Corpse Bride: The Blue Theory 

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Psyche, the wife of Eros in Greek mythology, actually has butterfly wings herself. And she’s the goddess of the Soul too!

"Kubo and the Two Stings" also uses blue as a motif as well. Golden yellowish colors are used to exude safety, security, warmth, and memories. Meanwhile, blue is associated with feelings of fear, danger, coldness, and diminished memories. Kubo's aunts even have pale skins that almost look blue, giving a sense that they're dead inside.

Lots of stories use butterflies to symbolize freedom. When Emily turns into butterflies, her Soul has been set free. A bittersweet moment. Patch Adams used butterflies to symbolize hope, and maybe the spirits of loved ones. Regardless of how you take the symbolism, seeing a butterfly seems to send a message that it's going to be okay.

if you notice in Victor's and Emily's wedding you can see the bags under Victor's eyes have turn a darker blue shade, and the blue shade lightens up when Emily ascends. I think this symbolizes how he did eventually have eyes for Emily, and he did grow to care about her, and even after she had set him free he still cares about her, but is starting to move on and marry Victoria was originally planned. Emily, and the dead people really, impacted Victor greatly and the blue hint staying on his eye bags is showing that.

I love how the blue butterfly has white spots that are supposed to represent the eyes of Emily AND Victoria. You can see how the top set of wings are the eyes shaped like Victoria and the bottom set of wings are the eyes shaped like Emily. It could mean nothing though .

I actually didn't watch Corpse Bride for the first time until last year. My best friend and I were commemorating the holiday season by watching one movie every month to represent the corresponding holiday. For Christmas, we chose Nightmare Before Christmas. For Thanksgiving, we chose Coraline because it somehow seemed appropriate. And for Halloween, we chose Corpse Bride. She had been recommending it to me for years, so we figured it would be the best place to start.

I love how in the beginning Victor sets the butterfly free and in the ending Emily is set free by turning into a kaleidoscope of butterflies. Butterflies (And death) represent freedom in this world and I think that’s beautiful.

Correction. On All Souls' Day and All Saints' Day, especially celebrated in my country, Poland, on November 1 and 2, it is not about evoking ghosts, scaring people with scares, etc. It is about remembering people we loved, as well as those who have already been forgotten, especially the most special ones who have been waiting for us for years. in Heaven, of course the Saints. It is also a reminder that the best way to remember them and help some of their souls is to pray for them and to them (that is, to God through them), which is why on these days Poles visit the cemeteries and graves of their loved ones in the greatest numbers throughout the year. closest and relatives. And it doesn't have to be sad and gloomy. It's more about seriousness and respect for the dead and their burial places. After all, almost all of us will be born again one day! We will rise again! And this is a reason for great joy rather than sadness. That's why I prefer to go back to watching Coco much more often.

A small thing when watching, if we go by the idea that color only appears with liveliness, then wouldn't that mean that the red collar symbolizes the last time Victor was happy? Because now suddenly years later (and after his dog died) he's completely monochrome with the only other colors being the blue butterfly and the Corpse Bride (whose name I forgot while writing this) which possibly means death and all others colors only coming in after Victor appears in the underworld.

Right after she says "I'm getting ahead, back to business," video literally cuts to the climax of the movie where the Corpse Bride turns into blue butterflies.

it's strange that the potion wasn't a vibrant blue, if blue represents death and depression, and red seemingly representing life and passion (red collar representing his love for his childhood pet, a time when Victor had passion in his life and not just depression)

