Review of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) by Trevor P — 22 Nov 2016

The Nightmare Before Christmas has remained in our hearts as the common ground met between two drastically different holidays. The art style used by the collaborative minds of Tim Burton and Henry Selick has the feel of specials like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer or Santa Claus is Comin' to Town. Old Pumpkin King Jack Skellington, the spirit of Halloween, may have felt that making two holidays into one was the way for him to change for once, but at the end of this rushed yet captivating experience, he learns the importance of self-satisfaction.

By the end of the Pumpkin King's journey to add a dose of Halloween into Christmas, we the companions of his quest witness fascinating characters including an ultraviolet casino-crazy bogeyman voiced by Ken Page, a literal two-faced mayor, a ghoul whose hat acts like a nesting doll for his smaller selves, a clown with a removable face, an undead child with his eyes stitched shut, and a ragdoll creation stuffed with leaves.

Then each character has their own distinct motion: Jack, being the skeleton he is, stiltedly struts with emphasis on his spider-like limbs, as Sally the Frankenstein creation always appears delicate with the way she plucks flower petals in her lonesome among the bizarre citizens of Halloween Town.

However little sense their created world makes, it is made up for miraculously by the explosive imagination of what we see, almost as if Halloween and Christmas were meant to be together. Minor mesh-ups such as Christmas lights in the shape of a spider-web, or a snowflake trimmed in the shape of an arachnid, or skeleton reindeer, inspire the eerily beautiful art form of stop-motion animation.

Then of course, what more to create the magical world of holiday spirit than a majestically demented musical score by Danny Elfman? His lyrics may come from the intelligence of a child, but the sounds also capture the spellbinding nature of one.