The Nightmare Before Christmas
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Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.
- Released: 1993-10-09
- Runtime: 76 minutes
- Genre: Animation, Family, Fantasy
- Stars: Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman, Catherine O'Hara, Glenn Shadix, Edward Ivory, Paul Reubens, Kerry Katz, Carmen Twillie, Randy Crenshaw, Debi Durst, Glenn Walters, Greg Proops, Susan McBride, Mia Brown, L. Peter Callender, Ann Fraser, Jennifer Levey, Jesse McClurg, Robert Olague, Bobbi Page
- Director: Henry Selick
Comments
- monicanicole-20165 - 22 June 2024
A twisty holiday classic about self-discovery and love!
Henry Selick's 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas is a story of unrequited love and finding one's purpose. The film follows the story of Jack Skellington, voiced by Chris Sarandon and Danny Elfman, who feels he has lost his purpose as the Pumpkin King in Halloween Town. Jack sets off on a remarkable journey to rediscover himself when he finds Christmas Town and decides to replicate the warm feelings associated with Christmas back in Halloween Town. When his idea begins to crumble, his unrequited love interest, Sally, voiced by Catherine O'Hara, comes to his aid and reminds him that sometimes what he was searching for was right in front of him, thus rediscovering his love for Halloween Town.
Jack finds himself throughout the film in search of something to make him feel "alive" again. Sally lurks in the shadow of her adornment for Jack, but understands he is unfulfilled and reluctantly supports him in following his dreams despite her warnings. When Jack's plan to take over Christmas doesn't come to fruition in the way he envisioned, the menacing Oogie Boogie, voiced by Ken Page, traps Santa Claus, voiced by Ed Ivory. Jack, with the aid of Sally, must rescue Santa Claus before Christmas is ruined for good. When Oogie Boogie is defeated and Santa Claus miraculously saves Christmas, Jack grasps that he truly is made to be the Pumpkin King and he wants to do this with Sally by his side.
The 1993 classic is filmed as a stop-motion animation and relies heavily on a dull color palette of grays, black, and muted purples and greens for the scenes filmed inside of Halloween Town prior to Jack rediscovering himself and finding love. This dull palette, or the limited use of colors to communicate specific aspects of a character, conveys Jack's boredom and unfulfillment with Halloween Town. The palette of Christmas Town is filled with warmer colors and colors often associated with the titular holiday such as reds, greens, and yellows. After Jack and Sally finally reciprocate their love for one another, Halloween Town is filled with brighter colors and more contrast, giving in to the idea that Jack has found his purpose, and his world has changed. The film also toys with lighting during the scene where Jack is showing the citizens of Halloween Town what Christmas Town is. When Jack finally explains who Santa Claus is (known as Sandy Claws to the citizens of Halloween Town), Jack is cast in an extreme red light and his face is shadowy. This scene can be viewed as foreshadowing the ultimate demise of his plan to take over Christmas and creates an intense feeling that is never associated with the feelings of Christmas.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a twisty take on the classic feelings associated with Christmas. Much like the 2016 hit film Trolls, directed by Mike Mitchell, the film explores ideas of self-discovery and relies on love to bring home the idea that sometimes our true purpose was always right in front of us. - PatrynXX - 20 December 2023
Except for it's technical merits. This is hardly a kids movie.
1993 what in the hell were they thinking. Clearly not a Christmas movie. Therefore it's a horrifical horror movie. Keep the under 10 kids far away... Beetlejuce is hilarious. This movie downright depressing. I need some Frozen to cheer me up. If you are suffering from depression do not watch this movie. Glad it took me 30 years (Disney Insider so $35 bd was free) to watch it , Glad I got it free. Totally pointless film. Glad the girl got her man but hey Santa you could made her seamless. Doubt I'll play this nightmare again. I suggest you watch this in October because it's a horror movie and keep the kids away as this is more like Sleepy Hollow and I rather like the latter.
Quality: 6/10 (technical merits only) Entertainment: 1/10 Re-Playable: 1/10.
