Characters / Corpse Bride

A character page for characters from Corpse Bride.

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Victor Van Dort

Victor Van Dort

"With this hand I will lift your sorrows. Your cup will never be empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way into darkness. With this ring, I ask you to be mine."

Voiced by: Johnny Depp (original), Roberto Mendiola (Latin-American Spanish dub), Roger Pera (Spanish dub), Bruno Choël (French dub)

A shy and gawky young man who is engaged to Victoria Everglot for social and financial reasons. He is a very good pianist.

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• Accidental Marriage: With Emily. Victor was practicing saying his marriage vows, and Emily thought they belonged to her.
• Alliterative Name: Victor Van Dort.
• Animal Motif: Butterflies — Victor has several paintings he made himself, he is shy and sensitive or fragile (like a butterfly's wing).
• Betty and Veronica: The "Archie" for Emily's "Veronica" (the girl with a more exciting streak in her character) and Victoria's "Betty" (the good girl archetype and might come off as slightly boring). The Love Triangle is a complicated one — Victor was originally betrothed to Victoria and they hit off nicely but he accidentally proposed to Emily and while it seems at times that he does have feelings for her, he's more interested in Victoria. The only reason he decided to marry Emily and join her as an undead is because he found out that Victoria was now engaged to Barkis. However, Emily stops their wedding because she realizes that Victor and Victoria belong together.
• Birds of a Feather: With Victoria. Both were raised by Abusive Parents, but grew up to be nice, if shy, individuals. Their names are even similar to each other!
• Boy Meets Ghoul: Victor meets Emily, the "Corpse Bride", and they have a weird but sweet almost love-affair. Emily thinks it's marriage.
• Butt-Monkey: Suffers a bit of physical abuse during certain parts of the movie, some of which are a result of his own clumsiness (such as running into a tree when being chased by Emily).
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: He is a Tim Burton character, and even by the land of the living standards, he's exceptionally pale.
• Endearingly Dorky: He's extremely clumsy and socially awkward during the wedding rehearsal as he can't speak up or put a ring on Victoria's finger without embarrassing himself. However, both Victoria and Emily find him irresistible and fall for him immediately.
• Expy: He looks like a grown-up version of Vincent◊, the child protagonist of one of Burton's earliest stop-motion works. This is even lampshaded in the movie.
  Lord Everglot: We shall continue as planned, with or without Vincent.
  Lady Everglot: Victor.
  Lord Everglot: Whatever.
• Fragile Speedster: He's pretty nimble but when Emily has him cornered he doesn't have the stamina to run again (for a while), and during his fight with Barkis Victor gets 3 hits on him before going down.
• Friend to Bugs: Friend to Pretty Butterflies anyway. He is introduced drawing lepidopterology sketches, and more can be seen pinned on his bedroom walls, before he frees the butterfly that he used as a model to fly away.
• Lonely Rich Kid: He doesn't seem to have had any friends to think of or anything apart from Victoria keeping him upstairs probably as a result of both his mother's elitist attitude and the limited social enviroment available in a Victorian village. This led to the pleasant suprise of him finding his one childhood friend Scraps waiting for him in the Underworld.
• Nervous Wreck: His shyness and nervousness lead him to ruin the rehearsal and make both his parents and Victoria's parents very upset with him.
• Nice Guy: A dorky boy who is genuinely kind to everyone and never let his wealth get into his head.
• Perfectly Arranged Marriage: When he and Victoria meet, they hit it off. She admires his playing the piano, and he likes that she believes in marriage for love and Happily Married couples.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: The shy, quiet Savvy Guy to Emily's vibrant, emotional Energetic Girl.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: At the very least, he's fashionably well-prepared for someone who's about to get married.
• Shrinking Violet : Victor is shy.
• Undeathly Pallor: Subverted, as he's alive as ever, yet looks like he stepped out of a black and white movie which wouldn't too far of the world of the living anyway. Ironically, he and Emily are on the trope's page image.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Gets this from Emily after he lied to her about meeting his family, and then poorly words his explanation that his marriage to her was an accident. He does make up with Emily later.

Emily

Emily

"I was a bride. My dreams were taken from me."

Voiced by: Helena Bonham Carter (original), Cynthia Alfonzo (Latin-American Spanish dub), Mar Roca (Spanish dub), Olga Golovanova (Russian dub), Laurence Bréheret (French dub)

A beautiful and charismatic young woman with a passion for music and dance. Thing is... she's a zombie, coming from her very troubled death.

