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Visitors Review

2012-05-23 03:40:39

THE BEST!!!!!

This IS HALLOWEEN!!!WHat a wonderful story!! Remember "frosty the snowman" the tv version and that warm fuzzy feeling you get inside well that's what you'll get when you watch this film! All of us have a 'dark' and 'curious' side, that is what makes us hu-man!!! Or are we really? A must see again and again!! And buy the soundtrack too!!!Hail to the Pumkin King, La La La, La la la la la, la la la, la, la, la la la, la la la, WE...

TheOneManBoxOffice 2012-05-22 08:46:04

Tim Burton's best creation...even though he didn't direct it.

Tim Burton is known as one of the most eccentric filmmakers of ourtime. Simply because he has a big imagination. In 1982, Tim Burtoncreated a stop-motion animated short with horror icon Vincent Pricedoing the narration. In 1991, Tim Burton decided to make a full-lengthanimated musical for theaters using the same animation used in Vincent.However, because he had his hands full with directing "Batman", he wasonly able to be the producer, so he hired Henry Selick to be put in thedirector's seat. In 1993, Touchstone Pictures finally released TimBurton's newest creation, "The Nightmare Before Christmas", and thoughhe wasn't the director, this movie is Tim Burton's best creation in hiscareer.The film follows Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon for speaking, DannyElfman for singing), the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town. EveryHalloween is the same old thing, and he wants something new. He decidesto head into the forest where he comes across multiple doors, eachrepresenting a certain holiday. He stumbles upon the Christmas door,which leads him to, what else, Christmas Town. Upon discovering this,he decides that he wants to do Christmas this year. Little does he knowthat this will put Santa Clause and his career in jeopardy. Will Jackbring Christmas joy, despite leading another holiday, or will theholiday turn into a worldwide disaster?The movie is very unique for the time, due to its use of stop-motionanimation, which is done masterfully in Mr. Selick's direction. Theenvironments have that Tim Burton style that we all recognize to thisday. This movie also has the songs and original score going for it, asthey are all done by Oingo Boingo member Danny Elfman, who is a goodfriend of Mr. Burton. The songs were so good, that a tribute album wasreleased featuring music artists like Marilyn Manson, The All-AmericanRejects, and Rise Against. Today, pretty much everyone can sing thesongs from start to finish if they watch the movie enough.There should be no reason why no one should not have this movie intheir collection. This film is a masterpiece from start to finish, evenif the film is 76 minutes. If you don't have this movie in yourcollection, and are looking for a Halloween/Christmas movie that'sdifferent, here you go.

Daedalus-19 2012-05-22 03:02:23

A visually beautiful animated movie for grown-ups, with breathtaking score.

Tim Burton has always liked to do the unexpected. This animated movie,filmed with stop-motion technology, is no exception.It's a story for grown-ups and children alike told through animation, inwhich Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween, finds himself bored anduninspired by doing exactly the same every year for Halloween: scaringpeople. Accidentally, he stumbles upon Christmas Town and is inspired tomake Christmas more Halloweenish.There are three important elements to this film: 1) The story, 2) thebeautiful visuals and 3) probably the best score ever written for a movie.Danny Elfman is at his best and uses his own beautiful voice for thesingingpart of Jack. Even if you don't like the movie, this soundtrack will behardto avoid.This is not a mainstream film, so don't expect something like Lion King. Onthe other hand, don't give up on it for the same reason.

Steffi_P 2012-05-21 20:37:32

"With all our tricks we're making Christmas time"

