What's this!? This is a good movie, sir.

Rating: 8/10 (22 December 2013)

Nightmare before Christmas is a movie that you can watch both on Halloween and Christmas and the time between them. The Nightmare before Christmas is often mistaken as a Tim Burton's film. While Tim Burton did indeed produce and helped write the story when it was first thought out as a poem. It was director Henry Selick that made the movie that most people all love. I will give mad props to Selick and the hundreds of animators that work on this 74 minutes film as the stop motion in this film is amazing. There were little to minor mistakes, that aren't very noticeable. The movie tells the story of Jack Skellington (Voice by Chris Sarandon), a skeleton from Halloween Town whom is having a identify crisis, he is tired of celebrating Halloween. In a state of depression, he wanders off into the forest, only to finds himself in Christmas Town. He found the holiday very fascinating and decides to steal that holiday instead; that leaded to deadly consequences. I think there is a lot of symbolism in the film that mirrors how modern society Christmas is so different than the original holiday in which it was based on. There are several trees with special doors on them by their symbols it is clear they are portals to other holiday worlds. However, Jack finds it difficult to come up with definitions for these symbols. His followers are also unfamiliar with these themes can only relate them with what they see in their normal Halloween culture. Jack has an abstract definition that he has learnt through books, but he never gets a chance to live and experience the meaning of Christmas. This leaves him with an unclear vision, and therefore an unclear understanding how it works. Like Jack Skellington, modern society know little of what Christmas is really about; only knowing it as the capitalism materialism ritual form. Thus, Christmas have become less about spreading love, and more on what society deed is what it an expression of love. Modern Christmas due to appealing nature, has began to become too big and popular to the point that it over-lapped the other holidays. While this might seem like a good thing, it does disinterest or lost of others cultural traditions. The film took inspirations from older stop motion television specials classics like 1964's Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with its style. I like how Halloween Town, looks like something out of a German Expressionism film. The score in the movie is amazing by Danny Elfman. I love all the songs in this film from 'Kidnapping the Santa Claws', 'Sally's Song' to "What's this?". All of them are beautiful to the ears. The songs have often been cover over the years by bands like Fall Out Boy, Korn, All-American Rejects, Flyleaf, Panic at the Disco, Marilyn Manson, and others. I think the Fall Out Boys is the best cover. The movie might seem a bit too scary for little children. Hints why Disney decided to release the film under their Touchstone Pictures banner. Due to the popularity of the film, Walt Disney Pictures has reissued the film annually under their Disney Digital 3-D format from 2006 until 2009, making it the first stop-motion animated feature to be entirely converted to 3-D. I saw the 2D and 3D versions, and I don't see much of a different, really. The supporting cast was very interesting. Oogie Boogie (Ken Page), a gambling-addict bogeyman who plots to play a game with Santa's life at stake is one of the best Disney villains ever. I don't find the character as racist as of some members of NAACP due to its jiving and dancing nature. Oogie Boogie is a bogeyman type creature, not Black-face. That's total nonsense, NAACP. It's weird in a way, that Catherine O'Hara voice Sally: A rag doll-like creature that is Jack's love interest as Sally doesn't sound like O'Hara at all. Glenn Shadix as Mayor of Halloween Town: An enthusiastic leader who conducts town meetings was hilarious with his wild mood swings. I just didn't like the Santa Claus's character. He seems like he was a jerk who is tired of Christmas. Overall: With excellent writing, stop-motion animation, legendary soundtrack, stunning visuals, wonderful story, likable characters, with little flaws, it's truly a classic.