The Nightmare Before Christmas
A movie by Tim Burton, and Touchstone Pictures
Pictures found by: CBIzumi
Pictures from: The Tim Burton Collective, as well as
random sites (hill at bottom drawn by CBIumi)
Reviewed by: CBIzumi
Movie Edition Reviewed: 1993 Edition (VHS)
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"The Nightmare Before Christmas" was, at its point in time, a symbol of the best stop-motion picture around. It was the first full-length stop-motion animation film at its release, and still captures millions of fans, even 10 years after its initial debut. Part of this movie's charm may be its storyline, its characters, the music, or many other things. Each fan has been captivated by its wonder. What follows is my unbiased review---despite this being my favorite movie ~_^
(Some pics are thumbnailed; click to enlarge)
The Good
Like I said earlier, NMBC has this charm to it, a certain wonder. Certainly one of the best parts of it is the sheer quality of the animation. In many places it's quite smooth; the characters move with an almost human-like quality....despite most of them being ghoulish ghosties...
The mouths match the voices, the singing is excellent, and you can really feel for some of the cast members. The sets are eloquent, the skies are beautifully painted, and the look of the characters are memorable. Sometimes the animation gets a little poppy (more on that later) but for the most part it's rather smooth. So much of the plot is revealed in the songs, so it's good that each one is well written, and well sung. Ken Page (Oogie Boogie), Danny Elfman (Jack singing), Catherine O'Hara (Sally), and the rest all did a great job. But the dialogue parts weren't slouched on either. The effects are nice (real flames are actually used at several points), and fit in well. The contrast of Halloween Town to Christmas Town to the Real World is all done well. They all look as they should: Halloween is dark, angled, and has forced perspective; Christmas is bright and cheery, with candy stripes everywhere; and the Real World is well, normal, with pastel colors and straight angles.
There are alot of good things in this movie, and alot of magic. The three years it took to produce it were well spent. On a final note for this section, one of my personal favorite scences in the movie is a part dubbed the "hellfire" sequence by the staff that worked on the picture. Keep an eye out for it, and see if you can guess why it's called that ^^The Bad
Alrighty, time to get nitpicky. There's a few sour things in the film, but don't let that spoil your experience. Now, let's get on with it.
I believe I mentioned the plot of the movie earlier, as one of its good points. Well, that is true, for the most part. There are places where the storyline drags, and other places where it seems too rushed. The movie itself is only apprx. 76 minutes long, yet alot of story had to be fitted in there. 'Course, I can cut them a bit of slack, since stop-motion is a difficult medium from my understanding. Plot aside, there were a few other iffy places. As I said in the previous section, the animation can get a little poppy sometimes. It's most apparent in watching Jack's head; the smoothness and socket size change with each expression. But there were other parts where things slide out of place, or something jumps too soon or too late. On a semi-unrelated note, some strings supporting bats or leaves can be seen here and there.
The end of the movie is one other place that stands out in my mind that would fit into "The Bad." To me, at least, there doesn't seem to be much closure. The ending is left wide open (though on the soundtrack, the needed closure is given). And speaking of things on the soundtrack that aren't in the film, I think the longer introduction on said CD should have been used, instead of the abbreviated version in the movie. It gives much more of a buildup to the movie, and the following song "This is Halloween." But, what's done is done, and the intro is soon forgotten as the movie really gets underway.The Ugly
There's a few bad things, as I went into detail above. But, honestly, there's not much that would be considered "Ugly." Well...except for the Melting Man, but he's physically ugly, and that doesn't count here *chuckles*
Personally I don't care for Lock, Shock, and Barrel very much, but you may be different. And "Sally's Song" can get a little grating but again, that's a matter of opinion. Though, certain elements of the movie -- Jack taking off his head; Oogie Boogie's lair; the idea of kidnapping Santa Claus; and other similar events -- could be a little frightening for some of the much younger set. But, that's why the movie's rated PG, right?Overall
This movie, as I've said many times, is wonderful and magical, and wonderfully magical. There's lots of things in it that would amuse many types of people. If you're a fan of Tim Burton's other works: "Beetlejuice", "Batman", and "Edward Scissorhands" among many others, I'd highly suggest picking up the nearest copy of this movie. Sit down and watch it, with a fresh batch of (gummy) worms, or a warm piece of pumpkin pie. Thiis would also be
an excellent thing to watch during a lull in your Christmas party, or just after a satisfying night of trick-or-treating. What I've said above is what I see as Good or Bad in "Nightmare Before Christmas" but I can't stress enough that you may be different. What I hate, you may prefer. Find your own favorite parts in this film; see what mystical aspects appeal to you most. But most of all, have fun with it, and enjoy the movie. See you in Halloween Town....
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The Nightmare Before Christmas and all its elements are © 1993 to Touchstone Pictures, Skellington Productions, and Tim Burton