Written by Caroline Thompson And Michael McDowell
Directed by Henry Selick
Santa: "'Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems in a place perhaps you've seen in your dreams. For the story you're about to be told began with the holiday worlds of auld. Now you've probably wondered where holidays come from. If you haven't I'd say it's time you begun."
Is it a Halloween movie? Is it a prelude to Christmas? Did I pick the right time to actually review this one? Those are not the most earth shattering of questions but a "yes" to all three of them.
Let's get into the story itself. You've got a fantasy world called Halloween Town with every imaginable monster in it and it's up to the Pumpkin King Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon) to organise the annual celebrations for Halloween. Except he's tired of the same old routine.
Fortunately for Jack, the discovery of a tree shaped door led him into the world of Christmas but trying to get his community to embrace the idea of Christmas wasn't a successful. Jack had a solution for that - kidnap Sandy Claws aka Santa (Ed Ivory). It wasn't exactly the best plan he could've had.
Of course it was met with obstacles, including assistants who took a while to actually get the right guy. Not to mention when Jack decided to do a swap with Santa, the latter ended up being in danger by Oogie Boogie (Ken Page), a villainous bogryman. Still this movie served as a learning curve for Jack.
With Christmas not being his area of expertise and Jack almost being killed as a result, the lesson here was that Jack was better in his Halloween later. Then there was the romance with ragdoll Sally (Catherine O'Hara).
Sally's a good love interest for Jack and something of a mischievous one too. Her various attempts to be free of her possessive creator Doctor Finkelstein (William Hickey) had her resort to attempting to kill him and he absolutely deserved it. By the end of the movie, Sally did get free of him and both and Jack declared their love for each other.
- Tim Burton developed the story, initially as a three page poem for Walt Disney Feature Animation.
- There are alternative scenes on the DVD release for the movie.
- Danny Elfman provided the singing voice for Jack Skellington.
- This was the first Disney movie not to be traditionally animation with it being more stop motion.
- Standout music: This Is Halloween, Jack's Lament, Making Christmas, Oogie Boogie Song and Finale/Reprise.
- Chronology: Both Halloween and Christmas within this movie as well as a look into the real world.
The Nightmare Before Christmas truly is a delight. It's enjoyable during Halloween, Christmas and in between. Great characters, great songs and a nice love story. What's not to like?
Rating: 8 out of 10
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