Tuesday, October 29, 2013

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)


Jack Skellington is feeling a little bored and restless in his role as the Pumpkin King in Halloween Town when he stumbles into Christmas Town and has his little skeleton mind BLOWN. He is inspired to claim Christmas as his own, to the delight of some, and the dismay of others.

This movie takes me back to 10th grade. I was going through my little goth phase, I had a Jack Skellington lunchbox, and Disneyland had just opened their Nightmare Before Christmas Halloween/Christmas makeover on the Haunted Mansion ride. Ah, those were the days! It's true that merchandise for this movie seems to be EVERYWHERE now and it can get kinda seen-one-seen-them-all, but if you look at just the film by itself it's really quite extraordinary. First of all, the amount of work that went into this film is mind-boggling.  I can't wrap my head around the dedication and patience required to make a stop-motion film. The voice actors are top notch, the music is wonderful (well done, Danny Elfman!), and the combined talents of Tim Burton and Henry Selick make this film shine. There's something comfortable and familiar about these songs and these characters. Whenever I feel too snobby and abandon this movie for a few years, it waits, patiently, for me to come back. Like an old friend. For Jack, Sally, Zero, even Oogie Boogie, I'll always come back.

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