Take another trip to Halloween Town as the residents prepare for their special holiday. Halloween? Nope the ghouls and ghosties have kidnapped Sandy Claws and have redone Christmas in their own special way. Now producer Tim Burton’s child themed returns to DVD with some grand new features.
Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon and sung by Danny Elfman) is the king of Halloween Town. Each holiday has its own special location where the residents spend the remainder of the year getting ready for the celebration. One day, Jack stumbles into Christmas Town and is entranced by the color and cheer. So he decides to give Santa (Ed Ivory) the year off and sets three juvenile diligent Halloween towners, Lock (Paul Reubens), Shock (Catherine O’Hara), and Barrel (Danny Elfman), to kidnap the jolly old elf.
The devious, yet lovable, Dr. Finklestein (William Hickey) has created the rag doll-like Sally (Catherine O’Hara) who pines for Jack from afar, when she can get out from under Finklestein’s obsessive hand. The townsfolk of Halloween Town, led by the Mayor (Glenn Shadix), take to Jack’s idea of making Christmas their own and they set about working on all of the items that they’ll need for the event.
Jack’s version of Christmas is not well received by the children of the nation. After a fiery realization, Jack goes to release Santa and set things right. However, his trio of kidnappers is secretly working for Oogie Boogie (Ken Page) and the shady character has other plans for the fat man.
When Tim Burton was a fledgling animator and employed at the Walt Disney Company he pitched his idea for Nightmare before Christmas and was rejected because it was deemed too frightening for kids. After Burton found fame as a director he was given the opportunity to go ahead with his dream project.
In some ways history would repeat itself, as Disney would distance itself from the project by releasing it via their Touchstone Pictures arm. However their hearts would soften in later years and it would bear the Walt Disney moniker when the 3-D version was released.
The film is a fine family movie and though it does feature some darkness it really never does it in a scary fashion. The film was a hit at the box office and I imagine that Disney regretted not having the name recognition, but the profits probably all went into the same cash box.
Ironically, the Haunted Mansion attraction (too scary for the kids?) would start decking itself out around Christmastime in Nightmare garb. What is possibly lost in the long title is that Tim Burton may be the inspiration behind the project but it was Henry Selick who directed the film.
Nightmare would be the first film to attempt traditional stop-motion animation on such a large scale since the days of Rankin/Bass. This traditional technique would add a certain charm to the visuals that would rekindle those happy times in front of the television around holiday time reliving those same Rankin/Bass productions.
The vocal cast is spot on and Danny Elfman’s inspired singing just hits the nail in the head. All of these items mixed together has produced a film that continues to entrance both adults and children alike.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.66:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Disc one features a newly restored version of the film and a new commentary with Tim Burton, director Henry Selick, and Danny Elfman. Next is the new and delightful 7-minute “What’s This?” that looks at the redecoration that the Haunted Mansion goes through and takes you on the ride.
You can watch the tour with the ride narration or a trivia track. There’s also the 37 minute “Off Track” that details the preparations and inspiration for doing the haunted house in Nightmare fashion. Also new is an 11 minute animated version of Burton’s original poem narrated by horror legend Christopher Lee, with a 39 second introduction by Burton.
Finally, the disc concludes with the magnificent (though vintage as are the rest of the special features) 24 minute “the Making of Tim Burton’s Nightmare before Christmas.” Disc two starts with the 30-minute “Frankenweenie” with a 32 second introduction by Burton. Next is the 6-minute “Vincent” about a boy who wants to be Vincent Price, narrated by the merchant of menace himself. Some deleted scenes follow, 3 minutes of deleted storyboards and 5 minutes of deleted animation.
“The World of Tim Burton’s Nightmare before Christmas” is divided into Halloween Town, Christmas Town, and the Real World and features character designs, concept art, animation tests, and other treasures. There’s also a 3-minute storyboard to film comparison, a collection of posters, and the teaser trailer (2 minutes) and theatrical trailer (85 seconds).
Finally, a third disc has a digital copy of the film that you can download to your PC or portable device. The packaging is also wonderful and features a large box with the visage of a happy Jack Skellington. A small disappointment is that the 3-D version wasn’t released.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a happy dream and nothing near a nightmare. This new edition adds some excellent new features as well as porting over the old (though missing the audio commentary with Selick and cinematographer Pete Kozachik from the first release). Nightmare fans will be delighted with this new edition.
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare before Christmas (2-Disc Collector’s Edition) is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for an Oct. 6th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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