It's hard to find someone who doesn't like the movie "Nightmare Before Christmas." I can easily understand why. It's simultaneously a Halloween and Christmas movie and has songs you can't seem to get out of your head even over 20 years after its release. And it even has a loving romance in its plot to boot.

We've all seen it, so I won't write about the entire movie. I will mention that one of my favorite parts of the entire movie my whole life was Jack and Sally falling in love. That ending sequence with them standing on the spiral hill sharing a kiss still makes me tear up and has inspired tattoos, paintings, and wall fixtures. It's a beautiful scene and therefore, a great movie.

I'm a little different. I love Nightmare, but it is not my favorite Tim Burton movie. My favorite is "Corpse Bride." It makes me sad that it is hard for me to find Corpse Bride merchandise in stores, or that far fewer people have seen it. It's a masterpiece all on its own, although there is a hard lesson in it that I've had to learn time and time again. For those who haven't seen it, I am going to spoil it in my article. So I suggest you stop reading, go watch it, and then come back.

Basically, the main character, Victor, is about to get married. A marriage that has been arranged by his and his bride-to-be's parents. It's quite obvious that when Victor and this girl Victoria meet they like each other, even if it's not said in words. However, Victor is still nervous at wedding rehearsals and can't seem to remember his vows. One evening, he ventures into the woods with his ring and keeps trying to remember his vows. He finally gets it right and places the ring on a tree branch. Only it isn't a tree branch. It is the hand of a corpse, named Emily, who comes alive upon hearing the vows. It turns out to be the ghost of a bride who was killed on her wedding night which we come to find out later. She drags Victor to the land of the dead and declares that she and he are now married.

Victor manages to escape and return to the living world, where he finds Victoria and they declare their love. Emily finds Victor and sees him with Victoria. She then drags him back to the land of the dead. With Victor imprisoned by Emily, Victoria's parents set her up to marry a wealthy Lord. Upon hearing through the grapevine that Victoria is set to marry another man, Victor agrees to drink poison to die and officially marry Emily, although, he does not love her.

Everyone from the land of the dead goes to the living world to hold Victor and Emily's wedding. Just as Victor is about to drink the poison, Victoria arrives and Emily stops him. She finally realizes that as much as she loves Victor, his heart belongs to someone else. Suddenly, the evil Lord, who Victoria was set to marry, arrives and attempts to kill Victor. Emily intercedes and realizes that this was the man who murdered her. She tells him to leave, but not before he unknowingly drinks the poison meant for Victor.

He dies.

Emily tells Victor that her dream of being a bride was stolen from her and she would not do the same to someone else. "I love you Victor, but you are not mine." Victor and Victoria join hands as they watch Emily turn into a swarm of butterflies and fly away.

I love this film because I was Emily. I loved people who did not love me in return and was forced to let them go. I so badly wanted my Jack and Sally ending, as does everyone else. Instead, I had to watch as the one I loved, loved someone else. And as I did that, I went through all of the logical reasons why they loved the other girl instead of me, much like Emily does after she discovers Victor and Victoria together. "Maybe perhaps he does belong with her, Little Miss Living, with the rosy cheeks and beating heart."

I always lost and wished the one I wanted could see how special I was. However, I could not keep someone who did not want to say. They never wanted to stay, and I was left behind unloved, watching this new couple strolling into the sunset. Emily handled this in such a mature and graceful way which is something I could never figure out how to do.

I fell in love with her character because she was loving and sweet and deserved Victor. However, it was not Victor or Victoria's fault that they loved each other. They were just meant to be. And that did not mean that Emily was not special.

I love "Corpse Bride" because I feel it gives insight into what it is like to be the one not chosen. It shows that often times, there are causalities whenever a new couple is formed. Behind every Jack and Sally, there is an Emily. And she matters.