Stop-motion animation has been around almost since the beginning ofcinema, but this was the first time the form had been used for afull-length motion picture. Just like cell animation sixty yearsearlier, the claymation we see here had been employed for pre-featureshorts or blended with live-action, but hadn't really been takenseriously as a facet of the cinematic medium. This is one of the goodthings about having popular mavericks like Tim Burton in Hollywood –they can use their mainstream bankability to push through projects thestudios wouldn't normally touch with a bargepole.Burton didn't actually direct Nightmare Before Christmas. He insteadproduced and came up with the story outline, but this doesn't make muchdifference as far as the finished production is concerned. This isperhaps the most archetypal Burton story, the ultimate tale of scarylooking outsiders trying to fit in with the bright and happy worldoutside and failing beautifully. There's also that familiar look ofboth characters and scenery (Burton was always heavily involved withthe design of his movies) – spindly figures, wild hair, black and whitestripes, curling fronds like gnarled fingers. There's been a depressingtrend in recent decades of making horror characters seem comical ratherthan scary, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, with its mix of thegrotesque and the cartoonish, is a (probably unwitting) flagship forthis. It's a shame because it's essentially the dumbing-down of kid'sstuff. Children's movies were better when they could be properlyfrightening.Something that really helps The Nightmare Before Christmas work is itsbeing a musical. At first hearing Composer Danny Elfman's skitteringmelodies don't seem suited to singing, but then you realise just howmuch story and characterisation is carried in those lyrics. It's all abit reminiscent of Lerner and Loewe's musicals, in that the songs arevery much used to move the story along. And the tunes – while notexactly ones that are easy to sing along to – are rather pretty.They're also highly evocative – "What's This?" fizzes like a snowstorm,"Sally's Song" feels tender and sad, "Jack's Lament" is by turns proudand melancholy. Oogie Boogie's bluesy number injects a little bit offun to kick off the final act of the movie.And we shouldn't downplay the contribution of actual director HenrySelick. Selick takes this stop motion feature with a cinematicapproach, using close-ups, camera moves, tilts and the like, todramatic. The level of detail to the sets is exceptional, and there isa no-expense-spared look one would not associate with the shorts thismedium has typically been used in. Most importantly however is thepersonality that goes into movement the characters. At ten frames asecond, this isn't exactly smooth, but there is a wonderful texture andlife in stop-motion that you don't quite get in other forms ofanimation. This is probably the biggest gift that The Nightmare BeforeChristmas has given us – the championing and reinvigoration of thisseemingly dated art form, ironically in the very decade that CGI becamethe predominant animation method. It paved the way for many moreclaymation movies, which is undoubtedly a good thing.And as a final thought, I'll just mention that stop motion is anincredibly easy form of animation to do at home. All you need nowadaysis a digital camera and the right software (you can do it withPhotoshop), plus of course a bit of patience and imagination. Itdoesn't have to be clay models – you can animate object you like. Havefun..!

daisy_duck37 2012-05-21 12:40:47

love

This movie made me life i saw it and fell in love almost immediately iam like sally wanting someone she would never thought to notice hernotice her. i love her sally song i always sing it i always used tothink and when will we ever end up together. The animation is sobeautiful for such early work the deign or characters from the clownwith the tear away face to jack skeleton and all of the town folks isawesome. and in the end of course they ended up together what morecould you want then songs laughter sheer omg what

Coventry 2012-05-21 09:07:34

The biggest fun a movie can give you !!!

I hate myself...This movie has been out since TEN years and I never botheredto watch it earlier. "Totally not my style" I thought. Well, I've seldombeen more wrong...This movie is everybody's style !!! I think I'll startwatching it every year now on the 24th of december...( What can I say, I'm atraditional person :-D ) No seriously, I loved this movie. It gave me a warm feeling, plenty oflaughs and a good old portion of sentiment. Heck, I even almost caughtmyself on singing along. I can assure you this means something !Actually, it's one of the few times the singing in a movie isn't annoying.Tim Burton's style is well presented in this story. Only he can tell afairy-tale in such a macabre and morbid way. The atmosphere comes very closeto that other masterpiece of his, Edward Scissorhands. The coorporation withDanny Elfman only makes the whole finished project more terrific.SPOILERS !!!!!!!!!The story is about Jack Skellington. The pumpkin-king of Halloween town. Inthis cute little world, a large amount of horrible creatures prepare thecelebration of Halloween. After the annual holiday, Jack is a bitdisappointed and takes a long walk. He ends up in Christmas town. Thisvillage is similar to Halloween town only they're responsible for thepreparation of Christmas. Jack is so enthusiast about this that he wants tointroduce this idea in Halloween town. Jack is set to replace "Santa Claws"and he will ride out to give presents to the children on Christmasevening!END SPOILERS !!!!!!!The characters in this wonderful story are very memorable. The wicked Dr.Finklestein on top. He looks like an evil version of Duckman and he openshis metal skull to scratch his brains. Very funny ! The female he created,Sally, is adorable and she's the greatest tribute to "The Bride ofFrankenstein" I've ever seen. Many other great references to classic horrorfilms and I always appreciate things like that. The Boogieman, the Mayor, the witch...all these characters deserve theirshare of credit but I think I'll just stop here and finish by saying thatthis movie is highly recommended. Favorite "rewind"-scene: Jack tries to explain the concept of Christmas torest of his town through a song. They don't see the whole point of it andwonder why this whole thing doesn't involve death or horror. Hilarious !!

