I personally think Tim Burton is the King of Spooky (but family friendly movies). Now, something that I did not find out for a long time that completely shocked me was that one of my favorite spooky season movies, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993), was not actually directed by Tim Burton.
I spent a good part of my life believing that he directed it, but nope. However, he did write the story and the characters, and he produced the movie. So that’s good enough for me.
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a beloved spooky season movie, and it absolutely has the right to be. I got to watch this movie for perhaps the 50th time for this review, and you can probably tell that I am devastated about that.
Like, who wants to watch such a beautifully stop-motion animated movie with a fun plot and interesting characters another time? Not me… (*wink, wink*).
Anyway, I really love this movie. One of the best things about this movie are the songs. “Jack’s Lament” and “Sally’s Song” have been favorites of mine ever since I watched this movie for the first time.
Danny Elfman, who is the singing voice for Jack Skellington (The Pumpkin King), has so much emotion and intelligence to his voice that I can understand his sadness and exhaustion with his life. Catherine O’Hara, who plays both Sally’s speaking and singing voice, brings a lot of emotion to her song, as well.
What is interesting to me is that O’Hara sings the song and lets cracks of imperfection show in her singing, which, I believe, adds to her song tremendously by making us feel like she is truly singing from the depths of her sadness. I mean, wow, you know? I really never noticed this as a kid, but I am so glad that I am noticing it now.
Another part of this film that I believe is absolutely wonderful is the character designs, which were originally made by Tim Burton. Each character, from Jack to Oogie Boogie to Santa Claus has a unique shape and a way of moving, which is so aesthetically pleasing.
The thought and care that went into crafting each character is truly astounding to me, especially since this movie was a stop-motion project. Creating unique designs and movements for each character, which had to be continued throughout each frame will always and forever amaze me.
Overall, I think Disney really caught lightning in a bottle with this film because it is perfect for Halloween time, and it perfectly transfers over to Christmas for the people who love spooky all year round (There’s a door with a turkey on it, too, so Thanksgiving is also covered).
“The Nightmare before Christmas” will always and forever be the perfect movie to sit with a cozy blanket and a hot drink and bask in the spookiness of this time of year.
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is available to stream on Disney+, Released October 29, 1993, Rated PG.