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• Afterlife Angst: She becomes depressed when she learns that Victor never intended to marry her and already had a living fiancée, Victoria. The song "Tears to Shed" is all about how she feels inferior to Victoria due to being deceased and her lamenting that Victor can't love her back because of that.
• All There in the Script: In the February 2004 draft, her last name is Merrimack. According to Nell van Dort, they were a “very good family” whose grandfather was an earl.
• Attractive Zombie: She shows clear visual signs of undeath, but she's still conventionally attractive by the standards of the movie's art style, has a very vivid personality, and she's very much romantically interested in Victor.
• Badass Adorable: She looks cute, but she can take care of herself and her loved ones.
• Betty and Veronica: The "Veronica" (the girl with a more exciting streak in her character) to Victoria's "Betty" (the good girl archetype and might come off as slightly boring) for Victor's "Archie". The Love Triangle is a complicated one — Victor was originally betrothed to Victoria and they hit off nicely but he accidentally proposed to Emily and while it seems at times that he does have feelings for her, he's more interested in Victoria. The only reason he decided to marry Emily and join her as an undead is because he found out that Victoria was now engaged to Barkis. However, Emily stops their wedding because she realizes that Victor and Victoria belong together.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She gets genuinely frightening when she gets mad.
• Broken Bird: She's not that cynical, but her experience did make her feel depressed and lonely. Once she meets Victor, her spirits lift up and she's genuinely cheerful and happy.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: She shows shades of this upon first seeing Victoria, grabbing onto Victor's arm and pulling him close while putting on a smug smile, and even declaring that she's Victor's wife while showing off her wedding ring.
• Creepy Cute: She is missing some body parts and has some decay, but she still retains most of her beauty from life. Just don't get her mad at you!
• Dark and Troubled Past: She was murdered by her fiancé, and that's the reason she cannot pass on. Once said fiancé finally gets his Karmic Death (meaning his sins against her were punished) and she lets go of Victor (meaning she won't hold on anything from the living realm any longer), she finally can rest in peace.
• Dating What Daddy Hates: Her father didn't want her to marry Barkis Bittern. She really should have listened to him.
• The Dead Can Dance: She can dance, and she plays the piano and sing.
• Dead to Begin With: Emily is the Corpse Bride from the title.
• Deuteragonist: She's this to Victor's protagonist. Despite being just a Romantic False Lead who is introduced later in the story, Emily ends up getting more focus than Victoria, Victor's true love. Other than being the most tragic Broken Bird in the movie, Emily also gets the most Character Development, going from being Entitled to Have You in the beginning to sacrificing her own happiness to let Victor stay with Victoria. She could easily be a standard female heroine in an animated movie only without a happy ending.
• Did Not Get The Guy: She fell for Victor and really loved him. But she realized that he loved Victoria and let him go to her, hopefully to have a happy life together, which allows her to finally go to Heaven.
• Disappears into Light: She transforms into a swarm of butterflies and moves on.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Her name is only spoken a grand total of FOUR times in the film proper and it's easy to miss if one does not pay attention. Heck, the credits list her as simply "Corpse Bride". Even in most of the production staff didn't refer to her by proper name in the DVD extras.
• Feel No Pain: She's completely unfazed when she protects Victor from Barkis by taking a sword to her gut. Justified, as she's obviously already dead and is no longer able to feel any physical pain. Emotional pain on the other hand...
• Friendly Zombie: Emily is a living corpse, who is also a sweet and kind girl. She's also in love with Victor and takes him to the Afterlife to have a wild honeymoon.
• Friend to Bugs: She seems rather close to the maggot living in her head, despite his occasional snarking getting on her nerves. Also the Black Widow spider, who comforts her along with the maggot after Victor lies to her.
• Genki Girl: In contrast to quiet, mild-mannered Victoria, Emily is rather energetic and lively.
• Hartman Hips: One of her womanly features that hasn't been affected by decomposition.
• Horrible Judge of Character: In her backstory, when she falls for Barkis.
• I Just Want to Be Loved: That's all the poor girl ever wanted in life and the afterlife. Victor accidentally marrying her gets her hopes up, but unfortunately for her, Victor doesn't actually love her.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Emily sets Victor free of his vow to marry her, giving the wedding ring back to Victor and her wedding bouquet to Victoria.
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: To Victor. Whereas he's awkward and a bit reserved, Emily is very sweet and almost always chipper. Her taking him to the much more colorful and lively underworld kicks off the main plot.
• Meaningful Name: Her name means "rival". She "marries" Victor and gets upset when she finds out that he's already in love with another woman.
• My God, What Have I Done?: The sight of a stricken Victoria wearing a wedding gown brings this out of Emily right as she's about to marry Victor, as she sees her own heartbreak and dashed dreams of happiness reflected back at her.
• Nice Girl: Despite being a bit feisty and impulsive, Emily is just as sweet-natured as her rival Victoria.
• Only One Name: "Emily" is all we ever hear of her name.
• Oppose What You Suffered: Emily had her happiness stolen from her when she was murdered for her dowry by Lord Barkis. At the end, she protects Victoria from a similar fate even at the cost of her own happiness, and especially because it would now have been Emily who inflicted such a fate on another bride, because she knows exactly how painful it is.
• Plot-Triggering Death: She was killed on her wedding day by her fiancé who was after her money, which sets off the entire film as there otherwise can't be a Corpse Bride.
• Plucky Girl: Despite her kindness, she's also impulsive and headstrong, not hesitating to go after what and who she wants. The only thing that ever seems to stop her is her own moral compass, since she can't justify asking Victor to commit suicide just to be with her.
• Releasing from the Promise: She releases Victor, whom she considers her husband at the end of the film, leaving him free to be with Victoria.
• Revenant Zombie: This is the closest zombie category she falls into, as Emily stayed under the tree in the forest until her true love comes and asks for her hand in marriage.
• Romantic False Lead: No, she doesn't end up with Victor, a rare case where the female lead is this trope.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: The vibrant, emotional Energetic Girl to Victor's shy, quiet Savvy Guy.
• Scary Stitches: Her dress has been haphazardly sewn back together, likely due to years of decay.
• Secondary Character Title: Emily is the "Corpse Bride", but the real hero is Victor.
• Spirited Young Lady: She's lively, vivacious and enthusiastic, plays the piano and enjoys music. Victoria is her Proper Lady-like counterpart.
• Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: She sports this appearance through out the movie. She's more of a Cute Ghost Girl than the typical vengeful type, She does get pretty vengeful in some scenes however.
• Stepford Smiler: Type A. Behind her happy, joyful facade she's deep down sad and lonely (best shown in the song "Tears to Shed).
• Tears of Joy: Emily is misty-eyed during her second, proper wedding to Victor. They take a turn for remorse when she spots Victoria, and realizes she can't do what was done to her to another girl.
• Unrequited Tragic Maiden: A beautiful young woman murdered on the night of her elopement by who she THOUGHT was her true love, she who spent her afterlife heartbroken and longing to experience real true love. When she found it in Victor, he was already betrothed to a woman named Victoria, with whom he sincerely was in love, which in the end allowed her to find peace and go to Heaven.
• Uptown Girl: An unfortunate example. She was a wealthy girl who accepted to marry a guy who was "down on his cash". She didn't know he pretended to marry rich girls just to kill them and steal their money.
• Wight in a Wedding Dress: She died in a wedding dress and lives on in the afterlife wearing one.
• Woman Scorned: It's not a pretty sight when she finds out that Victor, whom she accompanied back to the Land of the Living on the pretense of wanting her to meet his parents, actually lied to her so he could sneak back to Victoria. Subverted at the end of the film, when Emily graciously allows Victor to return to Victoria.