Something that I was able to take note of as I was re-watching the film again as an adult, was that in the theatrical cut of the film, it is never really explained why Emily knew of Victor's first name when they were never formally introduced when Emily was alive. However, in the original unedited screenplay which you can find online; there is a specific scene in which Victor is attempting to pursuade Emily to take him back to the land of the living under false pretenses (in a manner that is also highly remiscent of the final cut of the film) with the exception that she does eventually meet Mr. and Mrs. Van Dort and she seems to be instantaneously well-beloved by them and they do not seem to react adversely to her physical appearance either; as she explains that she was the late daughter and heiress to the "Merrimack" Family fortune and the Van Dorts reply that they are very fond of her parents and that they were good people. In an extended cut of the original scene, Emily also has a conversation with Victor in which she explains that she has been watching over him as his Guardian Angel in the woods whenever he would seek to have a moment of clarity or find solace in sketching; ever since she died and Victor reacts in a manner that would be considered to be highly uncharacteristic of him in comparison to the final cut of the film, as he feels "strangely touched" by her earnestness and compassion. Therefore, cannonically, her surname would be "Merrimack", which bears several connotations. In terms of terminology; a "Merrimac", (without the letter "K" at the end) is defined in the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary as a "street musician"; and it is also defined by its etymology as a surname originating from Native-American culture; (Now phonetically including the "K") which can possibly mean "Deep River Sturgeon" or "Deep Fishing Place." It is possible that Emily's family was also comprised of nouveau riche business investors/merchants just like Victor's family is; and since Victor and Emily are both prodigious musicians; they may have had far more in common than what even they believed initially and it is additionally possible that the Merrimack family were the ones who would mass distribute the products and services that Victor's parents would supply through their buisness venture and that could explain why the Merrimacks were indeed acquainted with the Van Dorts with the exception of Victor, given that in the original screenplay, it is stated that he has struggled with severe social anxiety and irrational fears ever since he was a child.

Love the analysis on the importance of Blue in this movie. I would love to see you talk about the Folktale it was inspired by, 'The Finger'

I think it's also possible that making all the zombies blue is just a really good way of differentiating between who's dead and who's not. Although, all your thoughts are really good too.

In my opinion, the land of the dead is both heaven AND purgatory. For example, some of the dead consider welcoming newcomers and being hospitable as their personal heaven. Bonejangles seems to be most at home in the Land of The Dead. He has everything he needs; his club, his band, and people he can entertain. Also, did you notice how many of the dead characters embraced their still- living loved ones? They seem to be waiting for their loved ones to pass so they can continue the journey together.

Honestly, the idea that the more blue the dead is the more unfinished business they have makes sense. Afterall, when Lord Barkus died, he turned a much brighter and more vibrant shade of blue than any of the dead, even brighter than Emily and the recently deceased Mayhew (I think that's how his nane is spelled). He didn't want to die, perhaps he believed he never would, and his viceral fear upon death and realizing who he was surrounded with (i.e. the dead that just found out he's a murderer) really puts the point across that he wasn't ready to die and face the consequences of his own actions. However, fate and karma have their own timing that bring many to an early, and sometimes very deserved, grave.

I always enjoy when media plays with colors. There was a web comic I used to read way back in the day. The first 4-5 chapters are in black and white as we go through the motions of our main character. However, after an incident that I can't remember all too well, the main character and another character share a kiss after admitting their feelings to each other and as they embrace the page quickly changes to color. After that, they start dating and the series pretty much stays in color for the rest of the story, or at least until I stopped reading it. I wish I could remember the name of the comic. I'd love to read it again.

I’ve always loved Corpse Bride more than any other claymation movie. The story is so rich and deep and I’m happy that you’re starting up a genuine conversation about this movie. It absolutely deserves it 😊

When Victoria walks out on Barkis, as she heads towards the door, we see blue lighting and when we look back at Barkis, he looks pretty murderous as he glares at her back. So, right before she steps into the light, it could signify that Victoria is walking a path that could lead to her death, foreshadowing her possible end. So, in a way, she's walking into Death's arms

I love that Corpse Bride finally gets the recognition it deserves 💙

The Corpse Bride was one of the first movies I owned on DVD and watched it until the disc got too scratched to play right. A lot of colors have dual symbolism (yellow meaning both happiness and sickness, caution and warmth) so blue in Corpse Bride means both the coldness and aloof behavior of Victorian society, the cold of dead skin, but also the peace & freedom Emily gains when she accepts her death

Fun fact: releasing butterflies at funerals symbolizes the release of the departed soul.

Yes!!So happy you did a Corpse Bride Video!! Such a beautiful and emotional video/movie!!!Thank you for hard work on your videos!

I just assumed they were all blue only because skin usually turns blue after death.

We had about that artist in our art class. The teacher allowed us to shatter old cups and such for us to make similar works. It was quite fun

3:23 the monarch butterfly thing confused the hell out of me when I was younger. My dad told me that when one of his family members died a monarch butterfly appeared at the funeral. And me and my dad see them all the time. (It’s comforting to think about because I love bugs)

You have your knowledge claws deep in my head! I’m here for the gruesome theories!

