X
- 1993
- PG
- Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- 1 h 16 m
- 1993
- PG
- Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- 1 h 16 m
Summary Can Christmas be saved? Bored with the same old scare-and-scream routine, Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, longs to spread the joy of Christmas. But his merry mission puts Santa in jeopardy and creates a nightmare for good little boys and girls everywhere. [Walt Disney]
Directed By: Henry Selick
Written By: Tim Burton, Michael McDowell, Caroline Thompson
- 1993
- PG
- Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- 1 h 16 m
- 1993
- PG
- Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- 1 h 16 m
The Nightmare Before Christmas
8.4
Where to Watch
Summary Can Christmas be saved? Bored with the same old scare-and-scream routine, Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, longs to spread the joy of Christmas. But his merry mission puts Santa in jeopardy and creates a nightmare for good little boys and girls everywhere. [Walt Disney]
Directed By: Henry Selick
Written By: Tim Burton, Michael McDowell, Caroline Thompson
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
82
90% Positive
28 Reviews
28 Reviews
6% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
3% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
82
90% Positive
28 Reviews
28 Reviews
6% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
3% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
A masterpiece. A work of grand visual wit, clever songs, funny gags and genuine pathos, it is perhaps the greatest stop-motion animated film ever, a painstaking style of model animation that computers have all but completely done away with.
The film's both mental and experimental, more melodious than Yentl and at heart as soft and gentle as a Christmas kiss.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 254 User Ratings
8.4
89% Positive
227 Ratings
227 Ratings
9% Mixed
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
2% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 254 User Ratings
8.4
89% Positive
227 Ratings
227 Ratings
9% Mixed
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
2% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
Best movie EVER. I've been in love with it for over 20 years.
Report
This film is my all time favorite.
Report
The Nightmare Before Christmas is the black diamond of family films, brilliantly conceived, touchingly pure of heart, much more endearing than scary. [22 Oct 1993, p.55]
It’s an aesthetically addicting experience that capitalizes on these seasonal feelings, offering an unlikely escape with the press of a button.
Technically dazzling but emotionally empty. [22 Oct 1993, p.5]
Burton seems to waver between rooting for the scary guys and the cuddly ones, and his indecision makes it hard for us to respond on an emotional level. The result, though refreshingly different from mainstream animated fare, is ultimately more trick than treat.
In the hands of some Eastern European masters, stop-motion animation has created some fine adult animated films, like Jan Svankmajer's spooky version of "Alice in Wonderland." But The Nightmare Before Christmas is basically a charmless and muddled tale that aims at a target somewhere in the vast gulf between Franz Kafka and Walt Disney and hits nothing. [22 Oct 1993, p.3E]
I admit it, I really like Tim Burton. I know his films are very oddball, but he has a wide imagination and his films are visually amazing. And I like a vast majority of his films, Edward Scissorhands being my personal favourite, and I love Batman and Batman Returns too. Henry Sellick is also promising, from the likes of James and the Giant Peach and Coraline. The Nightmare Before Christmas is a brilliant film. Is it an animated classic. Yes I think it is! It is wonderfully weird yet lots of fun as well. Visually and technically, the film looks absolutely amazing, with wonderful Gothic backgrounds and detailed colouring. Skellington silhouetted against the moonlight is quite possibly the film's most haunting image. The story is great, about Jack Skellington discovering ChristmasTown but doesn't understand the concept so he kidnaps Santa Claus. And the characters are endearing and weird, ranging from jazz playing zombies, Four-tenor like vampires to a wolf man. Then we have the title characters, Jack Skellington is a wonderful protagonist, really interesting to say the least. And Sally for an inventor's creation is very beautiful. The songs from Danny Elfman(the fact that he didn't get an award for his score for Edward Scissorhands is the biggest music snubs ever) are great fun, haunting, funny, clever and intelligent. The voice acting is top notch, Chris Sarandon does a great job as the speaking voice of Skellington, and Danny Elfman himself provides the singing voice superbly. Catherine O'Hara is sweet and innocent, and Ken Page(the voice of King Gator in All Dogs Go To Heaven) is a hoot as Oogie Boogie. All in all, weird, but visually stunning, funny and intelligent animated movie. A definite classic! 10/10 Bethany Cox
Report
[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
Report
not my thing but even then I still think it was an alright movie. just some of it didn't make sense to me. And fore some reason, fat chicks with black hair like to get tattoos of jack.
Report
Ok movie kind of funny. I just thought it looked cool back then. Tim Burton made some really big hits back then.
Report
THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS was an interesting idea for a family/horror/musical blend, but especially for a Tim Burton film, it wasn't really achieved all that well. Sure, this was a cute one, and it was definitely enjoyable; it just, looking at it from a critical perspective, was not the best movie.
Report
Production Company
Touchstone Pictures,
Tim Burton Productions,
DiNovi Pictures
Release Date Oct 22, 1993
Duration 1 h 16 m
Rating PG
Tagline Tim Burton's classic returns in 3-D so real, it's scary.
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 2 Wins & 5 Nominations
