Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
"Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion."
Now, my fellow Halloween fans, tell me: How many times do you listen to "This is Halloween" during the spookiest time of the year? Well I know I've been known to play the entire soundtrack on loop for the entire month of October. Danny Elfman really perfects the haunting and enchanting tone of the tale that is Nightmare Before Christmas. Honestly, I think I may have seen the movie maybe a dozen times, but listening to the soundtrack, yeah, that's gotta be at least hundreds of loops. Oogie Boogie's song and Jack's Lament would definitely be in the top three songs along with This Is Halloween.
And just a side note to add to audio, the casting was well done. Shout out to Ken Page, Catherine O'Hara and Danny Elfman for carrying the movie with their awesome voice acting.
While this is Tim Burton's first Animation, Nightmare Before Christmas is an overhaul of the artistic Burton style seen in movies like Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. While Burton animations are far and few in between, all three of his animated features are stop motion, which definitely works best for Burton's designs.
At the time this move came out, Burton was already making a name of himself from his earliest works. Though I believe Nightmare Before Christmas to be the single most greatest culture impact Tim Burton has ever achieved in his life. Jack Skellington is to Halloween what Jesus is to Christianity. Merch is almost guaranteed at any Hot Topic, Spencer's, or any other nerdy store. The Pumpkin King is the face of the holiday as much as Tim Burton himself is. And the mix of the two biggest holidays is practically the most celebrated crossover of all time. This movie basically owns the last third of the year. And given the film's large presence even after (nearly) 30 years, it's already proven to be timeless.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★