The Nightmare Before Christmas was released in 1993 and was a box office hit that continues to find new fans 30 years later. The film created by Tim Burton and directed by Henry Selick, grossed over 100 million dollars at the box office and even had a theatrical re-release back in October of this year. Here’s how the film holds up this Holiday Season!
Starting off with the production design, for a film that came out thirty years ago, it looks fantastic. The stop-motion animation is fluid, and all of the set pieces are really impressive. The inspiration from German expressionism films sticks out in some of the set designs, but it makes for some very unique sets. The character designs are still some of the best character designs I have ever seen in a stop-motion animated film and Tim Burton overall just created some iconic characters. Whenever Christmas or Halloween comes around, it is impossible to not see one of these characters pop up somewhere, whether it’s Jack Skellington, Sally, Oogie Boogie, or even Jack’s dog Zero.
The Music has also become iconic over the years. Whether it’s the opening number, ‘This is Halloween’, or Oogie Boogie’s incredible villain song, every single piece of music stands out on its own. And that is all thanks to the legend Danny Elfman who not only sings for Jack Skellington but also composed the score and wrote the songs for the film as well. You can’t go through a single Halloween without hearing ‘This is Halloween’ and you can’t go through Christmas without hearing ‘What’s this’ playing in a store or on the radio. The man wrote two iconic songs for two different holidays in one movie. That is an accomplishment.
Another thing that sticks out in The Nightmare Before Christmas is the voice acting. Too often voice actors don’t get enough credit for their roles in animated films, but the voice acting in The Nightmare Before Christmas is just incredible. Each actor brings a unique personality to each of their characters, and it makes each of them stand out from other animated movie characters just because of their personality and characteristics. Chris Sarandon encompasses Jack Skellington’s charm and curiousness, and Catherine O’Hara brings a certain melancholy to Sally. Not to mention Ken Page as Oogie Boogie who steals the entire movie every time he’s on screen.
Tim Burton and Henry Selick created something amazing with The Nightmare Before Christmas and the fact that it’s still so popular after 30 years is incredible. I would love to see Tim Burton return to stop motion animation one day because this is where he really shines as a filmmaker. If you haven’t seen The Nightmare before Christmas yet, like, what are you doing? Go watch it! Even if you think this movie is a Halloween movie, still watch it this Christmas. Because it is a Christmas movie. It’s in the name. Merry Christmas!