Victoria Everglot

Victoria Everglot

"Since I was a child, I've dreamt of my wedding day. I always hoped to find someone I was deeply in love with. Someone to spend the rest of my life with. Silly, isn't it?"

Voiced by: Emily Watson (original), Maggie Vera (Latin-American Spanish dub), Graciela Molina (Spanish dub)

Victor's pretty, sweet-natured, yet timid fiancée. She is kind and shy, yet determined when she puts her mind to it.

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• Badass Adorable: Especially when you consider the time period she's in. She's a lovely young lady, but she shows she can take care of things.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: Her parents, other than being hideous, are obnoxious jerks. Victoria is a pretty lady and she's perfectly sweet, well-behaved and genuinely good.
• Betty and Veronica: She's the "Betty" (the good girl archetype and might come off as slightly boring) to Emily's "Veronica" (the girl with a more exciting streak in her character) for Victor's "Archie". The Love Triangle is a complicated one — Victor was originally betrothed to Victoria and they hit off nicely but he accidentally proposed to Emily and while it seems at times that he does have feelings for her, he's more interested in Victoria. The only reason he decided to marry Emily and join her as an undead is because he found out that Victoria was now engaged to Barkis. However, Emily stops their wedding because she realizes that Victor and Victoria belong together.
• Birds of a Feather: With Victor. Both were raised by Abusive Parents, but grew up to be nice, if shy, individuals. Their names are even similar to each other!
• First Girl Wins: She's the one Victor is legally betrothed to, and they like each other almost instantly after meeting. While Victor does end up becoming attracted to Emily as well, Emily ultimately gives up marrying Victor to avoid robbing Victoria of her happy ending the way Emily herself was robbed of hers.
• Heroic BSoD: Goes catatonic as she is married off to Lord Barkiss and stays that way until the dead arrive at the reception.
• Impoverished Patrician: Her family is aristocratic, but they have no money.
• Informed Deformity: Her parents describe her as having " the face of an otter in disgrace", yet she's incredibly pretty and proper. Then again, it's Lord and Lady Everglot, so maybe their opinions shouldn't be taken as fact.
• Marry for Love: She believes in it, but she also knows that it rarely happens in reality (in that particular fictional version of Victorian Britain).
• Meaningful Name: Her name means "Victorious". She's the one Victor really loves despite their marriage being arranged, and she ends up with him in the end.
• Nice Girl: A quiet and sweet girl, in stark contrast to her horrible parents.
• Perfectly Arranged Marriage: With Victor. Her first meeting with Victor is to meet him as a future husband. They like each other almost immediately.
• Plucky Girl: After learning of Victor's situation, she tries desperately to convince someone that she's telling the truth so he can get help, not even considering how badly it's torpedoing her family's social standing, and staunchly refusing to accept her parents' accusations of madness. She only stops once her parents finalize her new betrothal to Lord Barkis, since she doesn't have the clout to stand up to her parents and the whole marriage thing in the first place was a last ditch-effort to regain her family's wealth.
• Prim and Proper Bun: Her hairstyle — very Victorian.
• Proper Lady: She's very quiet, lady-like and seems to have domestic habits.
• The Quiet One: She's this thanks to her sheltered upbringing.
• She's All Grown Up: Not the typical application, as Victor didn't know her at all before when he was younger. Amusingly, as a baby, she looks like a typical Creepy Child with a rather large forehead and a small face that looked like it was shifted downward.
• Silk Hiding Steel: She might look harmless, but she's actually quite strong and can take care of herself.
• The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: She's very lovely, but both her parents look hideous.

