HALLOWEEN REVIEW OF THE DAY: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Talk about one of the perfect movies that not only defines Halloween, but defines creativity, imagination, and whimsical wonder. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is an enchanting, highly imaginative, and highly original family fantasy movie with an enjoyable tone, enjoyable characters, and enjoyable songs. The Nightmare Before Christmas is about Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, the grand master of fear, and a famed celebrity in his hometown of the Halloweentown where all the creatures and monsters of Halloween reside. But Jack is tired of the same old Halloween event and games and seeks out something new. Then he enters through a magical door shaped like a Christmas tree that takes him to Chritstmastown where he discovers a "new" holiday called Christmas. Being the curious cat he is, Jack takes a high interest in Christmas and convinces the citizens of Halloweentown to take part of it as Jack is also eager to replace Santa Claus as the giver of toys that year. But it seems that the creatures of Halloweentown, including Jack, soon learn that when something is not broke, don't fix it, and if you try, serious consequences will ensue. Let me discuss about some of the factors to why I think this movie his highly enjoyable. First we got our main lead Jack Skellington. Though he has an adoration for fear and wanting to scare others, he is not an evil guy. In my opinion Jack can relate to anybody really. He's a thinker, a constant dreamer, is determined, can be smart when he wants to be or is curious about something, he's somewhat egotistical, he constantly likes to see new things, and most important of all he makes mistakes but is afraid to admit that he does. The character of Jack perfectly embodies what are the cons and pros of curiosity in humans, sometimes it can get us to be inspired and creative, but at other times we can get to carried away with our curiosity which can lead us to trouble. But despite the flaws he makes, Jack is throughout the movie a very likeable character, so likeable in fact you wish you knew him personally as a friend. Probably some can make the argument that they already know Jack personally because they can relate to him and they can see him in themselves and in other people. Plus, the character has a good heart, learns from his mistakes and in turn redeems himself, and he tops it off with a determination for justice. This movie just got major points for having a highly likeable hero. Another factor that makes this movie great is the songs. In most musicals, one usually get that one or two songs that one might not care much for, but in my opinion probably all the songs in The Nightmare Before Christmas are enjoyable. All of them have the perfect mood dealing with the perfect scene and each song matches the tone of their scene perfectly. Plus the songs have genius and memorable lyrics along with Danny Elfman's energetic or sometimes mellow music. The score by Danny Elfman is also great, his music blends in perfectly with the world this movie presents to us and is constantly in harmonious sync with the film's atmosphere. The stop-motion animation is of course top notch and is still impressive to this day. The beauty of this style of animation, is that it is always timeless. Even though my most favorite and preferred type of animation is traditionally hand drawn, you can still the age of it and of course obviously with CGI. I never got that with stop-motion. Just the effort and time alone to animate this picture already makes me greatly appreciate the movie. One can say this film was only released a month ago and I probably would have believed it. Plus the character designs are all creative and enjoyable to look at. You can always tell what type of monsters the citizens of Halloweentown are, plus they all have their own unique and creative designs. My favorites have to be Sally the rag doll who has a very creative design and concept behind her. The fact that she is never hurt when ripped apart or sewn together makes the audience want to know more about this world and how strangely it works. The other character I am impressed with is the Mayor of Halloweentown and how he can switch faces depending on his mood, that alone is very creative and can lead to funny scenes. The last character that I felt stood out just by creativity is the main villain Oogie Boogie, a bogeyman who is a sack filled with bugs and snakes and a fiend who has a love for gambling. I absolutely like the originality with this character as he is both menacing and funny all the while having an interesting hobby. The last element I feel I have to praise is the story and concept. Now I may agree with some that the story maybe  not be anything to scream about or is anything epic, but what I do truly love about is the wonderful simplicity about it. Tim Burton's main goal when creating and producing this film, was to present to us his own fairy tale. And as fairy tales do they have simple stories and non-complicated resolutions. The story of The Nightmare Before Christmas has all of that and even more such as good cinematic characters, enjoyable and catchy songs, a fun atmosphere, and an highly imaginative concept. Simple yes, simply amazing and entertaining! A definite watch for the Halloween season! Grade: E