comforting experience with strong visual merits, breaking then-new ground in the nuance and spectacle that can be achieved by stop-motion animation. Warner Bros.' long-overdue UHD edition serves up nicely improved A/V merits and a solid collection of bonus features, making Corpse Bride an easy purchase for fans and curious newcomers alike. Firmly Recommended.