The Nightmare Before Christmas
1993
Can Christmas be saved? Bored with the same old scare and scream routine, Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, longs to spread the joy of Christmas. But his merry mission puts Santa in jeopardy and creates a nightmare for good little boys and girls everywhere! Read more
| Starring | Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara |
|---|---|
| Director | Henry Selick |
| Genres | Animated, Family, Music/Musical, Sci-Fi/Fantasy |
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The Nightmare Before Christmas
Can Christmas be saved? Bored with the same old scare and scream routine, Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, longs to spread the joy of Christmas. But his merry mission puts Santa in jeopardy and creates a nightmare for good little boys and girls everywhere!
| Starring | Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Pee-Wee Herman, Ken Page |
|---|---|
| Director | Henry Selick |
| Studio | TOUCHSTONE HOME VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 17 mins Blu-ray: 1 hr 13 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Animated, Family, Music/Musical, Sci-Fi/Fantasy |
| Language | DVD: English Blu-ray: English, English Audio Description |
| Released | DVD: 03 Oct 2000 Blu-ray: 06 Oct 2008 Production year: 1993 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (5)
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Only the deliciously demented imagination of Batman/Ed Wood director Tim Burton could have come up with such a dark vision of the holiday season. Producing here, Burton called on the services of innovative animation director Henry Selick and composer Danny Elfman (a regular Burton collaborator, who wrote the ten surreal songs and lends his singing voice to the lead character) for this wonderfully weird fable. Packed with scary spooks, gags and dazzling décor. it enchants with every busy frame as spindly Jack Skellington, the mastermind behind Halloween, hijacks Christmas out of boredom, becoming a frightening Santa delivering nasty surprises instead of presents to terrified children. The film's affectionate trashing of Christmas traditions is conceptually cunning and clever enough to please every generation, making it an unmissable treat that's destined to become as great a yuletide favourite as The Wizard of Oz.
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Probably the single neatest expression of Tim Burtons cute-gothic outsider sensibility, this highly likeable 1993... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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18 out of 18 people found this review helpful
Best Film Ever!
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is my favourite film. Considering it was made over 10 years ago now the animation is still outstanding. The story tells of Jack The Pumpkin King of Halloween Town. Every year the residents of Halloween Town, which includes everything from vampires to witches to little mummy boys,come up with plans for Halloween and how to scare everyone in the real world. But Jack is tired of the same old holiday and longs for something else. At night as he walks through the forest he comes across a gathering of trees with differnet doors representing the different holidays, but the one he is drawn to the most is that of Christmas Town. Jack is amazed by the idea of Christmas and soons decides that all his fellow residents of Halloween Town should stop Halloween this year and make Christmas!. Aided by all his friends Jack's dream starts to become reality but one resident, Sally (who is a ragdoll made by the mad scientist Dr Finklestein) isnt so sure. She has a secret love for Jack that knowbody knows. She doubts Jack's idea of Christmas is going to go according to plan but he doesnt listen and so starts The Nightmare Before Christmas. Filled with brilliant songs composed by the excellent Danny Elfman, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is a ghoulish tale for all the family.
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Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
crazy & slightly ghoulish, but catchy & fun
I enjoyed this & so did my 2 daughters (5 & 8). It is pretty ghoulish -- i.e. people made out of body parts, a guy with a hinge-top head who itches his brain, but because it's animation, my kids didn't find it scary in the least.
The basic premise is that each of the holidays (christmas, easter, halloween) have a 'world' associated with it, where the holiday things are normal there and happen every day. The pumpkin in the halloween land is a bit bored and tired, and goes to christmas land to experience it. He's enthralled, and decided to do a version of christmas, halloween style. It's funny watching him attempt to understand the meaning of christmas by science experiments etc. Needless to say, they get the idea wrong, although their intentions are obviously good.
The animation is first rate, even in this day & age. The songs are excellent and very catchy. The best character in my opinion is 'Oogie Boogie' who, as my daughter correctly noted is a 'moving sack'. -
News and features
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Tim Burton casts Alice role
- 25 Jul 2008
Tim Burton has chosen the actress he wants to play the lead role for his forthcoming Alice In Wonderland movie for Disney. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the relatively unknown Australian Mia Wasikowska is in final negotiations to play Alice after a long search for the title character. The 18-year-old actress is currently appearing in US TV series In Treatment, having made her name on Australian TV drama All Saints. In keeping with Burton's offbeat style, the new take on Lewis Carroll's... Read more
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- Nightmare Before Christmas, The - BLU-RAY Version
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Tim Burton's stop-motion animated feature finds Pumpkin King Jack Skellington thinking the grass is greener over in Santa Claus's holiday. He marshals all his goblins and ghouls to take over ... -
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- The Nightmare Before Christmas
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Can Christmas be saved? Bored with the same old scare and scream routine, Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, longs to spread the joy of Christmas. But his merry mission puts Santa ... -