The Nightmare Before Christmas

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Summary: In this town we call home, I hail to the pumpkin song!
Review: It's mandatory- every Halloween (and Christmas, and when I'm feeling deprived, Easter) I dig down through the holiday stuff in our basement and pull out my shiny little diamond- The Nightmare Before Christmas! It's an ingenious story that I still watch happily several times a year (since it came out).

It's the story of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, who's started to get tired of the same old Halloween every year. Then he discovers Christmastown! Excited by the new prospects, he tells everyone in Halloweentown about this wonderous holiday, and the citizens decide to try it themselves! It's up to a rag doll named Sally to save Santa- and save Christmas- from the Oogie Boogie.

The characters are hilarious and riveting- you can't help but fall in love with them, even the minor ones! Lock, Shock, and Barrel are the best. :) The movie is a musical, with the songs written (and mostly sung) by Danny Elfman. The music's great, but the lyrics are a little iffy sometimes (but still fun to sing along to!) The film was made with stop action, which gives it that jerky-yet-smooth charm.

The best parts are the songs "This Is Halloween", "Making Christmas", and "Town Meeting Song". The doctor is one of the more interesting characters.

I highly recommend this movie to... well, just about anyone! It's not scary (trust me, I've been watching since I was 5!) or anything like that... just a big bundle of fun! And remember, it's not Halloween (or Christmas, or Easter) without The Nightmare Before Christmas!!!

Rating:
Summary: What's this? What's this?
Review: It's "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas," of course. It was the movie that made the record of the first stop motion animated film. The story is of a character who has never heard of Christmas before and somehow "discovers" it. I think it is always worth view, unless your one of those... individuals who doesn't appreciate Tim Burton's "dark humor." The story is of Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon), the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, but lately, he's pretty much grown tired of the same old tricks and treats, deep in lamentation. (Hence the name of the song, "Jack's Lament.") One night, while he's wandering around in a forest, head filled with his thoughts of misery and woe, he finds a clearing where every tree is decorated with some holiday symbol. They all seem to interest him, but what fascinates Jack the most is none other than the Christmas tree. Danny Elfman, who provides Jack's gorgeous singing voice, is a master with "Nightmare's" music and songs. Who wouldn't mind going out on Halloween night, singing "This is Halloween" at the top of their lungs? (That's what my friends and I did last Halloween.) Anyway, you have ten songs to choose from. The cast of characters is awesome too. Sally (Catherine O'Hara) is sweet and sensitive and is always willing to help Jack, even it means literally risking an arm and a leg. Lock, Shock, and Barrel (Paul Rubeuns, Catherine O'Hara, and Danny Elfman) help make up "Nightmare's" interesting plot. Without this terrible threesome, Santa Claus (Ed Ivory) would have no place in the story. Now, every movie needs a villain, and who would be better than the notorious Oogie Boogie (Ken Page)? Overall, I think this movie deserves all five stars. One for animation, one for music, one for charcters, one for the story, and one for everone who pitched in and worked on this movie for three years.

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Summary: Best animated musical ever?
Review: Stop-motion animation may be the most pain-stakingly labourious art-form around, but its effects can be quite enchanting. In 'Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas', the 3-dimensional puppets give a vibrant live-action look that would somehow be missing from run-of-the-mill 2-D cartoon drwawings.

The original inspiration for the film came from a poem that Burton had wrote while working for Disney in the early 80's. He was originally going to use it as a narration to a short animation feature he was going to make in the style of his early films such as 'Vincent and 'Frankenweenie'. After he left Disney, the company kept the copyright. Then came the enormous success of Burton's first 3 movies and suddenly Disney became interested again. Although the theme of the story is a little darker than the usual Disney fare, with Tim Burton's name in the title they were willing to take the risk.

Halloweentown is a fantastical space in which all the grotesque characters inhabit a culture where it's okay to be different, messed up and miserable. A Burtonesque utopia if you will. Although Burton's name lies above the title, the two biggest creative minds behind the project were director Harry Selick and composer Danny Elfman. One of Selick's biggest influences in formulating the look of the film was Charles Laughton's 'The Night Of The Hunter' which made such expressive use of lighting. Elfman's songs are a revelation and this without a doubt is the best animated musical I've ever seen.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Twist On Halloween / Christmas!
Review: This movie is great! With the twist on Halloween versus Christmas and the great animmation, you won't miss with this one! Jack fights within himself as the leader of the pack! He's supposed to be the "evil" one when he realizes that maybe, he's not after all! I believe this movie is great for all ages! I give a 5 star rating with no reservations!

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Summary: I Love this film so much, I'm buying it a third time!
Review: Call me crazy, but I already own this Tim Burton masterpiece on VHS, DVD, and the soundtrack on CD. Seldom would I ever consider buying a movie a third time, but I love this film so much that I am going to shell out the bucks again! Why? First of all, this movie is so good that it has already become a classic. The story can be enjoyed anytime, but especially at Halloween and Christmas. The story combines elements of both holidays ever so cleverly. Simply, the message of the story is be a first-rate yourself rather than a third-rate somebody else. Jack Skelington, the pumpkin king of Halloween gets "weary of the same old thing" and tries his hand at taking over Christmas from Santa ("Sandy Claws" as he calls him). The results of his efforts are both hilarious and touching. The music by Danny Elfman is outstanding and perfectly complements the story. You'll be singing the tunes to yourself. Oh yes, the other reason I'm buying "The Nightmare Before Christmas" again is because this edition will contain extra "behind the scenes stuff" that I love, which was not made available on my current DVD. This is one of those rare gems that I can recommend buying, even if you've never seen it before. Finally, during the last 10 years there have been many wonderful animated films made. Among my favorites are: "The Prince of Egypt", "The Iron Giant", "Toy Story I & II", "Antz", "A Bug's Life", and "The Nightmare Before Christmas". All of these masterpieces will appeal to all ages.

