I was only 11 years old when The Nightmare Before Christmas was released in 1993. If you dig through a box of childhood books in my closet, you will find that I still own the movie’s Scholastic novelization.
For the last two decades, I have often been mocked for liking this movie so much. Yes, hundreds of thousands of people enjoy Jack Skeleton and his shenanigans, yet none of them appear to be in my social circle.
Like most movie fans, the catchy song is a huge part of why we can enjoy this movie at any time of the year. I have “This Is Halloween” in my iTunes library, and has to be right up there with the theme from Christmas Vacation is my favourite holiday movie theme songs.
Tim Burton is the mastermind behind the story of a skeleton who lives and breathes Halloween until he discovered Christmas. The story is dark and twisted, jammed packed with memorable characters that are just as creepy. Zero is definitely man’s best friend both in life and in death. There have been some ghost dogs before, but I don’t think any of them quite compare to Zero.
As mentioned in previous Burton animation reviews, there is a theory that all his characters are connected and that Jack is Victor from previous movies. I can see how people think that, and I can also see why none of them are. I believe each movie is a stand-alone story, and The Nightmare Before Christmas is the best. 8/10
Ten Stars or Less 