This was a really great film, but it didn't leave as much of a lasting impression as I'd hoped.

Rating: 8/10 (29 June 2006)

Stars: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Albert Finney, Joanna Lumley, Paul Whitehouse, Michael Gough, Enn Reitel, Danny Elfman, Tracey Ullman and Deep Roy.
I thought that this was a very well animated, well acted (vocally) and just really nice looking stop-motion movie. This movie's problem is that it will forever be compared to "The Nightmare Before Christmas" which is now a cult classic. This will never be a cult classic for many reasons. The music by Danny Elfman and the songs were good, but they weren't great. Nightmare's music was better. The writing in this is just as good, but it just isn't very showey. The character designs weren't as flashy as Nightmare, and it seems that would be a big merchandizing problem. Also, we don't see enough into Johnny Depp's character. He doesn't sing any songs, yet he's the star.
However with all that aside, Tim Burton made a wonderful movie that I enjoyed, only second to Nightmare.
My rating: 3 1/4 out of 4 stars. 74 mins. PG for violent images and mild language.