Great Film and work of Art

Rating: Null/10 (30 April 2015)

Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas centers around Jack Skellington, voiced by Chris Sarandon and Danny Elfman, and his journey of self-discovery. Jack is the star of Halloween town and every Halloween puts on a show that everyone loves, but this year something is different, Jack feels something is missing. He has grown tired of this routine every year and wants something new. After a journey into the forest he discovers a door into Christmas time and proceeds to "give Santa Claus a break." He kidnaps Santa and begins preparation to take over Christmas. Jack with the help of the citizens of Halloween Town including close friends Sally, voiced by Catherine O'Hara, and Dr. Finkelstein, voiced by William Hickey, take over the task of Christmas from making toys to delivering presents. The culture of Halloween town is different than the normal world and the toys they make begin to attack children and Santa is seen as an enemy. This leads to Jack being shot down in his sleigh and hitting a depressed state where he realizes that Halloween is what he's good at and he needs to be the best he can at that.
The theme of the film is self-discovery and conflict of nature. Jack grows bored with his everyday life and discovers something new he wants to be known for, being Santa. Throughout the film there are scenes where Sally continues to tell him that he is the Pumpkin King, not Santa and that is who he is. This reinforces the theme as Jack doesn't realize just who he is and thinks he is meant to be someone else. The people of Halloween Town view Jack as a leader, even more so then their mayor, without the Pumpkin King they are thrown into disarray and follow him throughout his plan to take over Christmas. The self-discovery story is well done and in some ways reminds me of Big Fish, not because of the story but about the journey of discovery of knowing who someone is that both movies take. Really, we are who we are. The music in the film is terrific and ever present. The score being written by Danny Elfman is at most times upbeat in contrast to the Halloween atmosphere. Yet despite this atmosphere, the animation and acting play well with the music. The music is used at many times in the film to display characters, such as Sally's and Jack's emotions accompanied with singing. The Music is essential to this film as it really sets the tone for almost every scene. The film has a motif of Halloween / scare throughout the film. Considering the town name is Halloween Town this isn't too surprising but in scenes of basic explanation by Jack and other characters such as Locke, Shock, and Barrel facial expression and vocal tone bring this forward reminding the viewer of the inhabitants and Halloween's influence. This show's Jack's true nature which he himself doesn't fully realize yet thinking he can do the opposite of who he is without truly understanding what Christmas is about because he can't understand it.