Dark Tim Burton Theory Explains The Shocking Fate Of 1 Animated Villain After His 19-Year-Old Movie’s Ending

Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride is a largely goofy musical , even as it occasionally leans into a quietly macarable sense of style and humor. At its heart, the film is about the relationship between Johnny Depp’s Victor and his accidental wife Emily, the titular Corpse Bride. Victor is whisked away to the Land of the Dead, where he meets a colorful cast of silly characters. The film never forgets the darker elements of the story, especially when it comes death and what comes afterwards. People may sing and dance in the Land of the Dead, but they can still be scary.

Some fans theorize that the film is actually darker than anyone realized, however. There’s been speculation over the years about the specific rules and laws of the film’s approach to the underworld, with one adding a very frightening edge to the characters that Corpse Bide introduces Victor to in the Land of the Dead. However, this theory does more than that, as it also answers questions about how morality works in Tim Burton’s animated universe, giving the denizens of the Land of the Dead a unique responsibility. The theory also helps explain the surprisingly uplifting ending to Burton’s Corpse Bride.

Cruel Souls Like Barkis Are Devoured By The Dead Still In Purgatory – Dark Corpse Bride Theory Explained

The theory for The Corpse Bride suggests that the dead souls in purgatory devour cruel souls like Lord Barkis, adding a lot of dark layers to the film. At the end of Corpse Bride, Lord Barkis’ schemes are thwarted, although he seems to escape consequences for his actions. However, upon drinking the poison meant for Victor, Barkis promptly dies. He’s cornered by the dead, who take on a more fearsome attitude as they drag him into the afterlife. Although the film ends with the uplifting imagery of Emily finding peace, Barkis’ fate adds a harrowing element of the movie’s finale.

The theory suggests that after Barkis was dragged into the underworld, the dead consumed him. It’s a dark theory, but one that adds new aspects to the film’s underworld. While the film had featured the dead happily drinking at a pub, there’s no food to be consumed by the dead. Even the wedding cake they make is largely untouched. This could be because the dead are only ever hungry when they see a despicable soul joining their midst. This could also actually go a long way towards explaining how the afterlife actually works in the supernatural world of Corpse Bride.

This Theory Explains Why Corpse Bride’s Underworld Doesn’t Have Any Evil Residents

One of the more notable elements of Corpse Bride‘s afterlife is the way it operates without any driving morality. The souls seen in the afterlife are largely carefree and goofy, seemingly the kind of souls who might be waiting for a loved one or have unfinished business on Earth. Notably, none of them are portrayed as villainous or evil. In fact, the Corpse Bride afterlife seems bereft of the more villainous souls often seen in afterlife narratives. The theory suggesting that evil souls are consumed gives Corpse Bride a grim aspect, and explains why the dead souls are only friendly.

There might have very well have been numerous dark souls condemned to the Land of the Dead, only to be consumed for their actions on Earth. It would explain why the characters seen in the land of the dead are all portrayed as generally good people. Even opposing soldiers General Wellington and General Bonesapart seem to be genuinely sweet-natured souls, despite their natural antagonism. They are spared Barkis’ fate. Barkis’s clear crimes marked him as a target for the dead, and their vicious smiles as they enact justice suggests this isn’t the first time a soul has met that fate.

Corpse Bride’s Grim Purgatory Fate Theory Makes The PG Movie Way Scarier

Corpse Bride‘s underworld theory adds a lot of scary elements to the animated film. In essence, the dead serve as arbiters of the afterlife, accepting some and consuming the worst that the world has to offer. They accept new arrivals with open arms when their souls are kind or even average. Mayhew dies in the film, and is promptly welcomed with a big hello and a drink. However, cruel souls are dispatched quickly in horrifying fashion. The theory effectively removes any need for a hell in the film’s universe, as the fate for bad souls is a truly vicious one.

It even explains why the dead have been forbidden from interfering in the affairs of the living, while being left with a greater freedom to enact justice on their fellow dead. They serve as a form of divine punishment, removed from the material world. It gives the Corpse Bride afterlife a grim responsibility, and highlights how frightening even the goofy skeletons and dead cooks can really be. According to the theory, the silly side-characters in the underworld of Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride have been cannibals all along, willingly (and seemingly happily) consuming those they cast judgment on as their punishment.

The Dark Corpse Bride Theory Gives Victor & Emily’s Endings New Meanings

The idea that the dead eat those they deem evil gives a new meaning to their early acceptance of Victor. The movie could have gone far worse for the character if the dead had believed him a vicious soul. Instead of embracing Victor and ultimately rallying around him and Emily, the dead could have declared him a liar and moved in for the kill. However, there’s another side of the story at play in this theory, as it adds a sweet edge to the final fate of Emily and implies that the afterlife goes beyond what’s seen in Corpse Bride.

Emily died and remained in the underworld desperately wanting to be a bride. Even technically doing this didn’t allow her to find peace. The film’s ending sees Emily finally at peace, finally moving on to a different plane of the afterlife. While dark, the Corpse Bride theory about the dead consuming cruel souls also implies that good souls can finally move on. While the purgatory of the Land of the Dead may have replaced hell, there seems to be something better waiting for those who find peace. It’s a surprisingly sweet silver-lining to a very dark interpretation of Corpse Bride.