When the puppets were positioned just right, they punched a remote button that snapped the scene. Klatte says each animator produces about five seconds of screen time in a week. Each puppet is a work of art. Each puppet has a steel armature infrastructure that allows easy manipulation. When I see stop-motion, I feel like I can see the air.
Dust is what a lot of the charm is about.
Director Selick was working on Nightmare when he decided he didn't want to disband the studio he'd formed to make it. He talked producers Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi into convincing Disney to go after the rights to James. Dahl, who died in 1990, and his family had been approached by filmmakers who wanted to turn James into a movie. After Nightmare , some big names were nibbling, including Steven Spielberg and Danny DeVito. But the Dahls were always wary.