The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Disney always delivers on making a fairy nearly perfect. But what if that fairy tale turned over to the macabre, and dark side? Plus, add the the twisted side of director Tim Burton, and you got a recipe for something truly bizarre and unusual. The result? The 1993 stop-motion animated feature “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. A miss-mash of two holidays colliding, and resulting in one of the most impressive and ambitious animated features of all time. Since its inception, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” has easily gained a large following, and many have praised the feature for its creativity and imagination. However, there are some issues, albeit minor, that not a lot of people are bringing up when discussing the film. But nevertheless, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a fantastic film that no matter what the season is, Halloween or Christmas, this film still amazes me nearly 30 years later. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a revealing dark fairy tale that twists the holidays around, and pleases the eyes with its gorgeous animation that has easily been associated with its creator Tim Burton.

The story is set in the world where all sorts of holidays occur. Most notably Halloween; the ruler here is the pumpkin king Jack Skellington. While he does enjoy Halloween, he is bored with the festivities; he wants something more. Jack enters the place where Christmas is observed, and gets inspired. Jack then decides to take over Christmas, and blend a little bit of Halloween into the mix. Nothing could possibly wrong, right?

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a great feature that is absolutely a visual treat.

Let's get the elephant out of the room first. Tim Burton came up with the story and idea, and was a producer on the film. Unfortunately, Tim could not direct the movie as he was busy with other projects like “Batman Returns” and “Edward Scissorhands” to keep him busy. Instead, directing duties went to Tim's good friend Henry Selick. And the result is a great effort that Tim would have been quite proud of if he actually had the time to direct the feature himself.

This can be attributed to the animation. It is both a tribute to both the Rankin/Bass holiday specials on TV, and the art of Tim Burton. The designs of all of the characters are all unique and creative in their own special way. In fact, most of the monsters are a clever design over famous monsters from the past. Plus, the designs of both Jack and Sally could only come from Tim Burton. The sets used in the film are so memorable, one just wants to own a copy of them in their room. And, the puppet models used for each character, is is quite impressive as to how they did it without the use of computers, for the most part. This is a visual treat that still amazes viewers to this day.

And finally, the music. Oh, my God! Danny Elfman created something truly extraordinarily and most of all, memorable. Combining traditional music with that of both Broadway and jazz, Elfman created some of the greatest movie songs ever. From the opening 'This is Halloween' to 'Making Christmas', the songs are the greatest thing that “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is known for. It is highly recommended that one listens to the soundtrack; it's simply one of the best movie soundtracks of all time.

Now, the only criticism that this has is with its story. Sure, it is a fairy tale, but there are some story connections that don't make a whole lot of sense, and needed to be fixed. Plus, there are some character motivations that don't make a whole lot of sense, as well. But other than that, the story to this movie is a fairy tale to entertain.

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is easily one of the best animated features ever. It is a visual masterpiece, and great listen to with its score and soundtrack, and the concept is so great that it's hard not to think about this film when compared to other holidays. Watch this movie and have a happy Halloween or a Merry Christmas; whatever you prefer. It will definitely liven your spirits.