The Nightmare before Christmas (29 October 1993)
directed by Henry Selick
starring Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Paul Reubens, Greg Proops
|
MPAA rating: Studio: Touchstone Pictures, Skellington Productions Script: Tim Burton, Michael McDowell, Caroline Thompson Music: Danny Elfman Running time: 76 minutes Suggested retail price: $19.99 (US) Tags: Animation; boogie men; Christmas; Halloween; Santa Claus; skeletons; vampires Tactical strength: [7/10]
|
for some scary images
Essentially The Nightmare before Christmas presents a common cautionary tale that we should stick to what we know rather than reaching too far. Jack Skellington (Danny Elfman), the Pumpkin King, lives in Halloween town and along with the other townsfolk helps make Halloween a scary event. Jack has gotten bored with all the scaring and while walking through the woods finds a doorway to Christmas town. Delighted with the spirit he finds there, Jack decides that he wants to run Christmas. So, he kidnaps Santa and engages the "good" people of Halloween town to make all the Christmas presents. Obviously, the presents made by ghouls and vampires don't have the same pleasing qualities as those made by Christmas elves. Jack realizes his mistake and releases Santa in time to save Christmas. In the process, Jack realizes that he should stick with what he knows best, and he vows to make the next Halloween the scariest ever.
The typical and unsurprising plot doesn't provide much satisfaction, but visually Nightmare provides a fun, creative atmosphere that has so much detail that you can see something new every time you watch. When you add music, lyrics, and vocals by Danny Elfman, you get lively and clever film that you can watch over and over, in spite of the clichéd plot.
I do find it interesting that the basic morals of this movie really go against the general message of popular culture. Generally, pop culture passes along the message that if you work hard, you will succeed at whatever you try. Just about every Disney movie propagates this message, and you find this message in most other popular movies as well. Nightmare, on the other hand, shows a character that works hard at what he wants, but ultimately fails because his skills really lie in another area. Jack cannot succeed as the host of Christmas cheer, even though he works hard at that goal, because he doesn't have the necessary skills or even the destiny to succeed. Now perhaps we could link Jack's failure to his methods. He does use kidnapping as a means to his end. In essence, Nightmare doesn't challenge the popular culture message, since pop culture also requires that characters only use ethical means to achieve their ends, and in most pop culture movies, all who violate popular morals receive punishment and retribution. Perhaps if Jack had worked in cooperation with Santa, Jack could have negotiated a more diverse and cooperative holiday workplace.
Related Item from Amazon.com
  DVD |
