The Nightmare Before Christmas
Halloween or Christmas, it's all about magic.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of those wonderful films that works on so many levels it took me some time to decide how to review it. If you search for it at The Internet Movie Database, it is listed as animation, musical, comedy, fantasy, Christmas, Halloween, and more. I finally realized that trying to dissect The Nightmare Before Christmas is like Jack Skellington trying to dissect the meaning of Christmas -- you can't because it's magic.

Nightmare will always have some measure of notability as the first full length stop motion feature, but that's never what I think of as I am swept away by the music and even the silliness of it's story. It is the tale of Jack, the Pumpkin King, King of Halloween Town, infamous for making each Halloween more horrible than the last. However, poor Jack has become disillusioned with this holiday of his. He's done it all and not looking forward to more of the same. Only when he finds himself magically whisked away into the joyous, color filled world of Christmas Town is his imagination once again sparked. In his compulsion to discover the meaning of Christmas, he decides to take the holiday and make it his and the results are as they should be when you mess when Santa. No good will ever come of that.

In blind devotion, the citizens of Halloween Town put forth their ghoulish best to make Christmas in their own image. My favorite little helpers have to be Lock, Shock and Barrell, trick-or-treaters extraordinaire. Their vision of Santa as Sandy Claws, a big red lobsterman, is one of the highlights of this movie. Paul Ruebens voices Lock with manic enthusiasm. The only character who doesn't manage to get caught up in Jack's obsession is Sally Shock. As the film's heroine and love interest, she does her best to dissuade Jack from his ill-conceived escapade. Filled with the conviction of knowing he is right, Jack carries on, dons Santa's hat and takes to the sky with skeletal reindeer and coffin in tow, delivering very special Christmas goodies to all good little girls and boys.

This highly unusually Christmas tale comes from the imagination of Tim Burton -- the man who brought us Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. Like most of Burton's work, the film is dark and moody. Even I would flinch at vampires, zombies and monsters covered in slime for a Christmas film if not for the preeminent animation that makes the citizen's of Halloween Town as cute and cuddly as Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer. If your only exposure with stop motion are the 60's Christmas specials like Santa Claus is Coming to Town, then you'll be pleasantly surprised by how alive these puppets seem. The sumptuous sets and fluid animation draws you into their stark black and gray world. It's no wonder that the vivid colors and contrast of Christmas Town revitalize Jack.

A large part of this film's magic comes from the music and lyrics by Danny Elfman. In addition to the score, he is also the singing voice behind Jack Skellington. Now I must state the fact that I'm biased in this matter as a fan of musicals in general and Oingo Bongo in particular. The music doesn't so much rock as it rolls from the big opener This is Halloween, to the festive Kidnap Santa Claus, and on to the moving Poor Jack. Even if you don't enjoy the music, the Gilbert and Sullivan like lyrics for What's This? are a treat all to themselves. "What's this? They're busy throwing snowballs instead of throwing heads." Even the eloquent plans to boil Sandy Claws have me singing right along.

As with all holiday fare there is a message full of meaning somewhere in Nightmare. But for the life of me I find it hard to put into words. The obvious one is don't try to be something you're not. What I take away from the film is a feeling of redemption. Not only does saving Christmas redeem Jack, but the entire town ends up with a bit of Christmas joy. It is not the message of the film that stays with me, but rather it's infectious mood of discovering Christmas for the first time.

Some may say that the film tries a little too hard, that it's a little over the top. I won't disagree with them. It is downright silly at times. But this is not a film to be taken seriously. If you look too hard at The Nightmare Before Christmas, you may miss the magic.

DROOL FACTOR: Maybe it's just me, but as cute as puppets are, I'm going to say nil on the drool factor.

GROSS-OUT FACTOR: The citizen of Halloween Town have a certain gross-out level and the one covered in slime was a bit unsettling but in general, it's family fare.

STRONG CHICK FACTOR: Sally Shock may not kick butt, but she stays true to herself when everyone else falls under Jack's spell.

-- Torrey Daily Simms

The Nightmare Before Christmas is currently available on video and DVD.

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