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Tim Burton's
The Nightmare Before Christmas
review by Zach B.
Rated PG
With the voices of Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman
Cahterine O'Hara, Glenn Shadix, Paul Reubens
Directed By Henry Selick
Retail Price: 29.99
Features: Video Trailer, Disney Reccomendations
Specs: 1.66:1 Widescreen, English 5.1 Dolby Digital,
French Surround Track, English Captions, Chapter Search
One of my favorite movies of all time, "The Nightmare
Before Christmas" was the first DVD I ever picked up when I
got my new player. I saw this film all the way back on
opening day when I was living in Los Angeles, I waited on
such a long line for tickets at the El Capitan theater in
Hollywood. But it was worth it. This movie blew me away. No,
it was not the Oscar-nominated visuals (though they did and
still enchant me), but rather the strong story about
stealing other people's joys, the music, the voice acting
and the whole atmosphere in general.
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" finds Jack Skellington,
the pumpkin king of Halloween town. Year after year, he's
tired of everything scary and Halloween in general. One day,
he takes a far walk into a magical forest, where doors with
symbols of holidays are on trees. Jack doesn't seen anything
too interesting - except the tree with the shiny ornaments
and decorations. He opens the door and is transported into a
magical place - Christmastown. Jack soon becomes obsessed
with Christmas and plans to bring Christmas to
Halloweentown, and all over. However, Jack's plans to kidnap
Santa Claws go awry, and so do a lot of things, creating an
enjoyable and warm movie. The voice acting is superior by an
ensemble cast, and so is the musical score and songs written
by Danny Elfman. "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is one of
the best movies I have ever seen, and each time I watch it I
always find something new. This is a movie which everyone
can enjoy and should be in everyone's library (but wait, see
final paragraph).
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" is presented in non
anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.66:1. Detail
is incredible, you can even see the strings on some of the
flying objects! Colors and blacks are solid, however, there
is some grain and artifacts which are noticeable at times,
and some unsaturated colors.
An incredible 5.1 Dolby Digital track, this movie is for
the most part musical oriented and benefits very much from
this mix. Danny Elfman's music sounds so spectacular you may
find yourself lost in it. Dialogue is pretty clear, and
there are some fantastic sound effects and noises to be
heard. This is a very good and creative mix, which the movie
really deserves. A french surround mix is also included.
A trailer for the VIDEO release is included, not the
theatrical trailer as stated on the box. I find this trailer
to be annoying, and what I always find annoying is their
"reccomendations" where they go out and show the box art for
other Disney films. I find it quite a shame Disney didn't
put anything on this disc ( but they are fixing things, see
below).
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" is a delightful movie
suited for anyone with heart. Unless you must own this movie
now, please wait until October 2000 when Disney will release
a special edition for the same price and discontinute this
one. For those who purchase this version, you should be
quite content with the presentation of the movie.
 (5/5, NOT included in
final score)
 (3.5/5)
 (4.5/5)
 (.5/5)
 (3/5,
NOT an average)
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