DVD Review: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Henry Selick Directs Tim Burton Film For Walt Disney Pictures
Aug 27, 2008
Tim Burton's classic 1993 stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas is a macabre masterpiece, and a shocking change of pace for the usual squeaky-clean, bordering-on-saccharine Disney animation.
Now the Mouse House has re-released a great 2-disc Special Edition on this, the 15th anniversary of the film's theatrical release.
The Nightmare Before Christmas: Classic Stop-Motion Film
Everyone certainly knows the story of Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon, singing by Danny Elfman), the Pumpkin King of Hallowe'en Town, who decides he's going to give Christmas a ghoulish makeover. Despite repeated warnings from his would-be love Sally (Catherine O'Hara), Jack kidnaps Santa Claus and gives children all over the world his own version of the holiday.
This film is justifiably hailed as a classic, and those who only know Burton from more recent films like Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street owe it to themselves to check out The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Fifteen years after its release, the film holds up well. Danny Elfman's songs are memorable, and add a wonderful texture to the visuals onscreen (to appreciate just how crucial Elfman was to the success of this movie, check out the deleted scenes which don't have any music attached to them). The jokes are still funny, and the moments of pathos still ring true.
Bonus Features
Disney originally released this film under their Touchstone Pictures banner, senior executives believing that it would be "too scary" for kids. Now that the movie has been hailed as a classic, it has been recast as a Walt Disney Film (like it alway was. Got it?).
Given the special edition status, the DVD has several extras, including Burton's 1982 animated short Vincent (narrated by Vincent Price, it follows a small child who believes he is the acclaimed horror actor) plus the 1984 live-action short Frankenweenie. In the intro, Burton reveals that he is currently in pre-production for a stop-motion feature length adaptation of this short.
The audio commentary features Burton, director Henry Selick and Elfman discussing the flick. Despite the trio revealing a lot of background info behind the film, Burton, Elfman and Selick aren't the most animated (sorry) of commentators, which kind of kills the buzz. Not surprisingly, Elfman and Burton don't discuss their creative battles over the film, which led to Burton not using Elfman for his next project, Ed Wood.
There are "Behind-the-Scenes Making Of" and "The Worlds Of" featurettes, plus a look through character designs, storyboard-to-film comparisons, and original theatrical trailers and posters. There are also some deleted scenes, which are funny (vampires playing hockey with Tim Burton's head), but they didn't add much to the film, so their removal doesn't really hurt the flick.
Despite this being a "2-disc" box, there's also a 3rd Digital File copy disc attached, which allows the owner to upload the flick to his personal computer, and one mp3 player. Finally, there's Burton's original poem which inspired the film, narrated by Christopher Lee.
The Final Analysis
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is still wicked fun, and the extras add a lot of dimension to this film. Despite its status as the dark mirror to Disney animated classics like Snow White and Peter Pan. It's not only a slam-dunk purchase for Burton fans, but it's also highly recommended for animation fans as well those with an allergy to saccharine.
While hard-core fans might go for the Ultimate Collection (which features a bust of Jack Skellington with detachable hat and beard), that version doesn't have any more content than the Special Edition. You may as well save your money and buy this version of the DVD. 10/10.
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