Warner Home Video has officially announced that Tim Burton's Corpse Bride will be released on DVD on January 31st, with a suggested retail price of $28.98.  Reprising the skeletally thin Gothic designs of the Burton-produced The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride has done even better at the domestic box office with a current cumulative of more than $52 million.  Like an increasing number of current DVD releases Tim Burton's Corpse Bride will be available only in a 'widescreen' edition, a decision by Warners that indicates that this is a film for collectors and for a sophisticated audience that is more interested in enjoying the full cinematic experience than in filling up the corners of their TV screens.

The Corpse Bride DVD contains a number of extras, though not enough to preclude the release of a 2-disk 'Collector's Edition' at some future time.  The bulk of the extras are in the form of featurettes on the nature of creating the right emotional expression with the characters, on the special abilities of the individual animators who worked on the project, on the work of composer Danny Elfman, on the voice talent (including Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter), on Tim Burton's propensity for darkness, and on the creation of the Two Worlds (the world of the Living and the world of the Dead).

The release of the DVD in late January should provoke additional interest in the Corpse Bride figures from McFarlane Toys as well as the Japanese CB figures (from Jun Planning) imported by Diamond.