9/24/05 at 06:55 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Depp gains fresh respect for animated films
BY TERRY LAWSON
FREE PRESS MOVIE WRITER

September 23, 2005


TORONTO -- Johnny Depp really had no intention of being in our faces this fall, not that all that many people would mind.


After nearly two decades of mostly fine performances in what might have been considered specialized movies had not the actor's presence made fans line up to see them, Depp, 42, almost accidentally became a box-office magnet with his portrayal of pithy pirate Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean" and a taciturn Willy Wonka in Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."


More Depp is now about to be served.


"Corpse Bride," the animated film codirected by Tim Burton with Mike Johnson and starring Depp's voice, opens nationwide today.


And "The Libertine," which premiered at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, will show up sometime, somewhere before the end of 2005 to make Depp eligible for another best actor Oscar nomination.


"Obviously, I never planned it this way," Depp said last week at the film festival. " 'The Libertine' was pushed back while Harvey (Weinstein, former cochairman of Miramax, now copresident of the Weinstein Co.) worked out his separation from Disney. And Tim basically sprung 'Corpse Bride' on me."


Burton, also in Toronto last week, agreed. "We had finished shooting one day on 'Charlie,' and I said, 'Let's take a walk, and I'll show you these puppets we're making for the movie.' And by the end of the walk, we were in the studio and Johnny was doing the voice of Victor. And it was like, 'OK, I guess we're making the movie now.' "


"Corpse Bride" is based on a centuries-old Eastern European folk tale about a young man named Victor who is walking through a graveyard on his way to his pre-arranged wedding with the lovely Victoria Everglot (the voice of Emily Watson). When the ring he is carrying accidentally ends up on the skeletal finger of a corpse (Helena Bonham Carter, Burton's partner and the mother of their child, Billy Ray), he is whisked into the underworld, where he learns some valuable but scary -- and very funny -- lessons about life and love.


"Even though I wasn't physically on-screen, I concocted this whole walk and other physical elements that eventually were incorporated into the film by these brilliant animators and puppeteers," says Depp. "I had never done an animated film, but I gained a respect for the actors who had very quickly. It asks you to surrender about half the tools you have as an actor, all your body and face business, and go deep to the essence, the inner truth of who a character is. I don't want that to sound, you know ... well, you know, actorly.


Depp said he's watched 'Toy Story' with his kids a bunch of times.


"The first time, I thought, 'Oh, that's Tom Hanks being Tom Hanks.' But after five minutes, he's not Tom Hanks anymore. He's Woody. It's just a great Woody. It's just a great performance. That's what happens if you get it."


The actor says that he takes the most pride in making a movie his kids -- Lily Rose, 6, and Jack, 3 -- from his partnership with French actress and pop star Vanessa Paradis might love as much as they love the Burton-produced "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Thanks to Burton, they have a huge collection of dolls based on the "Nightmare" characters and, if "Corpse Bride" is a success, they could make a doll of Daddy, too.


"I've never made too many movies you could make action hero dolls from, so I'm pretty excited about 'Corpse Bride.' But hey, even if that doesn't happen, I know I'll have done something they'll like, and maybe their kids will like, too. You know, for posterity. Hey, there's Granddaddy."



Copyright © 2005 Detroit Free Press Inc.