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Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before
Christmas
Special Edition
review by Zach B.
Rated PG
Studio: Disney
Running Time: 76 Minutes
With the voices of Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman,
Catherine O'Hara, Glen Shadix, Paul Reubens
Directed by Henry Selick
Retail Price: $29.99
Features: Audio Commentary with Director Henry Selick
and Director Of Photography Pete Kozachik, "The Making Of
The Nightmare Before Christmas" Featurette, Deleted Scenes,
Film-to-Storyboard Comparison, Storyboard Gallery, Still
Gallery with Conceptual Artwork and Character Animation
Tests, Tim Burton's short films "Frankenweenie" and
"Vincent", Posters, Theatrical Trailers
Specs: 1.66:1 Non-Anamorphic Widecreen, Dolby Digital
5.1 English, DTS 5.1 English, French 5.1 Dolby Surround,
English Captions, Spanish Subtitles, Chapter Search (20
Chapters)
I never really ever had a favorite movie ever. Sure, I've
enjoyed many movies a lot, but nothing ever considered to be
a "favorite" or "best" or whatever you want to call it. That
all changed after I saw "The Nightmare Before Christmas",
which, at the time of writing this, it's been a good seven
years since I originally saw it. I waited a long time to get
tickets at Hollywood's famed El Captian theater where it
opened first before expanding the next two weeks, and there
were many sold out shows, but I was blown away by it. It was
like nothing I had ever seen before. I loved the characters,
I loved the music, I loved the story, I loved every little
thing about the movie. I was always into
claymation/stop-motion too, and the visuals were amazing to
me, so that sweetened the deal.
The movie took over three years to make, and if you are
not familiar with stop-motion, it's a painstaking process.
Move the models a tiny bit, shoot, stop the camera. It's
tedious, but when on film, it looks really neat. Tim Burton
created the characters and outlined the story too. I was
pretty surprised to learn in the production booklet included
with the disc that Burton was originally going to direct the
movie, but due to "Batman Returns" he did not. Still, he
produced it and has a lot of creative input and control on
the film.
So what exactly is the plot to this movie I can't (and
never will stop) raving about? We begin in Halloweentown,
where we meet Jack Skellington, the king of Halloweentown.
Every Halloween, and every day, he's tried of the same old
thing. While everyone has a lot of enthusiasm for scary and
disgusting things, Jack has just had enough. After a little
lamenting to himself, he gets a bit lost and discovers trees
with doors on them. Each door represents a holiday, and the
one with the Christmas three sticks out to Jack, with it's
pretty and shiny colors. He openes the door and is
transported to Christmastown, where Jack is amazed and
really excited about the whole idea of Christmas. So, Jack
decides to steal Christmas and make it his own, with all the
elements of Halloween intact. Of course, things don't go as
planned, and there's a love subplot with a rag-doll named
Sally which is tied right into it.
This movie just plain appeals to me, and every time I
watch it, I never fast foward or get bored, it feels like
I'm watching something new every time. The characters are
all well developed and have a lot of life to them, and the
voice actors do a superb job making them even more real. The
models and sets are wonderfully detailed and vibrant, they
have so much imagination and creativity with them, it's like
watching fireworks, it's all eye candy. The story is also
really, really well drawn out, and teaches the importance of
how we shouldn't take away other people's joys. Finally,
longtime Burton collaborator Danny Elfman weaves a beautiful
score and wonderful songs which truly fit the film. In my
opinion, it's pretty easy to screw up writing songs for this
movie. There is just so much to capture, and so much to tell
without making it stereotypical with the holiday themes and
such. Elfman's music packs a lot of feeling and emotion, and
blends perfectly.
I could go on and on about the movie, but I won't. It
truly is a movie to see for all ages, and a wonderful
achievement in animation, music, filmmaking and
storytelling. If you have negelected to see this movie this
long, get yourself out right now and pick this new special
edition DVD up. I was really unhappy with the previous
version Disney released, and I'm really, really happy
they've re-released it in a way it really, really deserves.
Basically what keeps this disc from being the best that
it really can be is the fact Disney, being lazy, took the
same old transfer from the last DVD edition and stuck it on
here. The region 2 is anamorphic... I mean, for such a great
movie like this, it really annoys the hell out of me. Still,
the transfer on this disc is striking. There is some
unsaturation of colors and a soft image now and then, as
well as just a tiny bit of debris, but detail is really,
really good (you can see some strings if you look closley!)
and a lot of the characters and sets pop right out at you.
While Disney does not give us that anamorphic transfer,
they sorta make amends with the audio (but not completley).
A few days before the DVD was set to hit shelves, Disney
made an announcment that the disc (as well as "James and the
Giant Peach"), were going to include DTS tracks. This really
surprised me and really makes me glad, a movie like
"Nightmare" was really made for sound systems with it's loud
sound effects and wonderful music.
