"This year, Christmas will be ours!"

Rating: 8/10 (8 March 2018)

I was initially put off by the idea that this was a musical but I gradually grew into it. Not being a fan of animated films much either, it's taken me a long while to see this picture, a quarter century sounds a lot worse than twenty five years since the movie came out as I write this. I thought it very creatively done, as Tim Burton is quite adept at putting out these off-beat stories, "Edward Scissorhands" being a personal favorite. The tie-in between Halloween and Christmas is a nicely creative touch, with an eclectic appearance by the Easter Bunny providing a moment of humor. There's even a romance involved, even if Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King and Bone Daddy of Halloweentown is oblivious at the outset. The contrasting dark milieu of most of the setting is transformed whenever the Christmas motif takes over, visually stunning by comparison but it's the thing that makes spirits bright. I can't say that I'd make this film an annual holiday viewing, but you probably should see it at least one time to see what you're missing. You'll probably be as surprised as I was.