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Summary: A Halloween tradition!
Review: Every time October rolls around, I have to watch THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and yet, since I'm an adult, I can't trick-or-treat anymore, but I *can* watch THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

This is a movie unlike anything you have ever seen before: it is a stop-action, musical comedy about the leader of "Halloweentown" - Jack Skellington - growing tired of his job and deciding he might give Christmas a try. But the plot, in my opinion, is really secondary to the off-beat, even bizarre and yet endearing, songs that are sung by this original cast of characters. These characters are so original and so interesting that you feel as though you have always known them. And the surprise to the film is that, in many ways, it is actually a love story between Jack and his admirer, Sally. "But will we ever / end up together?" sings Sally.

I think that people of all ages would enjoy this movie, except that some of it may be too scary for the very young child (four and under). For me, however, it wouldn't be Halloween without THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

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Summary: this movies now a classic
Review: nightmare before christmas is what every lil kid asks when young what if halloween took over christmas in it santa clause is basically carjacked by halloween town a bunch of october kinda guys its got an award winning style this movies considered art and even today kids dressup in nightmare before christmas halloween costumes if u like a good funny story and a grey cool world to look at this is a great movie to watch with your kids its more like the book the grinch then the grinch movie was

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Summary: Burton's Fantasy A Feast For the Eyes and Imagination
Review: The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my very favourite movies. It is not just a treat for fans of the macabre-- if you like an original plot, zany characters, and stunning visuals (a fantastic soundtrack, too), in all likelihood you will love Tim Burton's delightfully twisted film.
In the opening of the movie, we are introduced to the chaotic world of Halloween Town, where the pagan holiday is in full swing among the citizens. Here we first meet the main character, the skeletal Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington. Elegant, charming and very spooky, Jack heads the proceedings in the town. However, he hides a very different image under his suave, rail-thin exterior. Revealed in the appropriately-titled song, "Jack's Lament", he is very depressed with his lot in life, feeling the need for something other than the sound of screams. During this sad tune, we are also familiarized with the female protagonist, a shy, stitched-together rag-doll named Sally, who sadly loves Jack from afar, and is the only one in Halloween Town who really understand him.
As the tale unfolds, Jack's melancholy wanderings lead him to Christmastown, where he is instantly enchanted with the spirit and cheer in the air. Infused with the joy of the place, Jack immediately decides to hijack the holiday, and take over the roll of "Sandy Claws". He soon has the citizens of Halloween Town obssessed with Christmas, all except one individual-- Sally, the Inventor's creation, who recieves a terrible premonition concerning her friend's new holiday.
The citizens of Halloween work feverishly to prepare for Christmas, but alas! their brand of holiday cheer is somewhat... spooky. As the wickedly ghoulish young trick-or-treaters, Lock, Shock and Barrel, attempt to kidnap Sandy Claws, Man-eating Wreaths are crafted, huge Snake-Stockings stuffed, and Shrunken Heads wrapped non-stop through the year. In Sally's mind: a disaster in progress.
Watch this superbly crafted motion picture and find out if Christmas can be salvaged. Will Sandy Claws be doomed to a horrible fate at the hands of the Boogie Man? And what WILL it take for Jack to realize just how much he means to a certain ragdoll...

Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking...but what else do you expect from Tim Burton?
Review: Ah, what a great film! The animation is INCREDIBLE...I can only imagine how long it took to make such an amazing stop-motion movie. Even if the story isn't your thing, you should see at least some of it to see the animation.

I thought this was an awesome movie...when I first saw it I was ten and I didn't like it much, but it's definitely grown on me as I got older!

As for kids, some will love it to death and watch it over and over...and over. And for others it might just be a little too macabre.

I watch this every Halloween! The songs are great, the good charachters make mistakes, the design is quirky. If you like other Tim Burton stuff, you'll probably love The Nightmare Before Christmas!

Rating:
Summary: Endearing in a creepy way
Review: Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, dissatisfied with his lot in life, decides to take over Christmas in order to bring shrieks of joy rather than terror to the people of the world. He enlists the twisted denizens of his domain in his cause and it is rather touching to see their inadequate but sincere attempts to understand what brings delight to ordinary people. As part of the plan, Santa is kidnapped, and the evil Oogie Boogie takes advantage of the situation to attempt a take-over of Halloweentown for himself.

This is a very amusing story told through the vanishing art of stop-motion animation. The visuals are eye-popping, and I fervently hope that director Henry Selick and others will keep the form alive in the face of the onslaught of computer animation. Danny Elfman's music is enchantingly sweet and catchy, but always a bit creepy and off-kilter as well--perfect for the material. This world bears the unmistakable mark of producer/co-writer Tim Burton's unique imagination. Highly recommended.