'Corpse Bride' Q&A with Mike Johnson

We catch up with Tim Burton's co-director on the set of this soon-to-be stop-motion classic

Oct 21 2005

Mike Johnson's life has revolved around stop-motion animation. He started out as an assistant on Tim Burton's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas', then became a full-blown animator on Harry Selick's 'James and the Giant Peach'. He even successfully transferred the technique to TV through the Eddie Murphy comedy 'The PJs'.

'Corpse Bride' is his first feature in the director's chair, however, and Time Out caught up with him onset to discover what it's like to co-helm with Tim Burton, and just how mad you have to be to want to do stop-motion for a living.

What has Tim Burton's influence been on the project – is he like the voice of God speaking down to you?

Yeah, yeah. It's Tim's world and we all play in it. His is definitely the overriding vision behind this film.

How would you describe that Tim Burton world?

Well, it's not straight gothic is it? Hollywood gothic is also a term that's not fully appropriate. Without sounding too pretentious, maybe post-modernist Hollywood gothic. I'll throw that one out there.

What was it like working with such an amazing vocal cast?

It was a lot of fun. The voice recording sessions were really great. It was exciting to see these actors and what they could do and bring to the characters. I'd say that it was one of the more exciting parts of the project.

What's it like to watch the relationship that Tim has with Johnny Depp after all these years?

It's very interesting. They're very much in sync with each other and there's a lot of non-verbal communication, so yeah, it was amazing just to see that manifest during the recording.

Was there any one shot during the filming process that was really difficult to get?

I would say that what should have been a simple shot because it was only one character, but the one we all obsessed over endlessly, and caused us the most problems was the Corpse Bride rising from the ground, because I think everyone knew that this was the key moment. We rehearsed it and tried it several different ways before we settled on the final version.

Do you want people to be impressed with your effects or to just get lost in the story?

I would hope that the audience would not get too caught up in the technique. I think we've gone a long way to get beyond that in that they can relate to this as a film and as a story and not constantly be reminded that it's stop-motion. At the same time, we did have something we wanted to prove here, that stop-motion is advancing and that it can compete with computer-generated films, that it’s alive as an art form.

What innovations have you developed on this film that other animators may be able to use?

I hope it will be beneficial to all stop-motion projects when they see what we were able to do with digital still cameras. Technically, I take some pride in the fact that people at Pixar assumed that some of the shots from the trailer were CG. We also had a technical standard we wanted to achieve, to create something that could sit alongside 'Nightmare', which is a landmark in itself, but also shows how things have progressed in the past 10 years.

Did you find it hard to set the right tone between horror and humour?

Well, I think that’s very much Tim Burton's aesthetic and style. It's a fine line, but it's a path he's walked many times.

Do you think that studios and audiences cut you more slack because it's a Tim Burton film?

I would think so. People know, they have expectations going in, so things that might be off-putting coming from another film work well within the context of Tim Burton's world.

Given there is that established style, what did he see in your work on 'Nightmare' that made him think: ok, this is someone who could bring more to the film?

I don't think it was my work on 'Nightmare' that impressed him; I just did some assistant animation there. But since that time I've directed commercials, music videos and short films, and I think he saw that technically I knew how do the job. As I came up working on Tim Burton films, there was already an integration there, stylistically in my work. It wasn't that much of a leap.

Is it worth all the time and trouble to get those images on the screen? Surely there are easier ways to make a living.

I don't know what else I could do other than push puppets around. I thought it was ridiculous enough when I was getting paid to do that, but now I get to tell other grown-ups to push their puppets around!

But the beauty of the image is what ultimately makes it special?

Yeah, I think it's the beauty of the image, but it's also the day-to-day process of going out on stage and being surrounded by these amazing toys. You certainly don't get that experience working on computer films.

Do you think you have to have a particular kind of personality to do what the animators are doing? Do you have to be slightly obsessive or insane?

I think so. But it's interesting how varied that manifestation of craziness is among the animators. There is a certain something that drives a person to sit in the dark and animate puppets all day. But I don't know exactly what that ingredient is. Some of our animators are very introverted and some are very extroverted – their personalities vary. But I do think it takes a certain madness to want to do it.

It's quite a solitary process obviously, day-to-day, so do they go crazy at the wrap party?

Yeah, I think when they go out in public it gets ugly.

Also, it's not the sort of job you can come to with a hangover, with the old shaking hand.

Right, well, it doesn't stop them. I think that animators, the whole crew, are really good at managing where they need to be and what they need to do.

Are you conscious even now of the DVD?

We've been working on that, trying to decide what could go on the DVD. There is some behind-the-scenes stuff; we set up a time-lapse camera on some of those big shots so you can actually see the animators scurrying on set and the puppets moving in real time among them. There should be some surprises for the hardcore stop-motion geeks to obsess over. Animation tests, character development, that sort of stuff.

Do you have any idea what you might be doing next?

I hope another stop-motion film. I think I'm going to wait and see what the response is to this and then see what happens.

What one memory will you take from the making of 'Corpse Bride'?

I think just walking through the stages, seeing all these people gathered together and knowing that they're all as passionate about their craft as I am.

'Corpse Bride' is released today, and to read our full report from the set, simply click here.

 

• 
•