Review of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) by Filipeneto — 24 Feb 2018

This animated film for adults and adolescents focuses on Jack Skellington, the most notable citizen of Halloween Town, and the unexpected trip he made to the Christmas City, where he discovers the Christmas spirit without, however, understanding it. Directed and written by Tim Burton, the film features the voices of Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey and Glenn Shadix.

This is one of the most famous animated films in stop motion and was even nominated for the Oscar for Best Visual Effects due to the quality of animation achieved. Tim Burton has talent, especially for films considered strange or out of standards. Horror or mystery themes are rather visited by the director in the form of animations ("Corpse Bride" is the most striking example). In this case, it addresses the celebration of Halloween, a popular holiday in the English-speaking countries, which has begun to be observed also in Latin Europe, timidly, for cultural import of the "mass media" (in these countries people celebrate the All Saints Day).

The script is very good, funny and directly clashes the two holidays. The characters are imaginative and made with great care. The voices were quite well most of the time. Its noticed how Burton were engaged in the project. Very meticulous, he argued for the greatest perfection possible in the film. The sets and visual effects were at the highest level, playing with the most popular objects of Halloween and Christmas. Photography can displease because of low contrast, but I believe it was the best that could be achieved in 1993, and the film, if it were made today, with digital technologies in filming and editing, would have been a rather different picture. The soundtrack, in charge of Danny Elfman, is excellent. He also composed all the songs that are sung in the film. Some of them stays in the ear, others are quite moving, as the songs interpreted by the "rag doll" Sally.

For all these reasons, this movie is a reference in contemporary animation, and is suitable, in particular, for lovers of the scariest day of the year.