Jessica Kolk 2012-05-19 20:09:48

A ghoulish tale with wicked humour....

Jack Skellington is the pumpkin king of Halloween Town. He is veryfamous in his city and also the object of Sally's affection, a dollthat was made by Dr. Finkelstein to serve him. Jack is tired of doingthe same presentations every year for the Helloween,and he tries tothink about something new, but the inspiration never comes. One day,while walking with his ghost dog, Jack stumbles into Christmas Town bymistake. He stays amazed with what he sees, and decides to copy theidea to do in Helloween town,even kidnapping Santa Claus. He tells thepeople of his city about his idea, and spite of the fact that theydon't get very well the Christmas idea,they help to produce the moststrange and bizarre 'toys' for the human kids,like bats,spiders andGothic dolls. But things are not the way he imagined....

quin1974 2012-05-19 06:12:04

Tim Burton on steroids

What do you get when you give Tim Burton the chance to let his imaginationrun wild without the limitations of real-life shooting and setbuildingetc.The Night Before Christmas is the answer.Everything in this movie looks absolutely stunning. Tim Burton had a fieldday designing this incredibly handsome puppet movie. 'Cause that's what itis, if you hadn't noticed this before. The mistake is easily made becausethe characters move so fluently that after a while you forget you arewatching stop-motion animation.The story is about the king of Halloweentown, Jack Skellington who is tiredof doing the same thing each year after year after year. Scaring peopledoesn't fulfill his desires anymore and he wants out. His wishes are met andhe finds a portal in the middle of the woods with access to the varioustowns of the holidays, Easter, Thanksgiving, St. Patricks Day, and of courseChristmas. He enters the portal and is thrown into the serene and happyworld of Christmas Town. Here he first experiences what the world could belike when people are jolly and happy. He wants this, too, and he decides tosteal Christmas and make this his new job.That's where everything goes wrong, the people in Halloweentown cannotunderstand what Christmas stands for, and they give a twist to Christmasthat the children in the world will not soon forget. Jack kidnaps SandyClaws (Santa Claus) and poses as the New Santa. One girl has a premonitionthat everything is going to go wrong, Sally tries to convince Jack that heshould call the whole adventure off, to no avail.The rest is history...The art direction is absolutely stunning, it will take several viewings tograsp all the details in the scenes. The songs are beautiful, especially theones by Jack (voice of composer Danny Elfman himself).The real treat in this are the supporting cast, these are so funny andwell-done that they almost steal the show.One problem: The relationship between Sally and Jack is not worked outproperly to my idea, this could have gotten a little bit more attention inthe script. And how did Sally know that Santa was imprisoned by the BoogieMan?Apart from these minor setbacks, this is a movie to cherish on i.e. DVD andwatch over and over and over and over. It is up there in the ranks ofWallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, and James and the Giant Peach (Selicksother stop-motion flick)9/10

2012-05-19 05:04:10

JACK~THE PUMPKIN KING!!!

i love this movie and well all i have to say is jack is awsome!!!! Bye

2012-05-18 06:34:11

ghastly entertaining, with laughs to scare anyone!

This colorfully entertaining film will take you back to the scary nightmares of your childhood. And, with any luck, will put the entire holiday season into perspective. I wish that there was a film like this when I was a kid!

2012-05-15 02:27:58

A holiday movie gone wrong!!!

Loser(...)This one is definitely rotten to the core. You don't mix Holloween with Christmas! It is simply not done. Although, the songs were fun and creative. And, Danny Elfman has a nice, strong, deep voice.

Andrew Nixon 2012-05-14 11:21:14

A dark, but enjoyable animated holiday tale...

