Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas - Blu-ray Review

Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas coming to Blu-ray is a dream come true to its fans. As a fan of the original theatrical release, I have fallen in love with Nightmare time and time again, on VHS, and DVD, and now the clarity of Blu-ray gives me goosebumps.

From Danny’s Elfman’s opening songs (I sing ‘This is Halloween’ at odd times in my head), the Noir artistry filled-world of Halloween Town comes to life. In the special features ‘The Making of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas’ (not exclusive to Blu-ray but included), the creators describe how they wanted to make the three separate worlds look differently.

Halloween town is dark, shadowy, and filled with the classic swirls. Christmas town is, of course, bright and happy, colors pop at you (especially on Blu-ray). The real world, at the end of the film, is a combination of the two worlds: gray tones but with some color. If unfamiliar with the plot, Jack the Pumpkin King (aka Jack Skellington), is so bored with his duties in Halloween Town that he wreaks havoc when he accidently falls into Christmas Town. Jack is one of the most lovable characters ever animated onto the screen. He looks like a long, thin skeleton, (spider-like was the description said in the special features) but he is not horrific! Taking over Christmas becomes a mistake he tries to undo. Filled with other amazing characters, such as Sally, the Mayor, Dr. Finkelstein, Lock, Shock, and Barrel, Nightmare is a beautiful, adventurous ride into the soul of imagination, self-discovery, and admitting wrong. That is the heart of the story, but wrapped around it (not unlike a Christmas package with textured paper) is the style of artistry combining two holidays that should not be combined! However, we are profoundly glad that Tim Burton’s imagination lends to the bizarre, and Danny Elfman’s music transcends the story and the art and almost becomes a living thing unto itself. I am not sure why Nightmare works, but it works so well, and all on so many different levels. I have always been in awe - and can sum up Nightmare with two words: pure genius.

The special features are a great reason to include the Blu-ray version into your collection. They include an exclusive to Blu-ray Tim Burton introduction talking about the quality of the picture of Nightmare on Blu-ray, ‘What’s This’, a tour of Jack’s Haunted Holiday Mansion, and two of Burton’s previous films, ‘Frankenweenie’ (uncut with a new introduction by Burton) and ‘Vincent’. Finding out how a classic has come to be is always interesting to me, and the reading of Tim Burton’s original poem by Christopher Lee was spellbinding. Lee’s voice really brings the work to life (not that we haven’t seen the finished product), and seeing some of the artwork included as it is read is a boost.Burton also describes how he was standing in front of a storefront watching the window being changed from Halloween to Christmas when he got the idea. It’s amazing how we can find inspiration in the day-to-day workings of life - simply walking down the street, looking at store fronts, and the stirring of a great story sparks. Other special features include All-New Audio Commentary by Burton, Elfman, and director Henry Selick, Storyboard-to-film comparison, deleted scenes (some of which include Jack experimenting with Christmas through the use of science, and extra scenes that involve Lock, Stock, and Barrel, all that were cut due to time restrains), original theatrical trailers and posters. The Behind the Scenes Making of Nightmare, while not exclusive to Blu-ray, is very interesting - the creators explain how the film was brought to life through the use of stop-motion and claymation figures. The tenacity of the people who worked on this film---or any stop motion - is amazing to me.The ultimate patience that went into every second of film truly makes you stop and think. The trivia that abounds - such as the film took three years from start to finish, and seeing some of the 400+ heads of Jack Skellington, really gives you pause and an appreciation of the art and hard work involved.

Bringing Nightmare to Blu-ray gives the feel of the film even more texture than before. Not only the colors seem to pop at you, but the FEEL of the whole film pop. You feel like you could run your fingers across your TV’s screen and touch the ridges and bumps of Halloween Town. It is that good. And it is hard to look away from. My two sons, ages ten and five, who claimed not to like my choice in viewing opportunity, stood at the door, mesmerized. So for sheer clarity alone, the Blu-ray version is worthwhile, and any fan of Burton, or Noir, or Jack Skellington will want this. As with bringing older films to Blu-ray, some problems occur. One thing I did see was that you can see the wires of the bats as they pass the moon. A mere glitch, and your eye has to be quick to catch it, but certainly not a reason to exclude this wonderful experience. I highly, highly, highly recommend Nightmare on Blu-ray! This is a must, must see. You won’t be disappointed.