I was waiting for a Corpse bride video from Abit frank 🥰!

3:32 Me a Mexican who's been watching your videos for years now and was surprised to hear talk in spanish (my ears have been blessed)

OMG NEW THEORIESSS I LOVE THEMMM

About the white spots reminding you of eyes, if you pay attention to the svene where the butterfly is leaving viktors room you can see a weak but notiveable red rim inside the black edge of the white spot, reminiscent of the red area behind the eye or when you watch too much tv and your eyes become edged with a red rim because of irritation. I dunno, its something i just noticed

I noticed, in addition to the blue butterfly symbolism, Emily's maggot often eggs her on to do things that would further prevent her from being free. He looks like a caterpillar and is the color green, a color that I've noticed is often associated in this film with unfinished business and "purgatory" of the Land of the Dead.

I know I still want you to talk about the folklore stories that influenced the movie (even though Tim Burton focused on one folklore tale in particular).

I remember watching Corpse Bride as a kid w my best friend at the time, and asked my friend’s dad why Emily turned into a bunch of butterflies, bc I just did not understand symbolism (let alone what symbolism even was). I think he might’ve said that was her moving on? But idk, anytime I watch this movie, I always remember me asking my friend’s dad about that moment.

I'd love to see more color theory videos. Every color has multiple positive and negative aspects to them, and how movies use said colors really says a lot about the tone of a movie. Video games too, for that matter, since I do remember your 'yellow and horror' analysis video.

Love this analysis! I had thought about all of the points you made - except for the link of the butterfly and what it/she means to the entire story. BRAVA!

Always just thought it was because blue is symbolic for saddness and calmness, what death might feel like when Youre, well, dead. The main topic is death, the title is literally corpse bride, so the color of saddness and calmness would make sense.

Oh I thought it was because she was buried under the tree in the frost covered forest so her body like froze over or caused her to turn blue

Blue is also a very peaceful, serine color. This could also symbolize that at the end of this turmoil, there will be peace and closure.

Theres a very cute corpse bride/ Alice madness returns fanfiction about seeing color for the first time whem you meet a "soulmate". Quote from the fic: "Just remember: "Important" does not imply "good." And "love" does not always mean "couple."

I always thought they were moths, not butterflies. In Japan, a moth on your door is a soul visiting + a lot of the movie was at night

Please keep uploading these videos because I love them so much ❤ Keep up the good work 😊

Also, Emily holds some blue roses, and im pretty sure blue roses mean unrequited love, the love she didn't get from victor or her ex husband. I feel like the blue also worked with the love that wasn't returned back to her.

11:35 “they have to die to start living” very poetic. If we aren’t enjoying life, are we living. Perhaps in another life, an after life, the loss of responsibility from life is what will allow us to live.

This and The Nightmare before Christmas are probably my favorite childhood movies.

I’ve followed you for years. Love this episode. I would totally like to see more corpse bride content. ❤❤

Ooh, I’d love to hear the additional lore to this story. God, I love your voice and animation.🦋💙

I wished for another sequel of Corpse Bride where Victor could once meet Emily again, either by dreams or hallucinations thru the latter stage of his life. I just hoping, even if it was just a fanmade it would be worth watching for!

The Corpse Bride was originally a Jewish (Ashkenazi, I think) folk tale. There's a lot of colour symbolism in Judaism. Blue represents spirituality and the soul, which would suit the newly dead. Red, meanwhile, can mean blood (life), which makes sense for Victor's lively dog. In cases like this, where the story has history, you have to search for the story's roots to understand the full thing.

Corpse bride, is filled with blue color, my favorite color of all time! I don't really know much about the story, but when I search Corpse bride on Google, I always see the Corpse bride fanart.

