VHS : The Nightmare Before Christmas [1994]

Rating: - Monumental
This is such a classic film which I have loved since my early childhood. The characters are amazing and the soundtrack will stay with you for years to come. A family favorite for both halloween and christmas and any other occassion!

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Rating: - The Best Nightmare I Ever Had!
I remember seeing this film back in the 90's when I was a kid. It was Christmas Eve, and about 1 o'clock in the morning. I had stayed up specifically to watch the film and i wasn't disappointed. What i found was a whimsical film, dressed in typical Tim Burton stylings played along to another fantastical Danny Elfman score. The minature sets drew me in so much, that I challenge anyone not to be completely taken into the world that has been created for the film. The film starts ofF stronger than it finishes, with a slightly disappointing final act. Maybe the film is a slight case of style over substance. Overall though, a great film with wicked lashings of black comedy, and visuals which are pure Candy. Candy Canes, to be more specific!

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Rating: - An epic masterpiece.
I remember seeing this film the night before christmas when i was about 7 it freaked me out so much, years later I bought it on dvd and what a film. I usually don't like musically but this has a haunting feel to the film which makes it alot better. I think Tim Burton is a genius I have seen Ed Wood and his re-make of Charlie and the chocalte factory & there excellent. The animation to this film is incredible, the characters are excellent the story is very clever. It can be a bit childish but who cares.

I think the bonus features are really good, as it has 2 early short Tim Burton films which are very creepy. If you're interested in buying this film then my only advice is buy it. It's cheap and it's brilliant.

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Rating: - Nightmare Before Christmas
'The Nightmare Before Christmas' is one of those wonderfully atmospheric films that has easily stood the test of time. It is as delightful and quirky now as when it was initially released. The stop-motion animation is superb and the dark Tim Burton Characters are perfect for the story. Danny Elfman provided the music and songs for this film and they stick in your head at first listen and you can't help but grin and sing along with subsequent viewings. The story is unique and fun and although it has a very dark turn to it, it is still fine viewing for children, although I tend to feel adults may appreciate it more. This is one film I watch annually (yes, at Christmas time!) as a matter of tradition now and I love it every time. A modern classic, and rightly so, and if you haven't seen this film you're missing out on a rare treat. Snap it up quick and enter it's weird and wonderful world.

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Rating: - This year Christmas is ours
Only Tim Burton could produce a holiday musical about Halloween's grotesqueries taking over Christmas.

And in fact he did. Burton wrote and produced a charming stop-motion musical called "The Nightmare Before Christmas," which is as close as we'll ever get to a Burton Christmas film. And there's rarely a dull moment in this town called Halloween -- from start to finish, it's a quirky, macabre, vintage-flavoured ride through the darker side of everybody's favorite holidays.

In Halloween Town, the undead Jack Skellington is king, and each Halloween the residents try to make their celebration even more horrible than the year before.

But this year, something is missing for Jack, and he starts wondering if scaring people is all his life has. He ends up wandering into a sort of holiday junction, and finds a portal to Christmas Town -- it's full of snow, lights, presents and innocent fun. Jack is instantly enamoured of Christmas, and decides that for this year, the residents of Halloween Town are going to celebrate Christmas.

He manages to convince the other Halloween residents -- except the sweet rag-doll Sally -- to go along with his plan. So Halloween Town is redecorated and filled with presents (in a suitably ghastly style) and "Sandy Claws" is abducted so Jack can take his place. But are the people of Halloween Town just not suited to innocent merriment, and can the Pumpkin King fill the capacious red suit when Christmas Eve rolls around?

The idea of Halloween ghouls and spooks deciding to take over Christmas sounds terribly twee in concept, like a gimmicky children's book. Fortunately Tim Burton's darkly humorous sense of humor and delightfully gothic designs -- as well as Henry Selick's brilliant direction -- end up turning the movie into something that is more than just another kid's movie. Think a Burtonesque "Princess Bride."

Much of its charm comes from the richness of Burton's visuals -- his Halloween Town is saturated in spiky iron fences, ghost dogs, insects, mad scientists, and a spooky cloudy night that never ends. And though the inhabitants of Halloween Town are devoted to being grotesque and spooky, there's a lighthearted benevolence in their actions at all times. It almost makes Christmas Town look... dull.

But it's also an incredibly funny, sweet little movie, with plenty of heart. There's an adorable little love story between Jack and Sally ("My dearest friend, if you don't mind..."), despite Jack's total cluelessness. And Burton weaves in lots of solid musical numbers ("There's children throwing snowballs/instead of throwing heads/they're busy building toys/and absolutely no one's dead!").

But the crown jewel is Burton's macabre sense of humor. Hardly a scene goes by without a creepy gag (one child's present is a shrunken head) or clever dialogue ("Jack, please, I'm only an elected official here. I can't make decisions by myself!"). But the best humor comes from the Halloween-town's residents eagerly trying to be festive, and only making Christmas even creepier than Halloween ever could be.

For a skeleton puppet, Jack Skellington is a pretty adorable hero -- he's earnest, generous, but suffers from a bit of ennui from the same old performance every year. His meditative songs about Halloween and his attempts at Christmas add an introspective note to him as well. And he's backed by a bunch of lovable characters, with Sally and the ghost dog Zero at the forefront.

"Nightmare Before Christmas" is a macabre, wildly adorable little movie that reminds us why we love Halloween (besides the candy). Sometimes the dark and fun go hand in hand.