Timeless classic

Rating: 10/10 (15 December 2015)

Tim Burton/Henry Selick's The Nightmare Before Christmas is very special in the sense that it can be re-watched and apreciated at both halloween and Christmas, which I always do. It's such a classic that it's catchy songs, distinct characters and boundless imagination have ingrained it into the collective consciousness of pop culture for eternity. It paved the roads of animation with its innovative, eye candy stop motion animation (my favorite style) and lit up the musical genre with its crowd pleasing ballads of pure holiday joy. By now anyone who hasn't seen this and doesn't know the plot really needs to rethink their life choices, but for those few lost souls who haven't seen it, I'll go I'll to the plot a bit, because I love talking about it. In a far off fantasy realm called Halloweentown, the residents toil endlessly all year for their annual festivities. They're a wide variety of whacky creatures, including werewolves, bicycle riding clowns, witches, ghouls sand so many more. A gaunt, spindly gentleman called Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon, with Danny Elfman seamlessly providing his singing voice) is the top dog in Halloweentown, the 'Pumpkin King'. But he yearns for more, and laments the mundane, everyday slog of halloween. On a forest walk he discovers portals to the other holiday realms, and unwittingly tumbles headlong into Christmas Town, with his ghostly dog Zero. We then are treated to one of the most charming sequences in any animated film ever, as he discovers an adorable host of elves, reindeer, snow, and all kinds of brightly lit festive delight that he's never seen before, as he excitedly belts out my favourite number of the piece, 'What's This?'. In his elation, he hatches a plan to kidnap Santa Claus and use him to spruce up his hometown and give it that Christmas cheer for fora change. Of course his scheme backfires in hilarious, poignant ways and he learns along the way. He's joined by Sally the rag doll (Catherine O Hara), and the neurotic Mayor of Halloweentown (Glenn Shadix) as well as a whole impressively designed host of creatures too numerous to name here, some of my favourites being the mischievous Lock, Shock and Barrel, as well as villainous Oogie Boogie. The film is pure magic, with song after song stirring your heart and sticking in your mind long after ft er the credits. This Is Halloween, Making Christmas, The Oogie Boogie song to name a few are pure gold. If there's ever after terrestrial cinematic time capsule fpr generations down the road to unearth among the rubble, this one has top priority for a spot. It's simply magic.