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Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) poster: A full moon is the primary source of light in the dark, illuminating a tall, skeletal figure. He strikes a melancholy pose on a strangely curving hillside, watched on by a field of lit-up, grinning pumpkins. |
It’s nearly Christmas, so here is one of my go-to films in the lead-up to the big day. As it is a revisit, my thoughts from a previous review will be highlighted in blue.
2020: The Nightmare Before Christmas is based on a three-page poem written and illustrated by Tim Burton while working for Disney as a concept artist in the 1980s. It is a common misconception that Burton also directed the film, though he produced and co-wrote it. When it was made, The Nightmare Before Christmas was intended to be a Disney film, but Michael Eisner (the CEO and Chairman of Disney at the time) argued it would be “too dark” for young audiences, and so The Nightmare… was pushed to Touchstone Pictures. Since the film’s 3D re-release in 2006, it is now under the banner of Disney.
2017: There have been many unanswered questions over the years; what is the meaning of life? Do you put the milk in before the cornflakes? All are very fun questions to ponder, but perhaps one of the most irksome of all these is this: is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween or a Christmas movie?
The Director: Henry Selick
The Cast:
Chris Sarandon – Jack Skellington
Danny Elfman – Jack's singing voice
Catherine O'Hara – Sally
Ken Page – Oogie Boogie
Edward Ivory – Santa/Sandy Claws
Glenn Shadix – Mayor
William Hickey – Dr. Finkelstein (Evil Scientist)
Certificate: PG
Released in UK cinemas: 25th November 1994
The Plot:
In a world where different holidays exist in separate trees, Jack Skellington (Sarandon, Fright Night) is the Pumpkin King. Bored of all things scary, he yearns for something new and is inspired when he accidentally stumbles across Christmas Town. Unfortunately, the other Halloween Town inhabitants don’t understand Jack’s ideas, and Sally (O’Hara, Home Alone) predicts it will end in disaster.
The Review:
2017: The Nightmare Before Christmas has been intriguing and beguiling most who watch it for years.
2020: I was a teenager when I watched it for the first time, in that phase where I wore all black and listened to My Chemical Romance daily – oh, yeah. Tim Burton knew what I liked before I did. The film uses stop-motion animation, and the folk in Halloween Town are all wonderfully unique. Some of my favourites include the bat gargoyle who walks on the tips of his wings, the clown with the tearaway face (voiced by Danny Elfman who provides Jack’s singing voice and the film’s incredible musical score), but Jack’s design is the best one in the entire movie. Also, I love Santa’s tiny hands and feet; they are adorable. Despite having the impressive pipes of Ken Page, Oogie Boogie’s character design seems a bit bland in comparison, though the fluorescent colours of his lair make up for it. In addition, his henchmen might have been funny when I saw it as a teen, but they are irritating in their uselessness, and I’m fairly sure one of them is a female, so when the other characters gasp in fear over “Boogie’s boys,” it falls incredibly flat.
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Read the room, Jack! Image Description: Santa Claus looks horrified, poking out of a giant sack. He wears his red and white outfit, and his beard has sweets stuck in it. Jack Skellington also wears a red and white suit with a long, fake beard despite his bare skull. Unlike Santa, Jack looks positively ecstatic, holding a sweet between his bony finger and thumb. |
2017: With its uniquely Gothic aesthetic, it's a surprise, really, that there have only been talks for a live musical thus far.
2020: As it happens, a virtual charity event happened this year where Broadway stars performed The Nightmare Before Christmas on stage. With all of these “live-action” Disney films, I cannot help but wonder if this will ever be on the cards. Despite myself, dare I say that Tom Hiddleston would make a fabulous casting choice?
Jack starts out as a likeable character, a skeleton at the height of fame while stuck in a rut. He discovers Christmas Land by chance, as per the song, “What’s This?” Personally, the elves in Christmas Land remind me of the little people in “It’s A Small World,” and I have yet to decide if that is a good thing or not. Jack then tries to figure out what it all means through the scientific method, dissecting a teddy bear and heating up bauble dust with a Bunsen burner in a montage I particularly enjoyed because it added an unexpected twist to his character. However, just when you think he’s going to take responsibility for ruining Christmas, he just uses it as inspiration for next Halloween. Jack doesn’t even accompany Sandy Claws as he delivers the presents to clear up the mess he made.
2017: The songs are creepy and catchy no matter how many times you hear them, but the characters all have [the] potential to be further developed.
2020: In the film’s defence, its run-time is only 90 minutes, so there’s not much of a chance to really get into character development, which is a shame because Sally falls short. She is some kind of sentient ragdoll stuffed with leaves, and her central trope is that she keeps poisoning her possessive creator, the Evil Scientist, to go out and explore and (possibly) stalk Jack. Sally experiences visions too, which is one of the most frustrating things about the film because it’s nothing but a convenient, lazy plot device, an insipid opposing force against Jack’s enthusiasm. Also, Sally’s happily ever after with him comes out of nowhere. Apparently, he returns her secret feelings all along, though he doesn’t honestly acknowledge her until he needs her sewing skills and then to save her and Santa Claus from Oogie Boogie. What’s most unsettling is Sally’s relationship with Dr. Finkelstein and how it hints at something a lot darker than the film wants to let on. The Scientist appears controlling, claiming Sally is too sensitive to deal with “too much excitement” but fails to say why. Also, did I mention she has poisoned him multiple times to escape him?
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Image Description: Wearing a home-made dress, Sally smiles as her long brown hair is caught by a mighty wind. |
So, what’s the moral of the story? I have no idea. Always listen to your clairvoyant friends? Don’t give up your day job, don’t kidnap old people, and don’t steal their job if you’re unqualified? They’re all valid points.
2017: So – is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween or a festive film? Personally, I love watching it in the run-up, or just after Christmas, but it's up to you!
2020: I stand by this. Similarly to Die Hard, any mention of Christmas within a film may automatically make it as such.
The Nightmare Before Christmas starts off with great promise but sags a bit over halfway through. It relies heavily on its brilliant musical numbers and quirky animation to pad it out, but it is still enjoyable, especially during the festive period.
The Verdict:
2017: 3 STARS OUT OF 5
2020: 2.5 STARS OUT OF 5
My sources:
The Nightmare Before Christmas poster: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107688/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1
Tim Burton’s links to Disney:
https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/The_Black_Cauldron#Animation
The Nightmare Before Christmas – is it Disney?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107688/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv
“The teaser trailer tells us that the film was originally intended to be released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner, playing the movie heavily as the next generation of filmmaking following in the proud tradition of Walt Disney. By the time the theatrical trailer was released, the release label had changed to Touchstone Pictures, an alternate designation of the Walt Disney Studios.”
The Nightmare Before Christmas on Broadway (in a manner of speaking):
https://nerdist.com/article/nightmare-before-christmas-benefit-broadway/
Image – Sandy Claws and Jack Skellington:
https://www.sweetyhigh.com/read/nightmare-before-christmas-holiday-captions-111518
Image - Sally:
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