Regular readers know about our never-ending search of Jewish fairy tale characters, from the Brother Grimm (that doesn't turn out too well) to Disney (that doesn't turn out too well either). Perhaps we should have been looking at something even more macabre? (More macabre than Grimm monstrosities and Disney parricide?)

Were talking about "Corpse Bride", Tim Burton's love story to the dead. (This is when Burton actually made good movies.) The titular character, obviously played by Burton muse Helena Bonham Carter, is... well, a corpse bride. A Jewish corpse bride? That's not exactly in the movie...

It is, however, in the source material. While there are numerous stories about men marrying supernatural beings, apparently Burton was inspired by a Jewish fairy tale tastefully named "The Finger". There, a man finds a finger sticking out of a ground (ewwww) and, as a joke, places a wedding ring on it. A female demon emerges and demands marriage. (You know, he found a finger and put a ring on it! He deserved whatever was coming.)

In the story, the conflict is resolved in rabbinical court. Alas, in the movie, the climax takes place in a church. Oh well. Even if we can't claim the animated Corpse Bride as 100% Jewish, we can always settle for that underground demon from "The Finger"...