Lord Barkis Bittern

Lord Barkis Bittern

"Oh, my dear. Don't look at me that way. You have only to suffer this union untill death do us part. And that will come sooner than you think..."

Voiced by: Richard E. Grant (original), José Luis Orozco (Latin-American Spanish dub), Óscar Barberán (Spanish dub)

A shrewd and murderous con-artist.

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• Alliterative Name: Barkis Bittern.
• Aristocrats Are Evil: He killed his fiancée, which was a premeditated murder, and at the end of the movie he shows he might also kill in an affect. Fortunately, he rots in the Underworld after the undead intervene.
• Asshole Victim: Not only does he die, but he is about to get tortured by the inhabitants of the undead realm.
• Big Bad: He is the one behind Emily's death and poses the greatest danger to Victor and Victoria.
• The Bluebeard: He tricked Emily into taking her family's jewels and gold and eloping with him, then killed her and ran off with the treasure. He also heavily indicates an intention to kill Victoria after their marriage.
• Chekhov's Gunman: You see him loitering in the streets twice during the opening credits and at least once during the opening song. He doesn't make his official debut in the story for another fifteen minutes or so.
• Dark Is Evil: Among the living, he is the one whose dress code represents most accurately his black heart.
• Deadpan Snarker: Of the dry and downplayed kind.
  Barkis: Oh, how touching. I always cry at weddings. Our young lovers together at last. Surely now they can live happily ever after.
• Death by Mocking: After heartlessly mocking Emily for never realizing her dream of becoming a bride, he drinks the poison meant for Victor while sarcastically toasting her and dies almost instantly.
• Devil in Plain Sight: His mannerisms and facial characteristics are stereotypically villainous. He conveniently shows up during the wedding rehearsal and constantly undermines Victoria's confidence in the marriage with his sarcasm.
• Dirty Coward: Beneath his superficial persona not only lies a manipulative man who's willing to commit murder to quench his greed, but also to mask away his fear of death as he panics when the undead shows up. And when his crimes get exposed while he accidentally drinks poisoned wine, which gave the undead the opportunity to punish him, all he can do is to scream like a helpless woman while attempting to escape to no avail.
• Do with Him as You Will: Kind of; while he hadn't directly wronged them, the undead are all disgusted at what he had done to Emily, but they can't do anything to him while he's alive. But the minute, he finally dies, they have at him and prepare to make him suffer, big time.
• Fate Worse than Death: Ironically, this is brought up AFTER his official death. He gets tortured by the dead.
• Faux Affably Evil: Barkis attempts to make himself presentable and tries to put on a charmingly polite demeanor in order to wed Victoria. But truth be told, he doesn't try hard enough to hide that his superficial manners only serve to promote himself and express a certain condescending disdain for everyone else.
• Foreshadowing: During Bonejangles' song about Emily's past, a figure suspiciously similar to him was the culprit of murdering Emily. Turns out to be true.
• Gold Digger: He chooses prospective brides based on the size of their wealth. For him a third-party wedding is an excellent opportunity for a social gathering slash a bridal market to detect a potential mark. He killed Emily to get her family's fortune, and he's practically rabid with fury when Victoria reveals she is bankrupt.
• Graceful Loser: Subverted in a way that directly leads to his demise. When Emily intercepts his attempt to stab Victor with a sword by taking it in her own gut, then turns the weapon on him, he takes the turn of events quite courteously and backs off ("Touché, my dear.") only to spitefully double around and mock Emily on how she was "always the bridesmaid, never the bride!" And in mockingly toasting her, he obliviously drinks the poisoned wine meant for Victor, killing him, meaning he would've gotten out if actually had conceded gracefully and left without trying to salt the wound.
• Hate Sink: Smug and snarky towards everything for no reason? Check. Con man? Check. Faux Affably Evil? Check. Killed Emily and took her money and family jewels? CHECK. Redeeming qualities? Nope.
• I Was Quite a Looker: The song "Remains Of The Day" describes him as "plenty good looking" and also implies that it's the reason why Emily fell for him.
• Impoverished Patrician: He is a Lord, but doesn’t have any land or inheritance, so he settles for scheming and marrying into other families.
• Jerkass: His behaviour is very unsympathetic right from the start when he insults the people around him. He seems to get on with the Everglots, who are jerks as well.
• Karmic Death: Gets caught up in his Evil Gloating and drinks poisoned wine, accidentally killing himself.
• Kick the Dog: It's not enough that he murdered Emily and condemned her to a miserable undeath; Barkis can't help but rub Emily's face in it, mockingly "toasting" her with a goblet that turns out to be Victor's poisoned wine:
  Barkis: Always the bridesmaid, never the bride! Tell me, my dear...can a heart still break once it's stopped beating? Hm?
• The Killer Becomes the Killed: He killed Emily and ends up killed when drinking the poisonous wine.
• Lantern Jaw of Justice: His chin is big, that's for sure, but he's certainly no hero.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Lord Barkis Bittern.
• Obviously Evil: From his design and entrance, you can instantly tell he has no good intentions at all and it's true. He murdered Emily, and intends to kill Victoria once he gets her family's fortune. And his chin. His evil, evil chin.
• Oh, Crap!: Once he realizes too late that he drank poisoned wine and is now dead, he begins having a massive panic attack just as he is dragged away by the other undead residents.
• Romantic False Lead: He's Emily's former fiancée, who murdered her and then tried to do the same thing to Victoria.
• Screams Like a Little Girl: As he's being dragged away by the other undead following his own self-inflicted death, he begins making several high-pitched screams in a panicked and vain attempt to get away from them.
• Self-Disposing Villain: Gloats that the undead cannot harm him due to being in the land of the living and having to abide by their rules, only to obliviously drink the cup of poison meant for Victor.
• Smug Snake: Everything about his eyes, his cruel mouth and especially his expression just oozes smug. And this is only the first impression as his words drip with bilious remarks about whoever is available to take them (Victor in this case). Yet he doesn't seem to consider any kind of interfering factors and he totally loses his supposed wit when things get out of hand. Only to counterattack livid with fury in a completely mindless, and ultimately self-destructive way.
• The Sociopath: Many of his character traits line up perfectly with antisocial personality disorder. He has a total lack of regard for other people, prioritizes short-term gain over all else, lies his way into getting what he wants, will pretend to befriend people only to betray them when he has no more use for them, and has no qualms about murder.
• Stupid Evil: During The Climax. Even after he learns about Victoria's poverty (which ruins his latest Gold Digger scheme), he still tries to take her away for some reason ("I'll not leave here empty-handed!") — when the pragmatic thing to do would've been just getting out of dodge and trying again with someone else entirely. It's not like news travel fast during this period to fear getting exposed as a married man. Likewise, all those undead he previously hid from like the Dirty Coward that he is? Well, now he can't resist cranking his Smug Snake-ness up to the max — and this is before he learns they can't do anything to him while he's still alive. And ultimately, he's literally Too Dumb to Live — by arrogantly toasting everyone with a substance just about anyone else would be more cautious about, as it was brought from the dead.
• Til Murder Do Us Part: He talked Emily into eloping with him to get to her family's money, and killed her the second he got it. He clearly planned to give Victoria the same treatment.
• Unwanted Spouse: Victoria does NOT want to marry Lord Barkis. She's still in love with Victor and sees Barkis for who he really is.
• Villain Raises a Toast: Barkis mocks Emily over her death before her wedding by raising a goblet of wine as a mock toast before drinking it. Unfortunately for him, the wine was poisoned.
• Villainous Breakdown: Barkis believes he's moments away from achieving his goal of stealing the Everglot's fortune by marrying and murdering Victoria, and impatiently asks for her dowry when the former is seemingly playing dumb, only for his bride to reveal that the Everglot's were bankrupt all along, rendering his efforts meaningless. The Lord then becomes abusive as he grabs and shakes Victoria, yelling at her to tell him it's all a lie, to which Victoria squirms out of his grip and walks away, mocking him for having his plans crash and burn. The superficially charming Barkis Bittern is then reduced to a snarling beast that tries to take her out of town with him because it's the only way to make sure he won't leave town empty-handed.
• Walking Spoiler: As is clear due to the considerable number of hidden spoilers, Barkis is more important than he seems at first glance.
• Would Hit a Girl: He murdered Emily and was planning to do the same to Victoria.

