Nightmare Before Christmas, The (DVD)

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When the Edison company demonstrated the Kinetoscope in 1891, it was the sheer magic of moving images that delighted each person who took turns viewing them. And in 1914, when "Gertie the Dinosaur" was animated by Winsor McCay, what made audiences breathless was the magic of seeing drawings take on character traits for the first time, ones they could actually recognize. There didn't have to be much plot, because seeing something like that was like discovering a new world..

In a way, the challenge for filmmakers and animators since those early days has been to try to recreate that sense of discovery for audiences, to make them feel as if they're glimpsing an absolutely new and astonishing world. And the always interesting but often erratic Tim Burton and director Henry Selick do just that with "The Nightmare Before Christmas," which feels like an alternate cartoon universe, a film that makes "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" look like the charming read-aloud story for preschoolers that it is. Pumpkin King Jack Skellington is a unique bunch of bones who inhabits a fantastic world that comes vividly to life with the first big production number, "This is Halloween"--an energetic, sumptuous feast for the senses. Every frame is filled with visceral delights. As you watch, you can't help but marvel at how fresh it all seems, and what a fantastic job the screenwriters and Selick did of bringing Burton's weird vision to life.

As it turns out, we also have holiday commercialism to thank for it. Burton has said that he got the inspiration for the original poem upon which this film was based when he witnessed a store taking down a Halloween display and replacing it with Christmas merchandise. That jarring juxtaposition was all it took to give Burton the idea for a tale of two phantasmagorical cities: Halloween Town and Christmas Town.

One Halloween, Skellington (Chris Sarandon) starts to feel the way any number of work-a-day people do. A job that was once interesting, challenging, and satisfying to him suddenly seems mundane and repetitive. The accolades of his fellow creepy undead Halloween Town residents ring hollow. So when a restless Jack wanders into an enchanted forest where trees are the gateways to holidays, and, like Alice, he ends up falling into the wonderland of Christmas, he sees Christmas through fresh eyes. To him (a dead guy) it seems full of life: color, warmth, giving, and a holiday aura that frankly seems a bigger deal than Halloween. So the ambitious Skellington returns to Halloween Town and tries to sell the local denizens on the idea of doing Christmas this year instead of Halloween. Naturally, that means trouble for "Sandy Claws" (Edward Ivory) and all of the hapless little children and parents whose Christmas suddenly takes on a ghoulish dimension. It doesn't help that Jack's plan to play Santa hits a speed bump when a boogey man named Oogie (Ken Page) has his own ideas about what to do with Sandy Claws.

"The Nightmare Before Christmas" is an inventive, tune-filled production that zips along at a nice clip and integrates a fun side plot involving a wheelchair-bound maniac named Dr. Finkelstein (William Hickey). Dr. F. has created a girl for himself named Sally (Catherine O'Hara) who'd rather be with Jack--so much so that she keeps trying to poison her creator/abuser. It makes for great comic relief and poignancy, all rolled into one. Ultimately, Jack gets the second life that he wants, but not the one that he expected.

But Skellington has nothing over musical director Danny Elfman when it comes to second lives or resurrections. Elfman, who used to be the lead singer for Oingo Boingo, has found an even bigger career as a film and TV composer, crafting theme songs for "The Simpsons," "Desperate Housewives" and a ton of films, including this score. He even sings the part of Jack Skellington. There are some memorable songs and some forgettable ones, but overall the music does what it's supposed to: it supports the visuals in grand style, whether it's a tender moment, a celebratory one, or a frightening scene. But a word on that. Parents wondering whether this one should be a part of the family's Halloween or Christmas movie traditions should know that the frightening aspects of the creatures are blunted nicely by humor and Elfman's music. Jack himself isn't the fright that he's supposed to be . . . just a misunderstood hero. There's one moment of true peril (which feels like a true "Perils of Pauline" moment) and just one scene where Sally does the Warner Brothers cartoon thing and tries to lure Oogie to her by sticking out a shapely leg. Turns out that it's ONLY her leg, though, and perhaps the thing that will make wee ones grimace is the character of Sally, who's forever needing to have bodily parts stitched on her again. My six year old was fine with it all, but of course parents will have to make their own call. Personally, I think it's such a brand new world that the sights and sounds will so thoroughly delight that there's not enough room for anxiety or fright. "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is just a fun romp through the holidays.

Video:
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" has been released in several editions prior to this, but because I haven't seen them I can't offer any comparisons. I can say, though, that it's hard to imagine the picture looking any brighter and sharper in standard definition than it does on this 2-Disc Collector's Edition. The clarity is superb, the edges are almost as well-defined as on Hi-Def, and the colors are well-saturated so that even the scenes set at night seem rich. There's hardly any grain, and so the picture itself looks wonderful. "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is presented in the original 1.66:1 theatrical format.