The Death King

Author(s): Zgamer
Location: Eagle, ID

"The Death King"

Directed by: Tim Burton
Written by: John August and Caroline Thompson
Music and Lyrics by: Danny Elfman

Main Cast

John Lloyd Young as the voice of Jon Granger
Johnny Depp as the voice of Peter
Helena Bonham Carter as the voice of Elora Granger
Patti LuPone as the voice of Tabitha Granger
Alan Rickman as the voice of Max Granger
Richard Steven Horvitz as the voice of Allister (Undead)
Greg Proops as the voice of Tarmac (Undead)
Ewan McGregor as the voice of Harrison (Undead)
Brad Sherwood as the voice of Chance (Jon’s co-worker)
Harvey Fierstein as the voice of Fredrick (Jon’s co-worker)
Wayne Brady as the voice of Earl (Jon’s co-worker)
Michael Cerveris as the voice of Dr. Ian Kavork (Jon’s boss)

Tagline: "Let the dead have their dawn. This night belongs to the king"

Genre: Comedy, Musical, Claymation

Synopsis: There are some people who are gifted with interesting lives. Some are bankers, some are policemen and some are even mayors. Then there’s Jon, who works at the town’s morgue. Even when his job involves dead people, things are unnaturally monotonous in the morgue. Day after day, corpses are routinely delivered there so he and his partners can quickly clean them to look somewhat presentable for their funerals. It wouldn’t be half as bad if he didn’t have to suffer the half-hearted whines of their loved ones when they identify the bodies. Jon has no tears for these people though, since he gets no sympathy for his existence. Along with an overdue rent, uncaring parents and a “rubs-her-success-in-my-face” sister, Jon gets no appreciation for his work and has no friends or important positions in his life. Even his coworkers, who he considers the closest thing to friends, are too busy with their wannabe macho attitudes to notice him. He feels that his purpose may as well be as empty as the eviscerated bodies his insane boss experiments on. Of course, that was all before Good Friday.

That day, a peculiar corpse was brought into the morgue. It had been discovered the previous day face down in a river outside the town. There is no information or identification for the corpse other than a piece of paper with the name Peter on his chest. Most of the staff doesn’t see anything particularly interesting about this corpse, but Jon gets an eerie feeling when he’s around it. Later that night, a lightning storm covers the town. At the pinnacle of the storm, a bolt zaps Peter’s corpse. Jon, the only staff member around at that hour, is surprised at the bolt’s accuracy. He is more shocked, however, when the body rises out of its bed. It walks over to Jon with a dignified sense of awe and tells him something that would change his life. According to Peter, Jon has been chosen to be the new Death King and lead them to victory over the living. He doesn’t believe this until more corpses begin to resurrect and walk towards him. Out of fear, he commands them to stop. To his surprise, they do just that. Jon finally realizes that this may actually pay off. He can finally make a name for himself. He can finally show everyone what strength he has. He can become the new Death King. Now all he has to do is follow through with it.

Song List

“Servants of God” Jon, Elora, Tabitha, Max, Chance, Fredrick, Earl, Ian
“Lifeless”- Jon
“Simple Pleasures”- Chance, Fredrick, Earl, Ian
“A New Dawn”- Peter
“Like Chess”- Jon, Peter
“The Invasion Song”- Jon, Peter, The Undead
“Life’s For The Living”- Jon, Peter, The Undead
“Full of Life”- Jon, Peter, Elora, Tabitha, Max, The Undead

What the Press would say:

Zombie uprisings have never been better. With a bit of imagination and a plot reminiscent of films like “Willard”, Tim Burton outdoes himself with a wonderful black comedy parody musical. His unique comedic style is noticeable everywhere, from the hilarious presentation of the film as a musical to the quirky and uniquely designed characters. His Claymation has never looked better, with all their motions incredibly streamlined and beautiful. Staying true to his previous works, his art and character design are wacky and wonderful, with each character having an exaggerated image to represent their personalities. Pompous men have big bodies proportional to their small heads and brains, selfish people have long greedy fingers to match their small hearts and chests and the Undead all have an ironically dignified posture to contrast their decaying bodies. It’s also obvious that writers August and Thompson have improved their skills since Corpse Bride, as the story hits all the right notes with witty dialogue, effective gags and a fitting ending. Though the topic is zombie invasions, it is not a horror film. This is a film about a man becoming his own person, even if it’s through unordinary means. As the story progresses, the reserved Jon becomes more confident and lively as he blissfully commands his undead army (which is filled with many Burton-esque characters). Though he eventually realizes that conquering is not the answer for making people notice you, you never stop having a blast watching him become the king of the undead.

What Burton does best, as usual, is pick a colorful voice cast to match his equally colorful characters. The talent ranges from film stars to Broadway singers to famous voice actors (Richard Steven Horvitz, who some may remember played the lead character on Invader Zim, is a riot as one of the Undead soldiers). John Lloyd Young is simply wonderful as Jon, with his beautiful singing voice matched by his delicious vocal performance. Johnny Depp is his match as Peter, who starts Jon’s ascent to power. Depp has such impeccable comedic timing that it makes you reminisce his glory days from the first Pirates of the Caribbean. All the cast is a joy to experience, from Jon’s quirky co-workers to the cheery undead soldiers. Their talent is complimented by the great music by Burton collaborator Elfman, who outdoes himself with catchy songs that have both beautiful notes and hilarious lyrics. If the Academy refuses to accept this for a nomination because it’s an animated film, they may find themselves having to face the wrath of the restless Undead and Tim Burton fans.

Awards Possibilities

Best Picture
Best Director- Tim Burton
Best Original Screenplay- John August and Caroline Thompson
Best Art Direction
Best Sound Design
Best Original Score- Danny Elfman
Best Original Song- Any of them