The Nightmare Before Christmas
Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.
- Released: 1993-10-09
- Runtime: 76 minutes
- Genre: Animation, Family, Fantasy
- Stars: Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman, Catherine O'Hara, Glenn Shadix, Edward Ivory, Paul Reubens, Kerry Katz, Carmen Twillie, Randy Crenshaw, Debi Durst, Glenn Walters, Greg Proops, Susan McBride, Mia Brown, L. Peter Callender, Ann Fraser, Jennifer Levey, Jesse McClurg, Robert Olague, Bobbi Page
- Director: Henry Selick
Comments
- HorrorDisasterGuy-90617 - 13 February 2024
Classic stop-motion movie
I love this movie a lot and is a classic. I like how they combined both Halloween and Christmas all together and how the movie does it. The story is great with Jack wanting to do more than doing the same thing over again, but soon discovered what he really is. I like the build up towards the story and how Jack want to do Christmas in his own ways. And I love the world building with both of the setting and the characters that live in it. The animation is beautiful with its stop-motion, character design, and the setting of the movie that is awesome to see the first time. The characters themselves are memorable with their design and personality to them that worth remembering. Also, the voice acting is done really well by the actors and the singing performance. The songs are memorable and catchy to listen to.
There are some parts that could be easily expanded like the relationship between Jack and Sally and Jack grudge against Oogie Boogie.
Overall, it's a classic movie. - josephdunn-67245 - 9 December 2023
Just don't get the Christmas Feeling!
Not for me or my wife and 12 year old daughter. My Daughter's thoughts were that she expected so much more as it had been recommended and lauded by so many but was left disappointed as the premise was interesting but was ruined by an over abundance of singing. My own thoughts were that the whole Halloweeners trying to understand xmas became pretty repetitive and I lost my interest quite easily as it felt like the same stuff repeated for 73 minutes. It wasnt that Seems we might be being a little petty. But it just didn't feel like a Christmas movie and certainly didn't evoke the same nostalgic feelings that numerous other xmas movies do. Maybe We are just traditionalists . Won't be added to our Christmas Watchlist. - filmbuff-05706 - 23 October 2023
One Of The Most Creative Movies Ever Made.
When I was a kid, I was sheltered and I couldn't watch a lot of movies and TV shows that my classmates could. One movie that intrigued me was The Nightmare Before Christmas, which was brought to my attention from a trailer on my VHS of Pinocchio. (That shows my age, huh? I was born in 1998!)
Anyways, I couldn't see it when I was little, because my parents were convinced that I would find it too scary. When I was about 11, my Mom gave me permission to see the climax on TV, but I tried to see it from the start when I was 14, and was literally shaking as the "This Is Halloween" number played. I then turned it off soon after.
Within the next year, I moved in with my Grandma, and I tried it again, and I instantly fell in love with it. Ever since, I have seen it over a dozen times in a decade, partly thanks to one of my cousins giving me a DVD of it for Christmas one year.
The plot, based on a poem that Tim Burton wrote, follows Jack Skellington, a skeleton who rules Halloween Town, but is bored of a life of scaring people every October 31st. This repetitive life depresses him, until he finds the world of Christmas Town, and he plans to steal it and make it his own.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of the most creative movies ever made, and much of this comes from the animation. Using the stop-motion method, where dolls are filmed frame by frame to give the illusion that they are moving, there is much to be in awe of, such as how the characters move, or their designs.
In fact, you appreciate the animation style even more when you know that it took 1 week to animate a full minute of the movie, meaning it took well over a year just to animate this movie!
The Nightmare Before Christmas also has numerous catchy songs. This Is Halloween is one of them, of course, but other tunes include What's This?, The Oogie Boogie Song, my favorite- Kidnap The Sandy Claws, and more.
Some are more for drama, like Sally's Song (sung after Jack leaves in his sleigh) and Jack's Lament (the 2nd song in the movie) and Poor Jack (the song that comes after Jack ruins Christmas), and while these are not my favorite songs in the movie, they still work for their context.
The Nightmare Before Christmas also has an impressive voice cast, with actors from other Tim Burton productions. His composer Danny Elfman voices Jack's singing voice, Barrel, and The Clown With A Tear Away Face. Catherine O'Hara of Beetlejuice voices Sally and the witch girl Shock. Paul Ruebens, aka Pee Wee Herman, voices Lock, and Glenn Shadix- Otho in Beetlejuice, voices The Mayor.
There is also impressive talent from Chris Sarandon (Susan Sarandon's husband) as Jack's speaking voice, William Hickey (Lewis from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation) as Dr. Finklestein- Sally's creator, and Ken Page as The Oogie Boogie Man, who also voices the alligator in All Dogs Go To Heaven, another one of my favorite animated movies.
These elements- the creativity, animation, songs, and casting, are among some of the top reasons to see The Nightmare Before Christmas.
While it will probably be a nightmare for the very young, The Nightmare Before Christmas is still a very creative and impressive film, and one to cherish for the ages. It's one of my absolute favorite Disney movies.