A dark, but enjoyable animated holiday tale by Tim Burton that's brought tolife with the quality music of Danny Elfman's. Jack Skellington is the kingof Halloween Town. After discovering Christmas town, he tries his best tobring Christmas to his neck of the woods. It brings us a good, new holidaystory, but it's the stunning animation and music that give this movie it'sedge. It's a feast for the senses and highly enjoyable to watch even withit's dark tones. *** (Out of 4)

2012-05-09 11:19:29

Outstanding As Ever!

This movie was a pleasure to watch yet again, I grew up loveing this movie and I still do love it. Though I never got a Chance to see it in the theaters so this was a great thing to me. And the 3-D Could have been a bit better I think, But since this movie was Allready made, they had to work with what they had. The color was much clearer then I would have thought, and I even noticed tons of things I didn't before because of this! The music is still as outstanding as ever, as well as the plot and unforgetable charcters! I honestly had a great time seeing it, and I would recomend seeing it to others!~MelonKitsune

xavrush89 2012-05-09 01:37:03

I watch this every Halloween.

What's not to love? The songs are fun (if not as catchy as the ditties in atypical Disney animated flick), the animation is top notch, and the story isas inventive as any ghost story I've ever seen or read. Jack Skellington isa great character (and his little dog too!), while Catharine O'Hara (who cando no wrong in my book) adds a sweet charm to the story as Sally. What agreat film to watch with kids, HOWEVER, the really little ones might be tooyoung for a scene which depicts Santa Claus in jeopardy. This is a blast,and a great video to have playing in the background if you're having aHalloween party. Once again, Tim Burton shows himself to be the master ofthe macabre. Grade: A

Gerrald 2012-05-08 04:05:53

Greatest Children's movie of all time.

Jack Skellington's search for Self through attempting to expand the boundsof his world is easily the best film intended for children I have ever seen.The combination of Burton's writing and Elfman's lyrics and singing make foran enjoyable ride. Burton's story is told beautifully through the use ofclaymation. Danny Elfman's songs are both eerie and humorous at the sametime, and after the first veiwing, the urge to sing along is irrepressible.This film is a must-watch for anyone who has ever dreamt of somethingbetter...

XsWeEtLiLGiRL90x 2012-05-07 20:11:49

Looks like nothing...don't be fooled...unbelievable movie!

This movie may have looked like nothing in the trailers or by the cover ofthe box, but please, and i am begging, please, don't be fooled. This movieis a masterpiece that is bound to be a classic. I saw this when I wasyounger and really loved it, and since then, I have bought and continued towatch this movie. I know I will for years to come as well. This is a greatmovie that I even watch when it is not near christmas or halloween. The artin this, may seem nothing but stickfigures but you have been fooled. This isa fast paced movie, that does not leave you bored or unsatisfied. After thefirst 5 minutes you will be hooked and I guarentee that if you don't buy it,you will watch it again. I urge everyone, young and old to see this movie.This is a very creative movie and i give it 5 out of 5 stars! SEE ITASAP!

2012-04-30 12:45:25

Great

My copy of The Nightmare Before Christmas was perfect, brand new and works great. I will be buying more products from Amazon.com

Rachel 2012-04-29 21:53:08

Best ever

This is the best movie ever! The beauty of all the songs, the amazing set,the whole THING is just wonderful. I've seen it so many times I'vememorizedthe whole thing. I recommend it highly, it is my favorite movie. And TimBurton is a genius.

2012-04-27 21:36:54

How can you not own this movie...

If there were any other children's for everyone to own beside this one it is Willy Wonka.This is classic fairy tale for everyone.This edition is a much better improvement over the previous DVD release. The commentary is stiff and weak, but the extras are great.Buy it. I love it, so why shouldn't you?

2012-04-27 06:14:46

The Best Movie I've Seen So Far!

This review is from: Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas [VHS] (VHS Tape) This is such a charming movie that it should have been rated G! The voice acting is done so well and the songs are very catchy!! I recommend this movie to eveyone especially children. Don't worry parents-this is nowhere near scary and it is in no way inappropriate for little ones. Children of all ages will love the bubbly characters and how they celebrate Halloween.