the nightmare before christmas
This film has been on my watchlist for probably two or three years, after a friend told me it was her favorite film of all time. I never grew up with it, and it was one of the biggest “you’ve never seen BLANK???” instances of my adult life.
At my workplace now, for Halloween, they unleashed a merch and constant-song-playing wave of the characters and songs from this movie, leading customers to come in and show their appreciation for, and recommend to me, The Nightmare Before Christmas. So, in honor of Halloween season, and since pretty much everybody in my life is talking about it and I want to be included…
This is a very painstakingly crafted and triumphantly animated experience. It’s no wonder the film is so short, as every shot looks like it took dozens and dozens of hours of work from hundreds of highly skilled and patient people to finish. The lighting, in particular, caught me off guard (which I guess shouldn’t be a surprise) as a high point. The most impressive standing legacy of this film is its innovative, large scale use of puppets in stop motion. It looks stop motion, for sure, but the characters and backgrounds are so detailed and atmospheric that it feels real. This is definitely the most synergistic stop motion product I’ve ever seen .
However, and I don’t know if this was a problem with anyone else or if this just comes with the territory, but the way that motion blur was handled in many parts gave me nausea. Most of the film’s camera was fine, but when there were quick pans, or even just a lot of camera movement at once, there was a weird motion blur that they seemed to be unable to get smoothed out. Still, even with that minor gripe, this films animation and its atmospheric vibe are stand-outs. It seemed almost influenced by Japanese animation, in a way, by creating interesting creatures, towns, character designs and vibes first and foremost, and story a distant second.
As stated before, this is an extremely short film, clocking in at only 79 minutes. The story is barebones and the characters are nothing special, but its over-the-top yet pleasant and personal-feeling execution leads this to be much more of an art showcase than anything else. It’s littered with songs, and it’s one of those musicals that has each similar-sounding song blend into the next from scene to scene with multiple different characters singing. It fit the narrative of the film, but if you’re gonna do that, a lot more than one or two of your songs need to be good. I’d have preferred fewer instances of singing in exchange for more memorable and catchy songs- the more they sang, the less likely it became for me to remember any of it. I watched The Nightmare Before Christmas three hours ago and I’ve already forgotten half the songs, since none of them are stuck in my head.
Jack is a very mediocre character. He didn’t annoy me, but he served his purpose fine enough. I was much more enjoying the cutesy one-off set piece ideas (like a spider that acts as a mayor’s tie, or a siren that’s just a cat’s screech), spooky vibes and high quality animation, and as a matter of fact, I think I enjoyed the extras and side characters the most. My favorite scene in the film is probably the three little kids singing about how they’re gonna kidnap Santa Claus and bury him alive and beat him with a stick and blow him up. The over-the-top cartoon “violence”/”scary imagery” in a PG movie really set this apart from other animated movies of this caliber.
I can totally see why this would become a yearly rewatch for families around the world, since its mood is so heavily rooted in holiday ambience. It’s finely animated, purposefully passionate, and just weird enough to maintain its cult classic status without surprising me much. The songs are fine if not forgettable, the characters are fine, and the story is a definite but excusable afterthought. If you’re looking to show the family a vibe-based holiday film to keep them entertained, this is a decently fun choice. But if you’re looking for something groundbreaking or something with more than a surface level purpose, there are better alternatives elsewhere.