Pastor Galswells

Pastor Galswells

"Young man, learn your vows!"

Voiced by: Christopher Lee (original), Rubén Moya (Latin-American Spanish dub), Josep María Ullod (Spanish dub)

A haughty and bad-tempered priest who is hired to conduct Victor and Victoria's marriage.

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• Break the Haughty: When the undead come marching to his church, he begins shouting at his hammiest and tries to be a Badass Preacher. Then a skeleton (albeit politely and quietly) essentially tells him to shut up because of the wedding, leaving him absolutely dumbfounded as the guests quietly shuffle around him to the entrance.
• Jerkass: He's extremely unpleasant. He's a jerk mainly to Victor during the wedding rehearsal, and later to Victoria, who comes to him for guidance only to be forcibly dragged back to her judgemental parents.
• Large Ham: Throughout the film, but especially during the wedding rehearsal and when he brings Victoria back to her parents.
  Galswells: This man doesn't want to get married!
• Lean and Mean: Very tall and lanky, like his voice actor, but with a short patience for errors and quite a miserable personality.
• Light Is Not Good: Downplayed; Galswells is a priest, but while he isn't much of an obstacle, he still isn't nice.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Subverted, Victoria goes to him for help... and he brings her back to her parents, claiming that she's speaking in tongues.
• Sinister Minister: Downplayed. He's a Jerkass but not evil or sinister; just very imposing towards the shuddering Victor.
• Trrrilling Rrrs: This and drawn out words add to the hamminess of Lee's voice.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Particularly strange because the finale of the movie takes place in his church, but he doesn't appear after his Break the Haughty moment.
• You Shall Not Pass!: Tried to pull one off to the incoming undead, but it turns out the invaders were only there for the wedding and they pass like nothing happened.

Nell and William Van Dort

Nell and William Van Dort

"We'll be there, we'll be seen havin' tea with the Queen, we'll forget everything that we've ever, ever been!"

Voiced by: Paul Whitehouse and Tracey Ullman (original), Ismael Castro and Anabel Méndez (Latin-American Spanish dub), Javier Viñas and Concha Valero (Spanish dub)

Victor's parents, and a pair of nouveau riche fish merchants who have become wealthy through their industry, much to the disapproval of the Everglots.

