Review of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) by Chris W — 20 Oct 2013

It may have been directed by Henry Selick, but this is a Tim Burton film through and through.

Based on a long poem Burton wrote while working at Disney as an animator, this is a lively, creative, and imaginative cross holiday, stop-motion musical fantasy.

The story concerns a world not all that different from ours, but where each holiday has there own little world separated by ours through a portal. Jack Skellington is the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, and, though he consistently delivers the goods each year, he starts growing tired of his life and falls into a bit of an existential funk. After stumbling into the wonderous world of Christmastown, Jack becomes excited and amazed by what he sees, and decides to try his hand at being Santa Claus. Despite his good intentions, Jack's limited grasp on Christmas traditions ends up spiraling out of control, and, if something drastic doesn't happen, then holidays could be forever altered, and not necessarily for the better.

Two decades after its release, and this film holds up remarkably well, and basically comes off as timeless. Its a loving tribute to both Christmas and Halloween, and, despite some mildly intense and spooky images and moments, makes for a delightful family film to be enjoyed during multiple holiday seasons (especially), if not all the time.

The art direction, set and character designs, and stop-motion animation are brilliantly conceived and executed, and I am never not impressed by how this was all done. These elements are classic Burton, and, for better or worse, this film is one of the main reasons why Hot Topic is still around.

Danny Elfman's score and lyrics are great, and his performance as Jack's singing voice is awesome too. The music is a nice blend of Halloween and Christmasy types of music, and the blend works pretty well. There's even some nice blues/jazzy moments thrown in as well.

As Jack's speaking voice, Chris Sarandon puts in some nice work, and Burton regulars Catherine O'Hara, Glenn Shaddix, and Paul Reubens also deliver some fine work.

Clocking in at a mere 76 minutes, this is a perfectly paced romp that is heartwarming, has some nice messages, and really delivers the goods where entertainment value is concerned. It's an all around brilliant affair, so yes, if you haven't yet seen it, you really must.