The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) Movie Review - Iconic Tim Burton Musical Masterpiece

It’s the 1st of December and Christmas is just around the corner. With that in mind, maybe you should cram your festive season full of more than just food. Why not pack in a few horror movies as well? That’s exactly what I am going to do so why not join me? It’s our Awful Advent 25 Days of Christmas Horror feature! I know, it’s a crap title, bear with me. I’ll be reviewing a Christmas themed horror movie every day of advent. We will finish up with a review for Christmas Day. Let’s kick things off with an absolute classic that probably isn’t actually a horror movie but whatever, I have to review this film. Tim Burton’s Gothic stop motion musical The Nightmare Before Christmas.

In my opinion. The Nightmare Before Christmas is the perfect Halloween to Christmas transition movie. Sure, there is the entirety of November in between but we already have you covered for that. We reviewed a whole bunch of Fall Themed Horror movies so go check that out. Starting on Halloween. The movie strolls through autumn and right into the winter season. It follows the story of the king of Halloween World Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon) and his attempts to bring Christmas to his friends in the most fiendish way possible.. By taking over for the king of Christmas World Santa.

But is it Horror?

I suppose you could call this cheating a little. The Nightmare Before Christmas is not technically horror. It is, however, filled with horror themes. Some of the characters could have been ripped out of a 30’s Universal Pictures movie. I believe some of the later scenes absolutely show a horror influence, as well. You can’t tell me Oogie Boogie isn’t horror 101 for kids! It’s worth noting the fact that Disney thought this would be too scary for children. With this in mind, they released it under their Touchstone Pictures label. Surely that counts for our Awful Advent feature?

The Nightmare Before Christmas is based on a 1982 Poem by Tim Burton. Burton had wanted to develop a short film of the poem for quite awhile. It wasn’t until 1990 that he actually struck a deal to bring it to the big screen. With Henry Selick set to direct. The movie was greenlit and production started in the summer of 1991. 120 workers filmed and animated on 20 sound stages to bring Nightmare to life. The result was a movie that is tremendously well regarded to this day.

Very Unique

Blending horror with sentiment and good cheer. The Nightmare Before Christmas felt like no other children’s movie around at the time. Taking place predominantly in Halloween Town. The residents are a collection of horrific looking characters with good hearts. Jack Skellington is the leader of the community and everybody looks to him for guidance. Jack is feeling a little lacking in enthusiasm so he sets about stealing Christmas. His vision of Christmas, however, is a little different from most people’s. Accompanied by Danny Elfman’s tremendous score. It is a visual feast, certainly one of the greatest looking stop motion movies of all time.

The stop motion animation here was ahead of its time. Fantastically smooth, the locations were incredibly well lit and impressively detailed. Characters are wonderfully expressive and the movement is never jerky or awkward. Due to the musical nature of the movie. Many of the scenes feature complicated choreography. It’s hard not to appreciate the scope of these parts. Later scenes featuring Jack and the villainous Oogie Boogie are particularly noteworthy. It is brilliantly well done and still one of the best examples of the genre.

Decent Voice Acting

The Nightmare Before Christmas is headed up by some excellent voice performances. We recently reviewed the fantastic Fright Night starring Chris Sarandon. Well, he is back here as the voice of Jack. I absolutely love his performance. It is perfectly fitting for the charismatic Pumpkin King. Needing to express different emotions with just his voice. Jack experiences wonder, amazement, regret and everything in between. It definitely can’t be easy. Sarandon nails it wonderfully, however. His voice performance makes Jack an even easier character to like.

There is a fantastic cast of side characters in Nightmare and they are voiced really well. Particular note goes to the late Glenn Shadix as the Mayor of Halloween Town. A fantastic actor, his character doesn’t feature heavily but many of his lines are very memorable. Danny Elfman joins in every now and then as a few side characters. He has impressive vocal range that is most apparently on show as The Clown With The Tearaway Face. William Hickey has an understated part as Dr. Finkelstein. Ken Page (recently passed away in October 2024) plays the sinister Oogie Boogie. His booming voice lends itself perfectly to the fiendish character.

Often Hilarious

The impressive voice performances extend to Danny Elfman’s magical soundtrack. Initially poorly recieved, it went on to become one of the most iconic of all time. It is almost impossible not to have some of the songs stuck in your head after watching.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a genuinely hilarious film. Featuring subtle jokes aimed at adults as well as stuff purely to make the kids laugh. It is full of wonderful little touches that keep you chuckling throughout. The humour is always well spirited. Nightmare never feels a need to go to the bottom of the barrel to provoke a laugh. It’s a simple thing but Jack Skellington pricking his finger on a needle is a great example. It is ridiculous but always makes me laugh. These small bits of attention to detail are much appreciated and keep the mood light.

Tim Burton’s Vision

The Nightmare Before Christmas is based on Burton’s poem from 1982. An almost Dr Seuss like piece of work, Burton wrote the poem while working at Disney. The entire thing is pretty long and has appeared in various illustrated forms. It tells the story of Jack Skellington and his attempt to steal Christmas. Despite the nature of the work, it is a pretty extensive tale. It manages to basically outline the entire plot of the film. When you realise that this story comes from a poem. It’s something of a surprise that Nightmare manages to follow it so closely.

Taking something that is a basically a collection of verses. Then turning it into a feature length movie is no mean feat. The fact that it is done so well is incredibly impressive. Henry Selick has said that this was essentially Tim Burton’s egg. Selick sat on it to make it hatch. That is true. The Nightmare Before Christmas is, very much, Burton’s vision. He laid out the story, the theme and the look of some of the characters. He really didn’t do the work, though.

Henry Selick’s Baby

Despite Burton’s vision, The Nightmare Before Christmas is Henry Selick’s baby. It feels like a distinctly Selick film. Take the similar themed Coraline for example. The mood and atmosphere is unmistakeable. Selick’s style is equally as dark as Burton’s. It just so happens that the two meshed perfectly. It is almost impossible to imagine anyone doing a better job of bring this film to life. He took Burton’s story and characters and injected them with his own imitable style.

With this in mind, it is somewhat sad that everyone sees Nightmare as a Burton movie. Apparently Burton spent only around 8 days on set. He was busy filming other movies at the time and could not involve himself heavily in production. I am sure anyone who has worked in movies would attest. 8 days out of a year-plus long production is nothing. It’s almost the bear minimum he could do to get a producer credit.

This being said. It’s no surprise that Burton has never put out another movie that feels like Nightmare. Sure, some people would argue Corpse Bride is similar. I would disagree. Outside of the familiar themes they feel very different. The Nightmare Before Christmas is very much Selick’s movie. He deserves most of the credit for creating one of the best stop motion movies of all time. Obviously he proved it is no fluke. Movies like James and the Giant Peach and the aforementioned Coraline were huge. They were both critically and commercially well received. He is an incredible director.

Should You Watch The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Absolutely, everyone should watch The Nightmare Before Christmas, regardless of whether you are a horror fan or not. This is an incredible movie, one of the best kid’s movies of all time. Incredible animation, a compelling story, brilliant voice performances, a fascinating and varied cast, memorable songs and something for fans of both Christmas and Halloween. There are very few negatives here. It sags a bit in the middle and some of the songs are weaker than others. But there is little criticise. This is simply a brilliant holiday classic.

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