The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
This one is a bit of an outlier in this string of peerless Disney classics. It’s not bad by any means and is really very creative and unique, it just doesn’t fit in somehow. I must also admit that it’s not one of my favourites. This was actually the first time I watched it all the way through. I can totally see why it appealed to a whole generation of children and young people who maybe thought they were ‘edgy’? but its just not really for me. I do like some Tim Burton films. Edward Scissorhands is awesome, but I really dislike the new Alice films, so its swings and roundabouts with his movies for me.
But as I said you cannot argue it’s a bad movie, and there are positives and negatives, so let’s start with what we liked.
The look of this movie is spectacular. In terms of transporting you into an entirely new world, this may be one of the most successful Disney films ever. There are haunting images in the film that really stick with you. They embrace the grotesque and spooky aesthetic so fully that I think I might have found the film frightening if I’d watched in as a little kid. This is quite a ballsy move on the part of Disney (although not under their own name at the time I believe), for which they get props from me. I also respect the fact that the movie plops you down in the middle of Halloween Town and just lets you get on with it, not trying to over-explain anything. It respects the intelligence of its audience, believing that if the fantasy world is created effectively enough it won’t require lots of exposition. I think kids respond to this unpatronising approach well, so I’m all for it. All in all a lot of care and attention, not to mention creativity, has gone into the creation of every aspect of this movie and it really works. It must have taken them ages!
The music is also brilliant. It’s far more successful as a complete musical piece than some other movies because the songs all sound like they come from the same movie. They are very consistent and create an overall sound for the movie that contributes to the atmosphere created by the visuals. The songs are beautiful and weird and unsettling and just work extremely well.
In terms of what we didn’t like it’s a bit harder to put my finger on. It may come down to this just not really being my sort of thing. I can appreciate it, but maybe I just can’t like it very much. The characters, without exception, seem to be fairly horrible. And I guess they’re meant to be, but it makes them quite difficult to identify with. Some of them are also a little underdeveloped. However, this again could be explained away by saying that they’re archetypes, or that they’re meant to be larger than life - it may just come down to it not being my thing again!
My other issue is that I don’t really know what this movie is trying to tell me. I’d like to believe that Jack learns something from his escapade, but if he does it’s hard to put your finger on what it is. And that being the case it’s also hard to put your finger on what the message of the movie is. Is it stay in your lane and don’t try new things? Or the true spirit of Christmas is love? Or Halloween is better than Christmas anyway? Or simply, don’t mess with Christmas? The fact that I don’t know makes me question whether this movie might be style over substance.
And finally, where do I fall on the big ‘Is It A Halloween Movie Or A Christmas Movie’ debate? My answer is...I don’t care. Feels more like a Halloween movie to me but I genuinely don’t care. The debate seems slightly manufactured anyway, as it means Disney can legitimately sell Nightmare Before Christmas merch at Halloween and Christmas, while hapless shoppers shop
So, in summary, although I can totally see why The Nightmare Before Christmas is viewed as a masterpiece by so many people it unfortunately just isn’t for me. And It certainly won’t be making it onto my must-watch Christmas movies list. It does not even compare to the likes of the Muppet Christmas Carol for me