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Title: Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
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Back in 1993, a new movie about a skellington named Jack was unleashed on the movie going public. The movie was bold, new, and unique, which naturally means it underperformed at the box office. This movie was “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas,” a movie that Disney advertised at one point as being the next revolution of animation, comparing the revolution to such films as “Fantasia” and “Beauty & the Beast,” before getting cold feet about the subject matter and releasing it under their Touchstone label. Fifteen years later though “The Nightmare Before Christmas” has become a cult favorite, which has not only resulted in Disney making a 3D showing of the film a new annual tradition, but it has also resulted in them removing the Touchstone banner and embracing the film as a Disney film at last.
Though “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is one of my personal favorite films, it is a bit difficult to describe when telling people about it. The basic gist of the story is that every Holiday has it’s own town. Jack lives in Halloween Town, where he is The Pumpkin King, the master of terror and fright. Loved by his critics and fans alike, Jack, alas, hates his life. He’s been the Pumpkin King for his whole life, and scarring people just doesn’t make him feel good anymore. After a long walk into the forest Jack stumbles into Christmas Town, where things are colorful, cheerful, and full of life. Jack loves Christmas so much that he decides he wants to take over Christmas for at least one year. Yeah, I know, it sounds strange. And yes, the movie is actually far weirder then it actually sounds.
To quote one of the songs in this movie, “there are things to be seen [in this movie] that are not to be believed.” Chances are if you meet a fan wearing “Nightmare Before Christmas” merchandise, there’s a fifty-fifty chance they are a fan of the art style in this film. Indeed, most of the praise this film receives is for it’s crooked gothic animation, made all the more serial by the fact that it’s made with stop motion and claymation rather then CGI, which, in effect, makes the movie look like the lost link between animation and live action. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” received a sole Oscar nomination in the “Best Visual Effects” category, which is a testament to the quality of the animation in this film. While Tim Burton was busy directing “Batman Returns” at the time of production, Burton did write the story, design the characters, and help with the sets.
His fingerprints are all over this film, which is why he gets his name above the title. But I think the real reason I’ve always been attracted this film is the powerful yet simple message behind the whole affair; where one person wants something more in life and finds that his happiness is much closer to him that he originally thought. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is surreal, touching, an unexpected musical, and one of the more original movies you’re going to see in your life. There’s been some debate about whether this can be classified as either a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie. Deciding that life was too short to get involved in the argument, I recommend people watch it on Thanksgiving.
Note: One thing I did not touch on much in the review is the new 3D version currently playing in theaters right now. The 3D effect to the movie doesn't exactly make a lot of things pop out at you, but it does give the movie s sense of there being more depth to the images in the film. I did have the displeasure though of seeing this 3D version of the film improperly prejected, so that in many scenes the top of the characters heads were chopped off. If this happens to you I suggest you demand a refund from your theater and let them be aware of the problem.
- -Review By Kevin T. Rodriguez- -