Andrew Sarris of "The New York Observer" gave the film a negative review, saying ""Corpse Bride" turns out to be a ponderous mixture of puppetry and animation that is far too technologically complex and laborious for this hopelessly Luddite reviewer." Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, calling it "A sweet and visually lovely tale of love lost." Roger Moore of the "Orlando Sentinel" gave the film four out of five stars, saying "The sweetness, the visual flourishes and inspired pieces of casting carry the "Corpse Bride", if not all the way down the primrose path, then at least across the threshold." Robert K. Elder of the "Chicago Tribune" gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "If "Nightmare Before Christmas" was a jazzy pop number, "Corpse Bride" is a waltz--an elegant, deadly funny bit of macabre matrimony." Kenneth Turan of the "Los Angeles Times" gave the film two out of five stars, saying "The film does have a fairy-tale aspect, but, like many of its characters, it is more dead and buried than fully alive." Claudia Puig of "USA Today" gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying ""Corpse Bride" is an unexpectedly touching celebration of love told in a quirky and inventive style." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" gave the film three and a half stars out of five, saying "In the guise of a family film, Burton evokes a darkly erotic obsession that recalls Edgar Allan Poe and Hitchcock's Vertigo. It would be a test for any filmmaker, and Burton aces it."