“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is one of the best movies ever made. While the debate of whether it is a Halloween or Christmas film rages on, I think that it’s a movie you can watch at any time of the year.
The plot revolves around a skeleton named Jack Skellington, a.k.a “The Pumpkin King,” feeling tired and burnt out after doing the same things on Halloween year after year. One day he discovers a bunch of doors in the forest representing the different holidays. He manages to find himself falling into Christmas Town and immediately falls in love. He gets an idea to make his own Christmas, and puts a spooky twist on it.
It’s a story of identity, adventure and love. It tells you to appreciate what you have, and not to take things for granted.
While the plot is amazing, the way this movie is a whole other feat. This movie uses stop motion, which is where the camera is repeatedly stopped and started, and the subject is moved slightly each time, giving it the illusion of movement. It took 17 animators, 20 stages, and 18 months to complete the animation. In total there were 109,440 frames taken to make the film.
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” features an amazing cast including Chris Sarandon (“The Princess Bride,” “Child’s Play,” “Fright Night”) as Jack’s speaking voice (Danny Elfman plays his singing voice). Paul Reubens (“Pee-Wee Herman”) as Lock. Cathrine O’Hara (“Second City Television,” “Beetlejuice,” “Schitt’s Creek”) as Sally and Shock. Every voice actor did an amazing job at providing emotion for the characters.
The last part that makes this film so amazing is the music. The songs and score were written by musical genius Elfman. The songs he wrote range from upbeat and silly to poignant and insightful. The songs that show the most emotion are the two laments, Jack’s lament and Sally’s song. Jack’s lament features lyrics about his longing for something he doesn’t quite know. While Sally’s song expresses her worries for Jack, and how she feels he will never notice her feelings for him.
All of these factors is what makes “The Nightmare Before Christmas” a 10/10 movie.
