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(Tim Burton's) The Nightmare
Before Christmas (1993)
In Tim Burton's (and director Henry Selick's) imaginatively
dark musical fantasy and original yet twisted tale - there was amazing
technical brilliance displayed with stop-motion animated puppets
and originally-composed songs (by Danny Elfman) - it was the first full-length
stop-motion animated film, based on the parodic poem of the same
name by visionary producer Burton, written when he was a Disney animator;
it had wonderfully- realized set designs -- such as the two holiday
dream-worlds: the dark, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari-ish and The
Night of the Hunter-ish Halloween Town, and the round, bright
Christmas Town:
- the amazing opening "This Is Halloween"
by the denizens of Halloween Town (spooks, goblins, ghosts, witches,
skeletons, and other creatures, etc.), to introduce their locale
- the main character: a bored, depressed and skeletal
Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon with Elfman supplying his singing
voice), known as the 'Pumpkin King' - wearing a black pin-striped
suit complete with a bat bow-tie and black dress shoes
- Jack's existential torch song "Jack's Lament" was
performed while shy rag-doll Sally (Catherine O'Hara), his future
understanding and loyal girlfriend, eavesdropped on him in the graveyard
as he climbed to the top of a curlicue hill (silhouetted by the full
moon): ("...Oh, somewhere deep inside of these bones / An emptiness
began to grow..."); he had grown weary of his repetitive role
as the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town's pagan holiday
"This is Halloween"
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"Jack's Lament"
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- Jack's discovery, through one of many holiday portals
(Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc.),
the enchanting, radically-different snowy, fun-filled and sparkling
Christmas Town; he delivered a show-stopping song-and-dance "What's
This?" in reaction to the joyous nature of Christmas Town,
with snowmen, ice-skating, elves, polar bears, strings of brightly-colored
lights, and candycanes, mistletoe, chestnuts roasting on a fire:
("There's children throwing snowballs instead of throwing
heads, they're busy building toys and absolutely no one's dead!...")
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The Entry-Portal (on a Tree Trunk) to Christmas
Town, and
Jack's First View of Christmas Town
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- at a town meeting with Halloween Town's citizens
upon his return, Jack described what Christmas was all about (wrapped
gifts, Xmas trees, stockings), including a red-suited man named
Santa Claus (interpreted as "Sandy Claws") with a reindeer
sled
- because of Jack's obsession with trying to capture
the town's jollyness, he requested that three devilish trick-or-treat
children (Lock, Shock, and Barrel) go on a secret mission to kidnap
the leader of Christmas Town, and they contemplated their plan with
the song "Kidnap the Sandy Claws"
(although their first mistaken abductee was the Easter Bunny!)
- Sally (with the power of premonitions) came to warn
Jack of his misguided plans ("But it seems wrong to me, very
wrong"); he assigned her to sew him a red Santa suit
- in the "Making Christmas" sequence, Jack
assigned Christmas-type jobs to everyone in Halloween Town, such
as making presents, and building a sleigh, but was unaware that the
citizens were making unbelievably frightening presents placed in
gift boxes
- Jack's well-meaning but disastrous mission to kidnap
the leader of Christmas Town put Santa Claus into jeopardy, when
he was taken to the evil gambler - the Oogie-Boogie Man (Ken Page)
- the sleigh's return to Christmas Town - with imposter
Jack in a Santa suit commandeering a coffin-shaped sleigh pulled
by reindeer skeletons - he delivered scary Halloween gifts instead
of Christmas gifts - there were images of terrified children opening
up their horrific presents: ("And what did Santa bring you,
honey?") (i.e., a shrunken head, a scary yellow duck, bats,
a large toy snake that ate Christmas trees, etc.)
- the fantastic "Poor Jack"
song - Jack realized his mistake and sang a torch song in an angel
headstone's arms - lamenting: "What have I done? / What have
I done? / How could I be so blind?"
- the scene of Jack's rescue of both Sally and Santa
Claus from the Oogie-Boogie Man, who was unmasked (when a thread
was pulled from his garment) and revealed to be a swirling mass of
bugs under his garment; Jack apologized to Santa Claus/Kris Kringle
("I'm afraid I've made a terrible mess of your holiday"),
who reprimanded Jack but then assured him that he could return to
Christmas Town and fix things
- in the sweet, triumphant and romantic finale again
set in the graveyard, Jack finally realized his love for Sally; he
spied Sally stealing away to pluck petals from a flower on the top
of the snowy curlicue hill, silhouetted by the full moon; he approached
her, and while clutching his breast, he sang about his attraction
to her: (Jack: "My dearest friend, if you don't mind, I'd like
to join you by your side. Where we can gaze into the stars" Jack
and Sally (in union): "And sit together, now and forever, for
it is plain as anyone can see, we're simply meant to be")
- the film's ending - the couple embraced in the light
of a full moon and kissed, as Jack's red-nosed, ghostly pet dog Zero
flew into the sky to become a sparkling star
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Jack Skellington
(The Pumpkin King)
Rag-Doll Sally
The Mayor of Halloween Town
Christmas Town Sign
Jack's Explanation of Christmas Practices
Jack's Request For Townsfolk to Make A Sleigh
Lock, Shock, and Barrel on Secret Mission to Kidnap Santa
Claus
"Making Christmas"
Santa Claus Kidnapped
The Oogie-Boogie Man
"And What Did Santa Bring You, Honey?"
Christmas Tree Snake
"Poor Jack "
Unmasking of the Oogie-Boogie Man
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