First off there is the Dolby Digital 5.1. It sounds
really nice, and is definently one of the best Dolby Digital
tracks I've heard. All of the channels are made to good use
here, and it does sound really loud and packs a really good
blast. Still, what really makes it stand out is Danny
Elfman's beautiful and wonderous music. The score, the
songs, they are mixed correctly and creatively here. It all
sounds really nice.
Then comes the DTS 5.1 track, an excellent addition to
this disc (or any disc, it's always nice to choose). I felt
the DTS had a little bit more of a tighter sound to it, and
had even more of a blast quality to it. Fidelity is very
good, and the directional fields the sounds go in really
make you feel trapped in Halloweentown and Christmastown.
Again, Elfman's music is brought to full life here, and it
is a bit overwhelming. While the Dolby Digital stands really
well on its own, I do prefer the DTS.
I have no hesitations to give the Audio a perfect score,
it's really well done. Also included is a French 5.1 Dolby
Surround track, plus English and Spanish captions.
I was incredibly disappointed with the original release
of "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Luckily, Disney has
answered our prayers with a special edition with some
excellent supplements. Though most of them have been lifted
from the special edition laserdisc, the extras here are
really nice and will definently please any fan of the movie
(such as myself).
Despite what the box says, Henry Selick is not the only
participant on the Commentary, but Cinematographer
Pete Kozachik. The commentary is a really good listen to,
especially for a movie with so many effects and movie magic
such as this. Both give a really good amount of insight, and
me, being a huge fan of the film, ate it all up. Definently
worth a listen.
The Gallery is divided up into three specific
"worlds": "Halloween Town," "Christmas Town" and "The Real
World". Here you'll find a load of stills, animation tests,
storyboards... it's just really neat to go through. However,
if you have checked out or own the making of "The Nightmare
Before Christmas" book (my hardbound copy is falling apart),
you won't find so many new stills and pictures here.
A Documentary (complete with chapter stops) is
included, but sadly, it's been trimmed by fifteen minutes
from the laserdisc. Still, the interviews and behind the
scenes footage are worth a look.
Deleted Scenes are included as well, seven of them
to be exact. Four actually have films, but the others are
storyboarded out with sound. One is an extended version of
"Jack's Experiments" (with different music) and most of the
scenes do appear really rough. A good majority of the sound
is not completed either, and sometimes storyboards are stuck
in to give you the complete vision. What I found pretty
interesting was a deleted storyboard sequence, which turned
to be an alternative ending and could have been great for a
sequel, but I'm glad they didn't use it. Most of the deleted
stuff is short too, but all in all, it's great to have them
included. Selick also gives a brief commentary before each
segment.
A Storyboard-To-Film comparison of the "Town
Meeting" is included, and is interested from first concept
to final film. I would have liked to see more scenes with
this feature, but at least it is something. I don't think
the laserdisc had this.
The Theatrical Trailer and Theatrical
Teaser are included on the disc, both in full frame. I
haven't seen these in awhile, and are a good into to the
film for those who have never seen it. The Trailer brought
back a lot of memories for me, as well as the various
Posters. I remember seeing them all over bus stops in
L.A., which kept getting me excited about the film, so it's
great those are included on the disc. There is also a
Trailer for "James and the Giant Peach".
Two of Tim Burton's Early Films have been included
on the disc. The first is the black and white,
claymation/animation spectacle Vincent, which lasts
about six minutes and has a boy who wishes he was Vincent
Price. Tim Burton idolized Mr. Price as a boy, so I think
maybe some of the film may very well be
semi-authobiographical. Vincent Price even narrates it.
Still, it's a good watch. Also on the disc is the favorite
Frankenweenie, a whole Frankenstein parody with dogs.
The box says it's uncut, but in truth, is only a tad longer.
Both This is also a good watch and shows off Burton's
talent, and how some parts and styles were actually
inspirations for "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Selick's
short film, "Slow Bob In The Lower Dimensions" is not
included on the disc due to copyright issues. It only
appeared on the first pressing of the special edition
laserdisc.
Finally, the insert includes some production notes about
the movie, and most of it is lifted right from the
interviews from that documentary on the disc. Also, the
disc's menus are highly animated and perfectly fit the mood
of Halloween, which is definently a nice plus.
Curse Disney with the lack of anamorphic enhancment!
Still, the transfer is as good as non-anamorphic ones get,
and the audio will really blow you away. The supplements,
though from the laserdisc, are wonderful additions (which a
movie like "Nightmare" deserves). The original release was
incredibly disappointing, so I'm glad Disney didn't let it
go and put in some time to create a nice, worthy special
edition. Definently a cinematic achievment with great
storytelling and music, and mind-blowing visuals, if you
missed the movie all these years, definently give this DVD a
spin.
 (5/5, NOT included in
final score)
 (3.5/5)
(5/5)
(3.5/5)
 (4/5,
NOT an average)
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