Review of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) by Seth S — 28 Jan 2015

I know, it's just "classic me" not to love this. At this point, I think it's safe to say that I do not enjoy zaniness just as much as the next guy. The Nightmare Before Christmas is a thorough exercise in everything zany. It oozes the Tim Burton brand of gothic macabre. And in many ways, the movie succeeds impressively. But like most excursions into the world of unbridled imagination, the film comes up disappointingly short in the story department.

I'm not immune to The Nightmare Before Christmas's charm. The movie starts off terrifically. The haunting flavor of the setting and characters is a lot of fun to watch. Jack, The Pumpkin King, is introduced, and his dilemma is made known. It's all clipping along nicely, and with a particularly lean runtime of 76 minutes, I was expecting a fast, fun, and fulfilling film. But as the plot plays out, it becomes painfully obvious that there simply is not enough story to cover the hour and fifteen minutes of run-time.

The movie promises the audience a certain narrative arc for its main character, but it never delivers on its promise. There is never any payoff of Jack's lament early in the film. He's tired of going through the motions of Halloween, and once he discovers Christmas, it is assumed that he will learn something significant and all will be well. Even if the movie delivered on its promise, than it would still be a pretty slim story. But the film never does take the time to actually develop Jack as a character. It simply bookends his story with two unexplored revelations.

The movie gets as far as humanly possible on visual ideas alone. Halloween Town is an amazing creation. The characters are all very inventive. Claymation films are always delectable to behold. I wouldn't change a thing about the film's visual aesthetic.

The characters certainly aren't boring to look at. Jack is a lot of fun, but he lacks sensible development. Sally, once again, is an interesting idea for a character, but she is entirely devoid of personality or invention. Doctor Finklestein, Sally's creator, is by far the most engaging supporting player.

The music by Danny Elfman is characteristically characteristic. There are some distinct moments of Edward Scissorhands imitation that manifest. Some of the songs are really enjoyable, with "This is Halloween" and "What's This?" being standouts. But some of the songs are seriously wonky, like "Oogie Boogie's Song" and "Kidnap the Sandy Claus.".

Films that revel in imagination often neglect the need to tell a compelling story. The Nightmare Before Christmas is a distinct case of style over substance. So much so, that I would go so far as to say that the style is the substance. The movie is a wonder to look at, granted. It has a promising premise at its core, but it never feels the obligation to make good on its narrative potential. Still, it's undoubtedly a fun movie to watch, and I'm sure that if I grew up with it, I would have a much stronger attachment to the material. As it stands, I respect the film, I enjoyed the experience, but I was not impressed at any level above visual imagination.

"This year, Christmas will be ours!" 6.5/10.