Another Multi-Faceted Gem From the Burton/Elfman Team

Rating: 9/10 (11 June 1999)

Supposedly a children's flick, but not really. It reminds me of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" to a certain point, in that this is a movie made for adults with the ability to tap into the children they once were, rather than their inner children. There's a difference, you see. But rather than being slyly creepy, it's eerily beautiful. I've seen this movie several times, and like it a little more each time. The scene where Jack falls from Santa's sled and lands in the arms of a stone angel in a cemetery gets me every time I see it, as does the sad-romantic duet. When was the last time you were so moved by animated characters, not to mention clay-mation ones! Burton and Elfman make a great team. Beautiful, macabre, and delightful, it's like an animated adaptation of a childrens' poem, as written by Edgar Allen Poe.