The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
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.
- Henry Selick
- Michael McDowell
- Caroline Thompson
- Mike Cachuela
- Tim Burton
- Tim Burton
Rating: 7.8/10 by 9497 users
Alternative Title:
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas - US
팀 버튼의 크리스마스 악몽 - KR
Noční můra předvánoční - CZ
L'étrange noël de M. Jack - FR
The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D - US
क्रिसमस से पहले दुःस्वप्न - IN
Ukradené Vánoce Tima Burtona - CZ
טים ברטון הסיוט שלפני חג המולד - IL
Et førjulsmareritt - NO
Đêm Kinh Hoàng Trước Giáng Sinh - VN
Pesadilla antes de Navidad - ES
Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 16 minutes
Budget: $18,000,000
Revenue: $75,634,409
Plot Keyword: skeleton, fire, magic, holiday, santa claus, halloween, villain, musical, christmas tree, saving christmas, pumpkin, woods, stop motion, christmas horror, christmas
I suppose I missed watching it at the proper time so I will explain it as not surviving well after all these years. The idea is daring, the stop motion is OKish and Danny Elfman's OST is quite good but even being only 70 min they were still too many for me. Specially, the songs were to close one to the next.
This is a cracking animation fantasy centring around "Jack Skellington" - the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town. When he feels all just a bit deflated after one celebration, he happens upon Christmas Town and encounters Santa Claus preparing to bring jolity and happiness. "Jack" sends a few of his rather stupid henchmen to kidnap Santa, takes his place and proceeds to deliver Christmas gifts that... well... are not exactly typical. Can Santa be rescued in time?? The animation is wonderfully detailed, dark and enjoyable with plenty of characters including a mad scientist as well as a mummy, the two-faced mayor and plenty of witches and demons. Not for the first time, Tim Burton shows a visionary imagination that I couldn't help but smile at - and coupled with a marvellous score (and lead vocal) from Danny Elfman we are presented with a thoroughly engaging Christmas story with a bit of a twist. Interesting that in the cinema recently, it struggled to hold the attention of the youngsters which was a shame. Perhaps the intervening years have made this more suitable for adults now?
