The Nightmare Before Christmas has been an amazingly successful production. It is one of the only movies that can be watched on Halloween night as well as Christmas Eve. Tim Burton created the perfect balance between a smoothly built plot while keeping the viewer invested. Since its release, people of all ages have enjoyed this film and it is very understandable. From the claymations which is rarely seen, to the musical style, one can easily see why the film is appealing to the viewer.
Other than having a darker plot than most other children’s movies, it also has a unique art style. The sets and characters are made of clay instead of being drawn or animated. This gives the movie more life, even though the main character is a skeleton. The songs, almost always sung in a minor key, gave an even more haunting feel to the movie.
This movie is about Jack Skellington, the “Pumpkin King” of Halloween Town, wanting something other than Halloween. He finds Christmas Town and introduces it to his own. The inhabitants, of course, do not understand that Christmas is supposed to be very different from Halloween. In the end, Jack realizes that Halloween Town is where he belongs.
There is a side plot with Sally, a stitched-up “Frankenstein’s Monster” girl. She had always loved Jack, even though he didn’t know. She showed concern when he began changing after visiting Christmas. Jack eventually sees that Sally has feelings for him and they share a song that Sally sang by herself towards the beginning of the movie.
Danny Elfman delivered numerous whimsical songs adding to the plot perfectly and including the feelings of Jack Skellington to show his inner thoughts. They range from the upbeat “What’s This?” to the more serious “Jack’s Lament”. These songs were beautifully developed and created a fuller story.
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