Not gonna lie… I’m still partially in that Halloween/horror mood even though it’s been well over a month since then. I’m also not as fond of Christmas as I am Halloween. I do enjoy it, but not as much as Halloween. I do love Christmas movies though, so what better way to kick off the month of Christmas entries than to start with a review of something that literally combines the best of both worlds?
Let’s do this!
Released in 1993, Tim Burton and Henry Selick’s film The Nightmare Before Christmas is a landmark in film artistry. It originally started as a poem that Tim wrote during his early years at Disney, taking inspiration from stories such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Night Before Christmas, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. He then thought about turning it into a short film, working with another artist at the studio named Rick Heinrichs to develop sketches and concept art. Disney felt the idea was a little too dark and weird, though, so the project stalled and Burton eventually left the studio to work on his own films.
After the success of Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, and Batman, Disney’s then-chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg was intrigued at the idea of working with Tim to bring The Nightmare Before Christmas to life as a full-length feature. Thus, resulting in what is arguably one of the greatest accomplishments in stop-motion animated features.
The film centers around a character named Jack Skellington in Halloween Town. He is the master of ceremonies and often referred to as The Pumpkin King. Jack is widely beloved and often has a contagiously spirit-filled mood. But this time, he’s feeling a little down and underwhelmed by how repetitive the celebration has been. He wants something new and exciting to inject into Halloween, and just happens to stumble into Christmas Town.
Here, he learns about Christmas and ventures back to Halloween Town to tell the others about what he’s discovered. Not only that, but he decides to take over Christmas for the year, essentially kicking Santa out just so he can go crazy with this whole idea. Difficulties ensue, though, as he tries to explain and fully understand Christmas. Meanwhile, the other citizens of Halloween Town create everything he needs to and celebrate Christmas.
It’s a fairly straightforward plot, and some have questioned whether or not there’s actual value to the film, but I don’t think there’s a problem with it. Sure, maybe more character development might’ve helped it a little, but what’s there works and the whole movie is a visual treat for the eyes. There’s a very Dr. Seuss-like design to the world and environmental elements; but with the added German expressionist-inspired horror designs, it takes on a unique look and feel. It’s so distinct, that this whole visual style is what I and many others tend to think of when someone mentions Tim Burton’s name.
And of course, there’s the music. Long-time collaborator Danny Elfman composed it and wrote the lyrics, and they’re all very memorable. My favourites are easily This Is Halloween, Jack’s Lament, What’s This?, and Poor Jack.
When I think about it, I find myself identifying with Jack a lot in terms of being ambitious, introspective, and there’s also the fact that I am often intrigued by how things work and what they mean. He’s a very likeable character and he feels like someone you can find at least one thing to relate to. Jack was voiced by Chris Sarandon, who does a great job conveying this and many more attributes that make him a surprisingly deep character. Jack’s singing voice was provided by Danny Elfman, who really knocks it out of the park and brings a lot of heart to the songs. In an interview, Danny said that he found himself identifying with Jack a lot to the point where he insisted to Tim that he do the singing voice. When you listen to the music (especially Jack’s Lament and Poor Jack), you can really feel the passion that Danny put into the character.
The side characters are great too and include Jack’s dog Zero, his friend/future love interest Sally, the mad scientist Dr. Finklestein, the mayor, and a group of mischievous trick-or-treaters known as Lock, Stock, and Barrel. There’s also the villainous Oogie Boogie. He’s definitely one of my favourite Disney villains and has really fun jazzy songs. On top of that, he’s inspired by legendary jazz singer Cab Calloway.
Then there are the numerous background characters. You don’t learn a lot about them in the movie, but they’re all inspired by horror monsters and further add to the world. It’s always fun freeze framing the film and looking at all their designs.
Although there was never an official film sequel, the world was revisited in video games, including a prequel, a follow-up game that actually did act as a sequel to the movie, and most notably, fans got to explore Halloween Town in the widely-popular Kingdom Hearts franchise.
There’s a lot to enjoy here, and I may revisit it in a future Halloween entry. There’s no need to question whether it’s for one time of year or another, it’s obviously a film for both holidays. On top of everything, though, it has resulted in a large and very unique fanbase that just keeps on growing. There are always people dressing up as Jack and Sally, there’s endless fan-fiction, fan-art, and many other works of art created by a lot of young people who’ve grown up watching the movie.
Simply put, The Nightmare Before Christmas makes for an enjoyable time, with beautiful visuals and catchy music that you’ll be singing & humming for the days to come. It’s an absolute must-see for fans of Tim Burton, and is a modern-day classic.
Until next time, be careful opening Christmas presents. It could be a disembodied head delivered by the Pumpkin King himself. 🙂
Kasey Lewis - Actor, Writer, Creator 