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• Abusive Parents: Victor's mom. If some of her comments about Victor are any indication, Nell doesn't think too highly of her son, to say the least.
  Nell: Oh, don't be ridiculous. What corpse would marry our Victor?
  • As further proof, just before he tricks her, Victor jokingly mentions how it's lucky that Emily will never get to meet Nell.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Nell's mouthy tendencies to chastise and criticise Victor in front of other people cements her as this.
• Bad Boss: Nell, who constantly bosses around her driver and employee Mayhew, and does not notice his health issues.
• Bumbling Dad: William is completely under his wife's heel, constantly speaks without thinking, and even tries to flirt with the prim-and-proper hostess of the house he's invited to in the presence of his wife.
• Chubby Mama, Skinny Papa: William is skinny while Nell is wide enough to have trouble fitting into the carriage.
• Gold Digger: After a fashion; they are marrying Victor into the aristocracy so that they can gain access to high society that would ordinarily shun them for earning, rather than inheriting, their fortune.
• Henpecked Husband: William is constantly hit, heckled and bossed around by Nell.
• Nice Guy: When compared to both his wife and the Everglots, William is certainly the most friendly of the four parents.
• Nouveau Riche: Born into humble beginnings, but made millions in the fish industry. For better or for worse, they have yet to acquire the upper class manners to match.
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot: A nasty habit of William's, for which Nell often reprimands him.
• Rich Bitch: It probably didn't take much time for Nell to make the leap from entitled poor bitch to self-satisfied, wealthy bitch but it probably took her even less time to forget how similar she is in origin to all of their employees.
• Self-Made Man: William is a very successful owner of a fish cannery.
• Social Climber: They go to the trouble of having coach with a fish ornament on top come to pick them up to take them across the street, all while talking to their son about hooking and catching an aristocratic daughter. Fish merchants indeed.
• Strong Family Resemblance: William looks like an older version of his son. According to the lead character designer, this was a lucky accident.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: After Victor goes missing, they ride around town in Mayhew's carriage looking for him. Then Mayhew kicks the bucket, leaving the carriage driverless and out of control. They're never seen or even mentioned after this, the only hint they're still alive is that they're never seen in the underworld either.

Maudeline and Finis Everglot

Maudeline and Finis Everglot

"Everything must be perfect!"

Voiced by: Albert Finney and Joanna Lumley (original), Armando Réndiz and Rosanelda Aguirre (Latin-American Spanish dub), Jordi Vila and Aurora García (Spanish dub)

Victoria's parents.

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• Abusive Parents: Similar to Victor's parents, the Everglots don't think highly of their daughter or her appearance, describing her as having the face of "an otter in disgrace", and expressing disbelief that she's their ticket to continue their high-class living. They also don't care at all for her sanity or state of mind, and are only concerned about her shaming them.
• Aristocrats Are Evil: Downplayed. They're not antagonistic enough to be "evil" per se, but they lack any redeeming qualities. And they did not only forcefully marry their daughter to the highest bidder, but Finis also threatened to kill Victor with a musket for disgracing his family.
• Beehive Hairdo: Maudeline's hair.
• Birds of a Feather: They are both unpleasant, greedy, elitist and self-centered, with little to no care for others and generally hate everything. Ironically enough, however, it is because they share these traits they don't even like each other. That being said, they still agree on a lot of things and get along fairly well.
• Did Not Think This Through: Their financial situation is so dire that they pawn off Victoria to Barkis without running a background check on him first, simply working under the assumption that he has a lot of money. Given that Barkis has his eyes set on the (long gone) Everglot family fortune, one can only gather that he most likely doesn't.
• Fat Bastard: Lord Everglot, an overweight Jerkass in an unwanted marriage, who is also dwarfed by his wife.
• Gold Digger: Of a different sort to the Van Dorts; they are marrying Victoria into the Van Dort family for their money. They also state that they married one another (presumably Maudeline married for Finis' fortune, given the manor seems filled with pictures from Finis' family) for similar reasons.
• Gonk: Both qualify. Their bizarre looks stand out even in a movie where half the cast is undead.
• Hate Sink: Much like Lord Barkis, the Everglots lack any redeeming quality, other than the fact that they are not antagonists.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Eh... sort of. Barkis wins them over easily enough that, despite his being a complete stranger with no verifiable background or family, they immediately arrange for him to marry their daughter the very next day. This can however also be attributed to their financial desperation and to just how little they actually care for their daughter.
• Hypocrite: They insult their daughter's appearance for supposedly resembling "an otter in disgrace", yet they are arguably the ugliest characters in the movie.
• Impoverished Patrician: "Land-rich, bankrupt aristocracy without a penny to their name," to quote Lord Everglot as he and his wife look into a safe containing nothing but cobwebs.
• Jerkass: Both of them are extremely unpleasant.
• Lean and Mean: Lady Everglot, a miserable woman in an unwanted marriage and towers her much smaller husband. Luckily her daughter Victoria is nothing like her.
• No Accounting for Taste: Victoria's parents have openly admitted that they don't like each other, let alone love each other. Their marriage was likely arranged too, and they seem to go about it more like a business transaction.
  Maudeline: "Marriage is a partnership, a little tit for tat. You'd think a lifetime watching us might have taught her that."
• Perpetual Frowner: Neither of them are particularly cheerful. Lampshaded when Lord Everglot tries to force himself into a smile.
• The Proud Elite: Their lack of money has not blunted their contempt for middle class families like the Van Dorts one bit.
• Skewed Priorities: Upon their daughter (last seen distraught at the ghastly fate of her husband-to-be) being returned to them by Pastor Galswells, in the middle of the night, during a major storm:
  Maudeline: "Victoria? Where are your corsets?!"
• Stupid Evil: The Everglot parents are not only unpleasant but rather foolish as well. When some newcomer with no verifiable background or family waltzes into town and immediately starts buttering them up, at no point does it cross either of their minds that he might just not have their best interests at heart.
• Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: Although they appear to be the same height when we first see them, Lord Everglot is standing on a stool and is only half as tall as his wife.
• The Unsmile: When Lord Everglot is ordered to smile, he gives a very awkward half-smile, half-frown.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Maudeline and Finis are frightened away by Finis’ grandfather, but they are not seen or mentioned again after this.
• Women Are Wiser: Lady Everglot appears to be the brains of the two, given that she correct’s Victor’s name to her husband.

