Nothing gets me in the mood for autumn like The Nightmare Before Christmas. And since fall is right at our doorstep, the release of a brand new, special edition of Tim Burton’s classic macabre masterpiece seems too good to be true. Thankfully, it is true. A few weeks ago, the film made its way to DVD for the first time in almost ten years, along with a bevy of wonderful bonus features that are guaranteed to make any fan of Skeleton Jack scream out in excitement.
For those who’ve never had the wonderful experience of seeing The Nightmare Before Christmas, it takes place in a village known as Halloweentown, whose inhabitants are charged with the task of organizing and carrying out the fears and frights of Halloween each year. Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king, is the protagonist. Tired of the monotonous repetition that comes with terrifying children once every year, he longs for something more meaningful.
One night, while walking through the woods and brooding over such thoughts, Jack stumbles upon a grove of trees adorned with strangely shaped doors. Compelled by curiosity, Jack investigates the door decorated with an evergreen tree and soon finds himself in Christmastown, a place of happiness and shimmering lights. Jack is astonished and decides that this year Halloweentown will takeover Christmas.
The film is shot entirely in stop-motion, an arduous style of moviemaking in which the puppets used must be adjusted roughly 20 times for every one second of film. It’s analogous to creating a flip-book comic (but on a much larger scale). Since very few films are made this way, it gives the film a unique style and a certain charm that has yet to be duplicated.
The DVD is also packed with great special features, including commentaries by Tim Burton, Director Henry Selick and musical composer Danny Elfman, as well as a number of behind the scenes documentaries and deleted scenes. As if that’s not enough, you also get two short films from Tim Burton’s earlier days: “Frankenweenie” and “Vincent.” To top it all off, legendary actor Christopher Lee does a reading of Burton’s original poem (on which the movie is based).
Whether you’ve been a fan since it came out in 1993 or haven’t even seen it yet, this special edition DVD of The Nightmare Before Christmas is really the best there is. Either go out and buy it or find a friend you can convince to do it for you. If that doesn’t work, I’d suggest some sort of theft. Whichever way you go about it, get into the Halloween mood with this great DVD.