The Nightmare Before Christmas

Rating:
Summary: great animation, but a little creepy
Review: A film by Henry Selick

Jack Skellington is the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown. Jack is tired of the same old Halloween with the same old scares and the same old countdown to the next Halloween. Depressed by the routine, Jack walks away from Halloweentown and discovers a door in the forest. This door has the image of a tree engraved on it and through the door Jack discovers Christmastown! Singing "What is this?" (a great song), Jack discovers the wonder of Christmas and decides that he wants to bring Christmas to Halloweentown. When he returns, he gets the whole town to prepare for Christmas. He explains that it doesn't matter what is in the present, but only that it is wrapped and looks pretty. To make sure that Jack can be the new Christmas King, he has Santa Claus kidnapped.

I don't think "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is appropriate for the youngest viewers because it will probably be too scary for them. It was a little creepy for me, and I'm 25. It was also a very good movie. I'm always apprehensive about musical numbers, but there are some very good songs (a highlight that I've mentioned is Jack's song "What is this" as he discovers Christmastown), and fanstastic animation. Tim Burton is one of the screenwriters and it has some of the darker hallmarks that are a part of his work. This is a great movie for Halloweentime, Christmastime, or any time of the year.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic in every sense.
Review: The Nightmare Before Christmas is nearly 11 years old.  Eleven years!  When I realized that fact, my jaw dropped so hard and so fast that I put a nice dent in my hardwood floors.  I assume this Special Edition DVD was released as a 10th Anniversary edition, but I can't recall ever hearing anything of the sort.
 
The Nightmare Before Christmas follows the story of Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween.  Jack has grown tired of the Halloween routine, year after year, and wishes for something new.  His wish is granted as he finds his way to Christmas Town.  Jack is instantly captivated by Christmas and embarks on a journey to do it himself, complete with "Sandy Claws" costume.
 
Our heroine, Sally, is a animated ragdoll that was created by the cynical and jealous Professor Farnsworth.  Sally is desperately in love with Jack but is convinced that they will never be together.  One night she sees a vision that Jack's Christmas will be a disaster and tries to stop him, to no avail.
 
The star of this movie are none of the characters; the star is the incredible stop-motion animation that hasn't aged a day of it's 11 years.  You can watch the film as probably intended, as a whimsical fantasy and love story and enjoy it thoroughly.  You can also watch it as an amazing work of art and study the handicraft and work that went in to each of the scenes (24 separate posed frames for each single second of film). 
 
The extras included on this edition of the DVD are rather pleasing.  There is one "Making Of" documentary that is nearly 30 minutes long, dozens of character and set designs, amusing test shots of early character models and the normal trailers that you get with any disc.  The real bonus is the inclusion Tim Burton's early films "Vincent" and "Frankenweenie".  "Vincent" is a very short poetic tale about a boy who believes he is Vincent Price (being narrated by the man himself is icing on the cake).  This is done in the stop-motion animation style of Nightmare.  The second film, "Frankenweenie" is over 30 minutes of live action.  It stars Daniel Stern and Barrett Oliver (Bastian from The Neverending Story) as his son who brings his dead dog back to life after seeing an experiment in his Biology class.  These two short films are as entertaining and funny as Nightmare itself.
 
In short, this DVD edition of The Nightmare Before Christmas is well worth your money.  Even if you've never seen the film.  Even if you already own the VHS.  Even if you've seen it 100 times.  (...)

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Movie
Review: I discovered this movie when I was in third grade. I saw it once and one thing got stuck into my mind. The music! Danny Elfman does a wonderful job when it comes to creating and telling a story through songs. Though I don't own the movie, my best friend does, and when I had first moved here to my home, she made me watch it because I thought I didn't know the movie. But now, I woun't forget it no matter where I am. It's a must see, if not a must have!

Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece!!
Review: I own this DVD and watch it nearly once a week.. its a masterpiece..

the music, the animation, the story, all of it is brilliant!

you gotta march around the room singing "this is halloween.. this is halloween!", it makes it more fun.

I like the special features too, Frankenweenie was one of the first Burton flicks I ever saw back when VHS was just taking hold.