Elder Gutknecht

Elder Gutknecht

"Now why go up there, when people are dying to get down here?"

Voiced by: Michael Gough (original), Francisco Colmenero (Latin-American Spanish dub), Santiago Cortés (Spanish dub)

An ancient and rickety skeleton who rules benevolently over the underworld.

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• Cool Old Guy: Although he tries to uphold the rules, he can't resist Emily's charms, and he gives the dead full permission to exact revenge on Barkis once they're able. It's even implied that he knew Barkis was about to drink the poisoned chalice, and was just holding the other dead people back until they could get him without breaking the rules.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Like the rest of the dead who appear in the Underworld he is an amiable and harmless fellow, who takes his responsibility as an authority figure seriously and sternly.
• Dem Bones: He's just a skeleton, like many of the inhabitants of the underworld.
• Gratuitous German: "Gutknecht" means "good servant" in German; could also count as a Meaningful Name.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Compared to his "upstairs" equivalent, Pastor Galswells? In spades.

Bonejangles

Bonejangles

"And what a story it is! A tragic tale of romance, passion, and a murder most foul! Hit it, boys."

Voiced by: Danny Elfman (original), Gerardo Vásquez (Latin-American Spanish dub), Jordi Boixaderas (Spanish dub)

A vivacious, one-eyed, singing skeleton.

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• Chubby Chaser: When the dead first appear in the land of the living during Victoria's wedding, he makes a remark about one of the more portly women running and screaming.
  Bonejangles: I love a woman with meat on her bones!
• Dark Is Not Evil: And not only not evil, but also very pleasant and groovy.
• Dem Bones: In the underworld, he's just a skeleton.
• Eye Pop: That eye that Finis Everglot finds in his soup? That was Bonejangles' eye.
• Friendly Skeleton: The most prominent example in the film.
• Lantern Jaw of Justice: It juts out several inches from the rest of his skull.
• Shout-Out: He's a walking tribute to classical jazz music and singers such as Cab Calloway, as well as Danny Elfman's time with Oingo Boingo. Bonejangles may also be a tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. with his vocals and the fact that he only has one eye (Sammy Davis Jr. himself had a glass eye and a very protuberant jaw like Bonejangles). Unsurprising as Tim Burton idolizes Sammy Davis Jr.
  • The suspenseful series of events in "Remains of the Day" with the recurring "And then...?" lyric resembles the style of the Coasters' song "Along Came Jones".
• Skeletal Musician: The "Remains of the Day" number shows that he's quite a singer. Not very surprising considering he is voiced by Danny Elfman.

The Maggot and the Black Widow Spider

The Maggot and the Black Widow Spider

"If only he could see how special you can be, if he only knew the you that we know!"

Voiced by: Enn Reitel and Jane Horrocks (original), Germán Fabregat and Queta Calderón (Latin-American Spanish dub), José Javier Serrano and Roser Aldabó (Spanish dub)

A maggot and spider that live inside Emily.

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• The Conscience: The Maggot, appropriately, as he lives inside Emily's head.
• Deadpan Snarker: The Maggot, mostly, though Black Widow gets in a few as well.
  Maggot: If I hadn't just been sitting in it, I would say that you've lost your mind.
• Eye Pop: Occasionally, the Maggot will pop out Emily's right eye so he can look out her socket.
• Friendly Neighborhood Spider: Despite her somewhat scary appearance, the Black Widow is rather friendly and supports Emily when she feels heartbroken.
• He Went That Way: A variation. After Victor, who is fleeing from Emily and looking for a way back to the Land of the Living, smacks her away, she reveals where he's going to Emily, citing the trope word for word.
• Inappropriate Hunger: The Maggot's first appearance in the movie has him popping out Emily's eye out right in front of a confused and disturbed Victor, in response to the suggestion of a wedding feast.
• Lorre Lookalike: As noted on the main page, Enn Reitel's performance as the Maggot is one big shout-out to Peter Lorre.
• Nightmare Fetishist: The Maggot, while everyone else is apprehensive and trying to be gentle about telling Emily that Victor has to die so they can be together, he is downright ruthlessly excited at the prospect of killing him.
• Papa Wolf: Despite the moments where they disagree, it's obvious that Maggot really does care about Emily. When Barkis taunts Emily after the truth is revealed, Maggot furiously charges towards him, yelling, "Let me at him!", only to be held back by Elder Gutknecht. Not that Maggot would've done much damage to Barkis, but still...
• Spiders Are Scary: Averted, as the Black Widow is more cute than scary. Doesn't stop Victor from being startled.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: When it comes to Victor and his faithfulness to Emily, she and the Maggot don't exactly see eye to eye.

Scraps

Scraps

Voiced by: —

Victor's dog, who died before the events of the movie. Both reunite after Victor arrives to the Underworld.

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• Dem Bones: A dog turned into a skeleton when he arrived to the Underworld.
• Friendly Skeleton: True to a dog, Scraps is friendly, even if he's nothing more than a small pile of what he used to munch on.
• It Was a Gift: His skeleton is presented to Victor by Emily as a wedding gift, and both reunite.
• Loyal Animal Companion: After several years of his death, Scraps manages to be this - even as a skeleton!
• Silent Snarker: When Victor orders Scraps to do tricks, he tells Scraps to play dead. Scraps just whines in discomfort.

Mayhew

Mayhew

"Time to pick up the pieces and move on, I suppose."

Voiced by: Paul Whitehouse (original), Enric Isasi-Isasmendi (Spanish dub)

An employee of the Van Dorts' fish cannery who also acts as their coach driver.

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• Incurable Cough of Death: Mayhew's constant smoking leaves him with a terrible cough and is something that annoys Mrs. Van Dort. This causes him to collapse from the coach and die. He re-appears in the Underworld as a much "healthier" person without the weight of constantly coughing.
• Phrase Catcher: "MAYHEW!!! Stop that blasted coughin'!" from Nell.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Seemingly a background character and assistant to the Van Dorts, his death ultimately brings about Victor's decision to marry Emily now that Victoria married Lord Barkis.

Hildegarde

Hildegarde

"The sea leads to many places, dearie. Maybe you'll land somewhere better."

Voiced by: Tracey Ullman

Victoria's elderly maid and her closest friend in the Everglot household.

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• Old Retainer: She's ancient, and she's loyal and kind to Victoria.
• Parental Substitute: She's more of a loving parent to Victoria than her own mother and father are.

Emil

Emil

Voiced by: Stephen Ballantyne (original)

The Everglots' impeccable butler.

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• The Jeeves: He fits the "perfect English butler" stereotype so perfectly that he successfully fetches Lord Barkis a chair while he's already sitting down, and later catches a cup Barkis randomly throws backwards over his shoulder with a tray.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: During the invasion of the dead.
  Finis Everglot: Fetch me musket!
  Emil: (putting on his cap) Fetch your own musket — I'm off!

Town Crier

Town Crier

"Hear ye, hear ye!"

Voiced by: Enn Reitel (original)

The bell-shaped fellow who works as the town's main source of news and gossip.

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• Character Catchphrase: "Hear ye, hear ye!", which was a real traditional town crier call (although the real one was in French).
• Extra! Extra! Read All About It!: He walks around spreading latest news around the populace of the quiet English town.
• No Indoor Voice: When Barkis asks him to repeat "tonight's headlines", he does it complete with the bell-ringing and yelling at the top of his lungs. Which rattles the cups in the room. Averted completely and hilariously when he switches to talking about the weather, speaking in a perfectly normal volume that, up until that point, the viewer might've thought he didn't have.
• Worst News Judgement Ever: "In other news: THE DEAD WALK THE EARTH!!!"

The Undead Inhabitants

The Undead Inhabitants

A bunch of jolly dead people that live in the Underworld.

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• Beware the Nice Ones: They like to greet newly dead people in their home. However, when the dead person is someone in particular who committed atrocious things in life such as murder, things change, and they "welcome" them in a different way. Like Lord Barkis.
• Creepy Good: Pretty much all the undead are frightening to a degree with one inhabitant being vertically split in half and another being a decapitated head who moves around on bugs, but they are all strictly on the side of good being very jovial, helpful, benevolent and welcoming. Then there’s also them going above the surface for Emily and Victor’s wedding where they reunite with their living loved ones.
• Dem Bones: Some of the inhabitants are animated skeletons. But they're anything but evil.
• Half the Man He Used to Be: The vertically cut gentleman who is always in the middle of anything and has to divide himself to get through it.
• Irony: Despite being undead, they're a lot more lively than the stiff and humdrum people who are actual alive.
• Jaw Drop: Alfred the skeleton's jaw literally falls off when he and the rest of the wedding guests learn that Barkis is Emily's ex-fiancé and he's the one who killed her.
• Losing Your Head: Paul the Head Waiter, who has to walk through the aid of some bugs (and one of them acts as a bowtie).
• The Dead Can Dance: They really enjoy making music and partying.
• The Napoleon: One of the undead is an Expy, or the real, of Napoleon Bonaparte named Napoleon Bonesapart. But unlike other representations, he is not a grumpy tiny man but the opposite.
• Our Zombies Are Different: Some of the more recent inhabitants are zombies; fortunately, they're all friendly and jolly.
• Visual Pun: Paul the head waiter is literally a severed head.

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