Watching Christmas movies this time of year should be everyone’s tradition, however not all Christmas movies need to be traditional. Nothing could be more further from the warmth and convention of “It’s a Wonderful Life” like the 1993 stop-animation feature “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Tim Burton, the enigmatic and eccentric mind behind “Beetlejuice,” “Edward Scizzorhands,” “Ed Wood,” and “Alice in Wonderland” (to name a few) weaves a musical tale that blends Halloween and Christmas (a rare if not impossible combination otherwise) off the basis of a poem that he had penned ten years prior.
The film is the first full length stop-animation feature, paving the way for descendants like “James and the Giant Peach,” “Corpse Bride,” and “Coraline.” Despite its benchmark success and great musical interludes dispersed throughout, the 76-minute film also employs a truly unique plot.
“Twas a long time ago,” as the beginning narration advises, taking place in the holiday world. We see a forest with several trees, each a gateway to one of the holidays. The doors on the trees have a symbol expressing which holiday realm they lead to (one tree has an Easter Egg, another a Shamrock, another a Turkey etc.)
The narrator advises that this is where holidays come from and the door marked with the Jack-O-Lantern opens. The opening number (This is Halloween – a song you will rewind and re-watch at least 3 times and hum the tune for days if not weeks after) introduces Halloween Town and the residents one would expect; vampires, witches, ghouls, and wolves – a town where it is Halloween every day of the year.
The Mayor teams with the film’s protagonist and the towns de facto leader, Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon) who is known as the Pumpkin King.
As they discuss the aftermath of another great Halloween and begin to make preparations for next year (which is all that that they do) Jack seems disinterested in the festivities, growing bored with the same routine year after year after year after year.
Jack’s secret admirer Sally (voiced by Catherine O’Hara) a Frankenstein-like created rag doll who longs for her freedom from the mad scientist who created her, watches in secret as Jack sings his inner feelings that, while he is exceptional at his trade of scares on Halloween, he is growing disenchanted with being the Pumpkin King and longs for something more.
As Jack is skulking about with his ghost-dog Zero, they inadvertently discover the forest with the doors to the holiday worlds.
Entranced by the door with the Christmas Tree, he is magically thrust inside. Finding himself in a mysterious world filled with snow, he sings the song What’s This as he marvels at the lights, décor, and happiness of Christmas.
He takes note of how very different this place is from his home and like almost anyone, assumes the grass is greener. “The monsters are all missing and the nightmares can’t be found (he sings) and in their place there seems to be good feelings all around!”
Jack returns home and summons the entire town. He gushes to everyone about Christmas Town and attempts to explain the concept of presents, stockings, and traditions as best he can. As the townsfolk question it, Jack goes on to describe the ruler as a fearsome being called Sandy Claws (though he is only assuming this to be the case from what he has misheard.)
At home, Jack studies the history of Christmas and while good-intentioned he quickly becomes obsessed with it and decides there is only one way to explain it to his people as he vows that this year the citizens of Halloween Town will take Christmas for themselves.
Jack assigns various tasks to the town such as decorating, creating reindeer, and the assembly of (what they feel) are good presents.
He recruits 3 trick-or-treators; Lock, Shock, and Barrel, the henchmen of the notoriously wicked Oogie Boogie (voiced by Ken Page) to kidnap the real Santa so Jack can take his place on Christmas Eve.
Sensing disaster, Sally, who is falling in love with Jack, attempts to stop him from carrying out his plans.
Halloween and Christmas are the real life bookends of the holiday season, holding together the best time of the year and “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a masterful blend of the two.
Though unusual in its approach and characters, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” has all the elements of a great Christmas film; overcoming odds, love, and of course a moral lesson for the hero Jack Skellington
The primitive animation is great and with the one of a kind story and the songs of Danny Elfman (lead singer of the 80s band “Oingo Boingo”) this is a definite classic and an annual must watch film.
– by Matt Christopher
