Intro:
Here I sit once again, writing to you fine people, on a gorgeous night in Canada. Going along with my theme of animated movies, I will now give you my humble opinion on the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. Being an odder movie then most, it screams Tim Burton, for fans of his; this is one of his best. It may not suit everyone’s liking, but if you trust my judgment, all the power to you.
The Review
Overall Grade: B+
Stars: 3.5
Story
Jack, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, find himself bored with Halloween, wanting something more, different, something to fill his empty heart. Then along comes his faithful dog Zero, who sees Jack’s pain. He brings Jack into the woods, where the doors to the towns of all the Holidays can be found. One door in particular catches Jack’s eye, the door of Christmas Land…
Story Grade: B
Animation
Now I must give them credit where they deserve it. The animation was fantastic, maybe not the typical style, but still very pleasing to the eye. Almost clay-like, but not quite. Very nice.
Animation Grade: B+
Music/Songs
Now, although I did not love every song in this movie, they’re were a few stand outs (What’s This? This is Halloween.) All in all, the songs are very well done, nothing to complain about.
Music Grade: B+
Characters
The characters in TNBC share a common trait with other Disney characters. They’re unforgettable. Jack, Sally, Zero, Lock, Shock & Barrel, Oogie-Boogie, the two-face Mayor. All stand out characters that you won’t soon forget, nothing ordinary about these folks, they’re extraordinary!
Character Grade: B+
Objectionable Content
How much objectionable content can be in a Disney animated feature you ask? Well I’m not one to judge if these truly are ‘objectionable’ so you be your own judge.
Language: Wretched and a couple exclamations of “my god!” also the song Kidnap the Santy Claws has some disturbing lyrics about physically hurting Santa, nothing overly gruesome though.
Overall Review
My thoughts on this movie are quite the same as those of when I first watched it, at age seven. Although it is not one of my favorites, this movie is definitely worth a watch, at least once. I personally wouldn’t recommend it for very young children, considering there are potentially frightening scenes, and false ideas that might confuse small children. For everyone else, I recommend The Nightmare Before Christmas. If not for the story, for the music, if not for the music, then the animation. There are plenty of great aspects, a movie not to be passed up.
