Very inventive

Rating: 8/10 (11 February 2008)

A stop motion animation musical conceived by Tim Burton. Jack Skellington (voice of Chris Sarandon)is the Pumpkin King who plans and runs Halloween each year. It goes well--but he's bored and wants a change. He discovers Christmas and is overjoyed. He wants to run Christmas too but just doesn't realize that Christmas isn't Halloween. Sally (voice of Catherine O'Hara), a stitched together creation, realizes that Jack is wrong and tries to stop him.
Bizarre movie (to say the least) but a definite one of a kind. The stop motion animation is beautifully done and some of the visuals are incredibly inventive and effective. Also the songs and music (by Danny Elfman) are lots of fun and perfectly fit the movie. The "Boogie Oggie" number is a highlight. My only problem with this is a problem I have with other Tim Burton films--it's a bit too dark. I know Burton likes it that way, but this is aimed at kids and I can see some of the younger ones easily being scared of this. Still it's tuneful and there's always something to look at. Also it doesn't overstay its welcome at about 75 minutes. I give it an 8.