Rating:
Summary: The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs of Clay Animation.
Review: Just when the media thought that quirky director, Tim Burton, couldn't get more imaginative and more different, he did. This film is unlike any film I have ever seen. What I find stunning is that the audience finds passion and feeling coming from two characters made of clay. It is really a feast for the eyes, and even the ears being that it is a musical. One of Burton's greatest acheivments, this film I feel is more for the adults than it is for the children. I highly reccomend this film for any Tim Burton fan.

Rating:
Summary: Puppet film with ghoulish atmosphere and valuable lessons...
Review: Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king, is the Halloween planner for Halloweentown and after another successfully Halloween that was scarier that ever he drifts off in melancholy. Jack seems to have found himself in a brainy predicament as he tries to find reason in what he does and why he exists. In contemplation Jack stumbles through a deep forest until he discovers an opening in the woods where there are a number of secret doors that lead to all the different holidays. Jack decides to peek behind the door with the Christmas tree, but a strong wind pulls him in and he falls into a Christmas Town. Flabbergasted Jack learns about this new and strange holiday as he is amazed about the peculiar traditions of Christmas Town and its leader, Santa Claus. As Jack returns to Halloweentown he informs the citizens about Christmas Town and its scary leader, which leads him to want to give the people a Halloween styled Christmas, but there seems to be some dangers to this undertaking.

Nightmare Before Christmas is a wonderful story written by Tim Burton where misinterpretations and errors lead to admirable traits such as courage, forgiveness, and love. However, the story is told in a macabre environment where characteristics are most often forgotten. Despite the ghoulish atmosphere there is always a need for love and affection, and this punches through the true need for these traits. Henry Selick does a very good job as he directs this puppet feature as it offers many thoughts and ideas for an audience to ponder, which leaves them with a very good cinematic experience.

Rating:
Summary: Easily The Greatest Movie Of All Time
Review: Clay, Ghosts made of bugs, ghost dogs, skeltons doing hamlet, Halloween time, and the worlds greatest director. What more do i have to say?

Rating:
Summary: Burton and Elfman's finest, a masterpiece
Review: Though he did not direct, this is Tim Burton's movie. And Danny Elfman's as well. It is based on the stories and characters of Burton, and it truly comes alive through Elfman's music.

It is a dark and twisted tale of a world where every day is Halloween, a world where every holiday has its own domain. Well, what would happen if the dark and scary Halloween world took over and ran the cheerful and bright Christmas world? Tim Burton was born to tell this story. We follow Jack Skellington, his ghost dog Zero, the rag doll Sally, and a number of other largely humorous and colorful supporting characters on a wild ride of seasonal dysfunction.

The special edition DVD also comes with some great bonus features, including deleted scenes (3 storyboard, 4 animated), trailers and posters, plus and possibly the best, two early Burton shorts, "Frankenweenie" and "Vincent" (the latter being in my opinion the best short Burton has ever made). It's great for kids (though I wouldn't recommend maybe for toddlers) and adults alike. The humor is tame enough, yet twisted in its own right. This is a must have to any Burton fan's collection and also a necessary piece to add to a claymation/puppetry/animation library. Great viewing for both holidays!

And trust me, you'll want to buy the special edition for the extras. If only ALL special edition DVDs were this good.

Rating:
Summary: Tim Burton & Danny Elfman at their best!!!
Review: One of the best 'animated' movies at all time!
The story line is not geared towards very young children - I've say ages 10 to adult here...
The characters are so well developed - it's fantastic!!!

This is a must-own masterpiece for any fan of Tim Burton, Animated Films, or who simply love a great work of art.

Rating:
Summary: Christmas is better than Halloween, but Halloween is best
Review: A film of great interest, artistically. It is a Christmas pantomime that reveals a very high level of technical perfection in animation. It is a very good musical where music and singing are literally merged into the pictures. It is also a very profound film about children : their expectation of fear with Halloween and of joy with Christmas. Children are just like adults, dark on one side and colorful on the other side, and they don't want the two to be mixed or just to mix. This gives a great attractive power to the film for these children who will be panickstricken by the kidnapping and possible killing of Santa Claus, and who will be thrilled by the frightening characters that haunt our vision of Halloween and this strange night when ghosts come back to roam our streets begging for candy. A classic for children and a piece of artistic pleasure for adults.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU