The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

AKA Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas AKA the one that everyone thinks was directed by Tim Burton when it was really Henry Selick who should have got more of the credit.

There's no denying that Tim Burton has his fingerprints all over this, it was developed from an original poem that he wrote when he was a Disney animator in the early 1980s and uses many key players he has used again and again in his movies, but it's important to remind people that Henry Selick really guided this movie through the years that it took to get it on the big screen (while Burton was only present for a number of days).

Lovingly crafted, this is stop motion animation that easily puts itself right alongside the very best examples of the craft. It's full of beautiful little touches, macabre delights in every scene, and while the kids will keep returning to spend time with the strange characters and perhaps sing along with the songs, adults can take in fresh details with every viewing.

The story is all about Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon though the singing voice is provided by Danny Elfman), the pumpkin king. Jack is an important resident in Halloweentown but he's starting to lose his enthusiasm for Halloween. That's not good because Halloweentown is all about the holiday, as soon as one is over, the countdown to the next begins. When he discovers Christmas Town, Jack is inspired and re-energised. He decides that Christmas shouldn't be something excluded from the residents of Halloweentown and he immediately plans to put himself in charge of the event for a year. This will mean kidnapping Santa Claus but keeping him safely away from nasty Oogie Boogie (Ken Page), creating toys and flying animals to pull a sleigh and getting a jolly Santa suit made for him by a patchwork ragdoll named Sally (Catherine O'Hara). Sally has a bad feeling about everything but Jack isn't listening.

I almost, ALMOST, class The Nightmare Before Christmas as a perfect movie. The visuals are gorgeous throughout, most of the songs are winners (with the high point being the wonderful "What's This?" although the opening number, "This Is Halloween" really gets everything off to a great start) and the story is a delightful, simple one with good lessons to be learned. The only big mark against it is that the second half of the movie can't keep up the high, high standard set by the first half. The second half is still very good but it has a number of the slightly weaker musical numbers and has to tie everything up as opposed to the pieces being put into place in the first half. In fact, the scenes in which Jack is trying his hand at Christmas are the weakest in the whole film, mainly because the style and design of the film doesn't fit as well with Anytown, USA as it does with the quirky Holiday worlds.

I feel like I'm nitpicking but I'm only highlighting the very small points that stop this from being a solid 10/10 classic. Despite those very minor flaws, I have still watched this film more than almost any other movie in my collection and I can still watch it repeatedly at any point between Halloween and Christmas (the optimum viewing period, of course). If you haven't seen it yet then do yourself a favour and get to it this Christmas. If you have seen it already then you're probably wondering why I rated it "so low".

9/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nightmare-Christmas-Collectors-Edition-Blu-ray/dp/B001D7WIZ4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1354457233&sr=8-2

Christmas At Pee Wee's Playhouse (1988)

I, like many other non-Americans, have never watched Pee Wee's Playhouse. In fact, if it wasn't for Tim Burton making a movie based around the manchild played by Paul Reubens I am pretty sure that I wouldn't have a clue who Pee Wee ever was. But Burton made his movie and I found out about the character. That didn't make me immediately want to seek out the children's TV show that he used to front but over the years I kept hearing more and more about Pee Wee's Playhouse and I must admit that I became slightly intrugued. Then someone told me about this Christmas special and I knew that I had to see it.

It's so crazy and surreal that I'm not sure if I can do it justice but I'll try. I think the best thing is to describe the very basic format of the show, for the benefit of people like myself who had never before seen it. Pee Wee goes about his playhouse being very childish and playful and interacting with a number of people who stop by to see him. He also interacts with a Magic Screen, a talking bit of floor, the contents of his fridge and many other living things that shouldn't be living. If you're a UK resident of my generation then let me put it this way - try to imagine Rik from The Young Ones fronting a show for kids while wandering about the house that the gang used to share.

As it's Christmas there is a magical feeling in the air and the opportunity to get lots and lots of gifts. There are also even more visitors than usual as everyone tries to get involved with the Christmas cheer. Grace Jones is accidentally delivered to the Playhouse when she should have gone to The White House and she gets to sing and dance before having to leave, Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg pop onscreen to quickly say hello, Little Richard can't seem to manage walking on snow and ice, Magic Johnson joins the fun, K. D. Lang sings Jingle Bell Rock, Cher makes a brief appearance and Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello are forced to make lots and lots of Christmas cards at Pee Wee's behest.

Go back and read that paragraph again and remember that I still haven't covered everything in the show.

Reuben co-directed with Wayne Orr and co-wrote with John Paragon and he certainly gave the viewing public good reason to always remember Pee Wee. Everything about the show is slightly loony but in a good way, a way that kids will love and adults will also be able to enjoy. You might think that it's not worth considering as a seasonal viewing but, trust me, it's like eating a whole fruit loaf made of edible cracker jokes while washing it all down with mulled wine. That may not sound like a good thing but I think it is. The end result is a warm, fuzzy glow and a smile and a feeling that you've been slipped some candy-coated LSD.

8/10

You can pick this up on Region 1 DVD here - http://www.amazon.com/Pee-Wees-Playhouse-Christmas-Special/dp/B0002IQASG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1353882197&sr=8-4&keywords=pee+wee%27s+playhouse

But the uninitiated may first want to check it out on YouTube, where someone has kindly placed the whole thing (see it here).