My theory is Victor's life is all about procrastination and passivity. His parents arranged his marriage, he also happens to live a very sheltered life at the same time. The butterfly is kept inside glass, representing his want for freedom and wanting to explore the world. My interpretation is that Emily is his soulmate, but by the time he gets to meet Emily she already is dead. This means Victor is the type of man that waits until something happens, even if that involves tragedy. Her being dead represents all the good things in life being taken for granted. However, fate always meant for them to eventually meet, albeit Emily has passed away. Throughout the movie, you can see how Victor opens up to her. Gradually becoming more alive the more time they spend together, he gains a better understanding of people that accept him the way he is. The undead do not follow societal standards, neither do they long for money or wordly riches. You can see how this is reflected when Emily gives Victor his present, happening to be his long dead dog. She thought of what mattered the most in his heart. In my opinion, Emily dies because she rushes things, unlike Victor. Ready to love, to be loved without expressing concerns or having second thoughts about unintended consequences. She always wanted to be married, but fails to see that papers and contracts do not guarantee you love. If you haven't seen the movie, skip this line. The butterfly is not exclusive to Emily, but also happens to reflect Victor as previously mentioned. In the end, Victor is about to give his life because of how he feels about her. When she says you are not mine, that is coming to terms with her death. She is set free, but so is Victor. Her spirit can pass on, and he moves on with his life. In other words, the world destroyed their love. Emily was always meant to be his wife, but in a world where people force arranged marriages, they killed that chance for them. I suppose this is my theory. I watched the movie when I was 14 a long time ago. One of the best in fact. :)

I havent seen this movie in 5 years damn

loved it! just a small correction, Guillermo del Toro is Mexican, and in spanish it is pronounced differently from the similar french name.

If I mis-remembered, there are no green colors other then the light show under there. There seems to be no leavy green anywhere in the world of the living. But great analysis about color theory. We usually associated white or black as death. But using blue? It's like a fresh new perspective.

Me and my family actually have the same thing about the butterflies I’ve always been told growing up a monarch butterfly is a passed loved one paying a visit

Even my nightmares use blue shading to show there is danger or death about to happen lol Good vid!

These are so unique thoughts that I have completely missed after watching it numerous times since it was released. I love this 💙

I personally have a theory regarding the interpersonal conflict that Victor and Victoria both experience with the Everglot family. In the scene in which the sung expository sequence takes place to the beginning melody of "According To Plan" from the perspectives of Finis and Maudeline Everglot (Victoria's parents) we can see that Victoria's parents have an underlying feeling of resentment and of contempt for their daughter as they are passing by the portraits of the different Everglot male ancestors, they reach an inverted portrait of an infant Victoria who could initially look like a baby boy at first glance. Then as they spin her portrait back into its correct orientation, Victoria's true self is thusly revealed. As her parents were passing through the hallway containing her childhood portrait, they were singing about the immense expectations that they had thrusted upon Victoria's shoulders because they were drowning in financial poverty and this information can easily be interpreted visually, however, Victoria is entrusted with responsabilities that would have more commonly been allocated or assigned to a male heir, meaning that another reason as to why their relationship is incredibly strained is because of the fact that they erroneously believe that if they had given birth to a son, their problems would have been comparatively lessened which is of course completely relative to the time period and not true at all which adds another undercurrent of complexity to Victoria's personal journey and another element of sadness to her struggles with her own self-esteem and in finding her place in a male-dominated society which has continually deprived her from the opportunity of pursuing her dreams and her most authentic expression of self in the name of supposed "traditions." I also believe that what deepened her relationship with Victor was the fact that he was immediately accepting of Victoria, never once judging any of her most deepest aspirations and goals in life. Victor is therefore deeply enamored with Victoria because of her emotional resiliency, immense situational and artistic awareness and intelligence and quiet strength, qualities which he himself also posesses but often fails to see in himself.

I can't believe I never caught this. I love this movie. And I should have remembered nothing is accidental in a Tim Burton film

Okay, so I've thought about this for years. At least the way Emily died, I think. She was most likely buried in a shallow grave without a coffin or casket. If it was cold, like the winter season that the movie takes place in, her skin would be blue because of frostbite. But since you're analyzing the butterfly, I think too much about death.

I low key thought the corpses being blue or most artists using grey or blue to depict corpses, death, or characters near death was because of the circulation thing. like babies are blue if they're born not breathing, frostbite, dehydration and so many other things cause the red to fade from your face causing people to look pale, washed out of color/blood, and cold.

You’re right about the Underworld in the film being a place akin to Purgatory, given how in the original Jewish legend that inspired it, the Underworld the protagonist is dragged down into is Sheol - which, to those unfamiliar, is basically the afterlife which all deceased souls (both good and bad) rest for eternity.

