Disappointing rehash of Nightmare Before Christmas

Rating: 5/10 (12 January 2007)

Having been eagerly anticipating the release of this movie, I found it a tad disappointing, primarily because it is so irritatingly similar to Nightmare Before Christmas.
The real problem is that it doesn't seem to be sure whether it's aimed at kids or adults, and it consequently fails on both counts.
It looks gorgeous (albeit exactly the same as Nightmare Before Christmas), and has some fantastic ideas very cleverly realised, but the story drags and ultimately bores, and Danny Elfman's songs - as fantastic, if somewhat generic, his scores are - do not have the strength of those by, say, the Sherman Brothers or Alan Menkin, to keep us sufficiently engaged.
One also has to wonder why they bothered getting Johnny Depp in to voice the main character (beside its obvious financial implications) as his voice is unidentifiable. On the whole, a lot of the supporting voices are very satisfying if you know who they are. Most Brits will know them, but I don't know that many Americans would.
Worth seeing, but don't expect too much from it.