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

Beetlejuice (1988)

For people who may have forgotten just how good that Tim Burton used to be, for those who have seen nothing from him apart from remakes, Beetlejuice is one of his many, earlier works that will remind you of his imagination, humour and sheer brilliance.

It's the tale of a married couple (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who have their happy life unexpectedly spoiled by premature death. Completely bewildered by their situation, the couple find their situation getting worse and worse as their home is then bought and inhabited by a horrible couple (Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones) and their morbid daughter (Winona Ryder). As they watch their home become "infested" with unpleasant people they turn, in desperation, to Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), a bio-exorcist who claims that he can solve their problem.

Everything here ticks the boxes for a Tim Burton movie - the use of Danny Elfman for a lively score, the macabre subject matter with plenty of humour in there, the wonderful visuals and main roles for some of his favourite people of the 1980s (Keaton, of course, was his choice for Bruce Wayne/Batman and Ryder was also given a starring role in Edward Scissorhands).

The script by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren is enjoyable enough but this is a movie elevated to greatness by a number of flawless performances. Particular praise must go to Michael Keaton, who gives yet another hugely entertaining turn in the title role despite the character not being onscreen for little more than about 15 minutes. Davis and Baldwin are very likeable as the recently deceased couple trying to protect their home while O'Hara, Jones and Glenn Shadix are very UNlikeable as the new people trampling over many happy memories. Shadix, in particular, is irritating and completely pretentious as Otho, someone who pretends to know everything about everything worth knowing. Winona Ryder is very good as the young girl who happens to figure out exactly what's going on before the rest of her horrid family.

There are great depictions of the afterlife, an unforgettable staging of Day-O (and one or two other songs from Harry Belafonte) and a mixed bag of practical special effects that may not hold up as perfect creations but certainly retain plenty of charm. Beetlejuice is a movie that I have always remembered with fondness but haven't seen that often since that first viewing back in the '80s. It's a pleasant surprise to find that it's one of those movies that just gets better and better with each viewing.

9/10

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