Credit: Walt Disney Pictures
Director:
Henry Selick
Cast:
Danny Elfman ………. Jack Skellington (Singing) & Barrel
Chris Sarandon ………. Jack (Speaking)
Catherine O’Hara ………. Sally & Shock
William Hockey ………. Evil Scientist
Glenn Shadix ………. Mayor
Paul Reubens ………. Lock
Ken Page ………. Oogie Boogie
Ed Ivory ………. Santa
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas originally came out in 1993 and at the time it was a project that came straight from his heart. He had already been successful in Hollywood making other films including Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, and Edward Scissorhands. He didn’t need to make this film; he wanted to. This film can be described as “weird,” but in a good way.
Using traditional, stop-motion animation, Tim Burton gave us a combination of a family film mixed with a holiday film meshed with a musical , intermingled with a fantasy fairytale. Adding in some horror suspense as well as some comedy thrown in for good measure, The Nightmare Before Christmas is best experienced firsthand.
To celebrate the 13th anniversary of the film, it got transformed with Disney Digital 3Dâ„¢. This makeover brings one right into the action and magic of the film, as the film’s transformation was led by the original filmmaking team of Academy Award®-nominated writer/producer Burton (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride) and director Henry Selick (James and the Giant Peach) and was turned into reality through a frame-by-frame digitizing process led by the people at Industrial Light & Magic.
The Nightmare before Christmas follows the misadventures of the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, Jack Skellington. Jack attempts to take over the festive Christmas season for a change of pace. Against the advice of Sally (Catherine O’Hara), the lonely rag doll who has secret feelings for him, Jack enlists three trick-or-treaters (Lock, Shock, and Barrel) to help him kidnap Santa Claus. But even when Jack realizes his mistake, he still has to contend with the evil Oogie Boogie before he can turn things around and restore the holiday’s cheer. The story does borrow some ideas from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, admittedly, but Tim Burton mixes things up just enough to make it seem original.
This film marks the first time a once analog 2D film has been turned into a wholly digital 3D world. It feels as if one is there in that amazing world with the puppets, not merely watching the story go by on the screen. When the snow falls, it’s falling right on the audience. When a character jumps out, he jumps over the head of someone in the theater. It’s an extra dimension to a modern holiday classic. However, there are not as many “jump-out-of-your-seat” moments in this version as one might think.
In theory, all 3D films work by projecting a double image—one for the right eye and another for the left, which creates the rich sensation of real-life depth. Traditionally, this was achieved by using two projectors. Disney Digital 3D™, however, takes it to another level by using just one projector, which rapidly shifts between images for the left eye and the right eye, so quickly (144 times per second) that the brain is not even aware of it. Using polarized light the images are crisper and clearer than any 3D process in history.
A big part of the original film was the musical score from Danny Elfman. It included music and lyrics for ten songs that were performed on the screen by the characters in the film. The soundtrack became a success and even was nominated for some Grammy awards. The heart of any great musical is a great soundtrack. The Nightmare Before Christmas was no different there, as the music enhances the viewing experience.
When the movie originally came out, it was already an unusual movie that had never been seen before. Transforming it into 3D seemed like the next logical step for someone like Tim Burton, who is not afraid of taking risks. This new version is really more like a ride at a Disney theme park than a film per se; it’s an entertaining film that is not really scary.
| Popcorn Junkie’s Ratings for The Nightmare Before Christmas: 3D | |