What I want to know is why some of the undead were pure skeletons while others were corpses. The different stages of decomposition always intrigued me.

I will always love your videos! Too 5 favorite RU-vidrs for sure

I mean usually the blue skin in a deceased body equates to the beginnings of decomposition. The skin begins to gain a greenish blue pigment indicating that the bodily fluids and gases are breaking down and will soon leak out

Aaaand there's some more lore for my rpg homebrew. Thanks so much for these breakdowns! I know it's a bit of a sillier one, but could you do Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit?

You’re one of my favorite RU-vid channels !

I thought a group of butterflies was called a FLUTTER 🦋

WOW, I dont normally watch this kind of content. But you are extremely well learned and present your thoughts in such an entertaining manner.

Thank you for talking about Día de los muertos' and how cultural it is. It's so fascinating. 👍🏼 Like

At the same time, I admit that comparing the world of the dead from this film to purgatory can be very accurate and gives a new and better perspective even to the director himself. And I finally understood this ending! It always seemed strange to me and the most unclear of all. The most interesting, however, were the interesting facts about butterflies. I had no idea that people were so sentimental about these insects. It is not surprising, however, that they are probably the least repulsive and even beautiful compared to others. All thanks to their unique, beautiful colorful wings. Thank you very much for this intriguing, thought-provoking analysis. I have the impression that thanks to it I finally started to like this film. I always knew that there was a certain depth in Tim Burton's films, but the level of fear and tension as well as the intricacy of many characters, situations and places always made me... I watch them once in my life and I don't want to go back to them. I guess my nerves are too weak for them. Well, maybe except Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the new version of Dumbo, Big Eyes, Edward Scissorhands and Frankenweenie (although the animated one is scarier than the live-action one!.)crikey!

watching this video at 3 am (spooky and dark) at a golf course hill. I was terrified the entire time

This is a true masterpiece, and it remains one of my favorite films to this day. Just like other movies of this genre, I'll watch over and over to gain more nuggets of wisdom !

Wow, I literally had Corpse Bride playing just a couple days ago while babysitting a coworker’s cats. Literally one of them watched the beginning of the movie before she decided she didn’t want to watch any more of it and walked away. Funny to see a video about this movie come out in this channel just two days after watching it 😆

This is the first video I've seen of yours and I'm hooked on your content already! You got such a great voice and well scripted content! 😄😄

I always cry when Emily ascends to Heaven :( it's bittersweet for me. The bufferlies are so pretty but when she leaves I always cry x.x I'm happy for Victor and Victoria, but both for Emily?

This is amazing!

I love your videos so much omg!!

Hi. I found your channel recently, talking about the nightmare before christmas and coraline. Can you do something on the lord barkis guy and how he died and what happened to him? This scene always stood out and creeped me out despite never actually seeing the full movie

This is the second new video about corpse bride I've had in my subscriptions. I think it might be time for this year's watch

My favorite Burton film. This was a great deep dive

The main color of Dia Da Los Muertos is orange, with is the exact opposite of blue on the color wheel, Interesting.

woah, you blew my mind and I'm a film buff into philosophy... good on ya!

Seeing this in time for my yearly rewatch

Halloween originated from the Druid holiday of Samhain, pronounced sowen. Samhain is celebrated by Neo Druids today. Today, Neo Druidism is even practiced in Arizona.

In Old Norse language (the "viking-age" language) it was commonly said "blue as Hel" meaning: looking like the dead, where Hel is a ruler of Helheim, the realm of the dead.

Your videos have amazing quality! I’m always blown away at how I never notice the color significance in movies.

And I am reminded why I can't watch this movie. Too damn emotional.

0:06 I can't unsee your avatar looking at me with two left eyes

Not gonna lie, I'm just falling asleep listening to your soothing comforting voice 😴 these are my new bedtime stories.

Hi I love your videos

Too blue😂

A group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope 🦋

Blue is showing her decomposition. I wanna see what she looked like before she died

Thsi movie has been my favorite animated film forever! Use to watch it so much as a kid! Ty for this video! ❤️‍🔥

I love your voice. it's so soft and calming

I would absolutely like to venture into the forest with you, more spookies please!

Mr beast-Nah Matpat-hmmm👹 Abitfrank-Yaaaaass