An Amazing Animated Film With Compelling Characters and Superb Music

Rating: 9/10 (22 June 2016)

The Nightmare Before Christmas is directed by Henry Selick (no, not Tim Burton), and is the story of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, and the leader of Halloweentown. After years of seeking something more than simply scaring people annually, Jack eventually wanders off in thought, and stumbles across Christmastown. He decides that Christmas is a superior holiday to that of his Halloween, and sets up a plot to overthrow Santa Claus and control Christmas as his own, with good intentions for the special day of the year.
Growing up, The Nightmare Before Christmas was one of my favorite movies. I had every song memorized (except for "Something's Up With Jack," I could never remember that one), and loved every single character in the film. Rewatching it recently, it isn't a perfect film, but it sure is a really good one. From the fantastic music, to the compelling characters, to the incredible stop motion animation, everything about The Nightmare Before Christmas is simply amazing.
To start by jumping in, the hands down best thing about Nightmare is the music. The music, composed and partly sung by Danny Elfman (voicing Jack when singing), is absolutely fantastic. Almost every song is excellently written, and choreographed (with small figures on tiny sets, may I add). However, the music is also where my one problem lies. There is one specific song, called "Making Christmas," a song in which doesn't hold up a fight against the other songs in the film. To be completely honest, it isn't a bad song, but, in comparison to the other songs, it stands out tremendously. Besides that one song, however, the music is superb, and a soundtrack worth buying.
The characters, along with the actors who voice them, is another astounding thing about The Nightmare Before Christmas. Jack Skellington is, in my opinion, one of the greatest animated characters of all time. He stands up there with Grumpy (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), Simba (The Lion King), and Woody (Toy Story). He is perfectly well rounded, and is a flawless example of a character that literally anyone can relate to. The entire audience can find at least one attribute of Jack's that that specific person can communicate with. Jack Skellington is one of my personal favorite animated characters of all time.
All of the other characters are great as well. Sally, the rag doll, and Jack's sort-of love interest is an amazing character. Her insecurity on whether or not Jack's plan of owning Christmas is a great attribute that adds a subtle layer of conflict between her and Jack. The actress that voices her, Catherine O'Hara, does great with her character, especially in the song she sings, entitled "Sally's Song." The main villain of the film, Oogie Boogie (or the Boogie Man) is a very clever choice for a villain for a movie that takes place in "Halloweentown." His weakness, which I won't spoil, was a brilliant idea to add to the film, and gives a layer of humanity to a seemingly unstoppable villain. His voice actor, Ken Page, does amazing in both speaking and singing. Every other supporting character is great as well, but just aren't filling as big of roles as the three actors/characters mentioned.
The stop motion animation is nothing but the best. For every second of film, around 12 shots were taken of the small sets. That is absolutely incredible. The time that the filmmakers spent on getting the exact right shots and movements is substantial, considering it took three years for the film to be completed. For every person involved in the filmmaking, I commend you on the excellent job you did, this coming 23 years after the film's release.
In final conclusion, The Nightmare Before Christmas is an amazing animated film, a great holiday film, and an excellent movie all around. I implore anyone, except for a hand full of small children, to check out this film; it's, simply put, brilliant.