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THN Advent Calendar Day 17: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Christmas is a time for tradition – presents, decorations, carols, and mince pies. But what better tradition to celebrate than the Christmas movie? Join The Hollywood News for the Movie Advent Calendar – a film each day ’til Christmas. For the full Advent Calendar so far, click here.

Few directors can divide an audience like Tim Burton. There are those who’ll lap up his every film, buy the t-shirt and play with the action figure. Then there are those who adamantly dislike his levels of quirk and Helena Bonham Carter. As such, there are swarms of film fans who don’t like A Nightmare Before Christmas. Though the film was not actually directed by Burton (a fact that can probably win a few bets), his oddball fingerprints are smudged over every frame.

To ruin the opening schpiel a little, I’m fairly ambivalent towards Burton. Though I have very little time for his Planet Of The Apes and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, I’ll defend the likes of Big Fish against those that balk at its excess sentimentality (a fair point), and consider Ed Wood to be probably the pinnacle of Johnny Depp’s career. Burton’s style is extremely distinctive, and it’s not hard to see why some dislike him so. But when his fantastical imagery and talent with storytelling overpower his self indulgence, the effects can be terrific. Edward Scissorhands, for example, is in parts genuinely magical, especially around Christmas time.

This leads on THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. I was about four when I first saw it, and like most four year olds I didn’t have much of a passion for film. It would be an exaggeration to say ‘this film changed all of that’, but it’s fair to say THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS had a sizeable impact on me. Jack Skellington, the aptly named lead character, is extremely likeable, and without spoiling anything, his plight struck some kind of emotional note with a younger me. The character’s distinctive design has become something of a cultural icon, (most regularly found on the bags of teenage girls), and is now synonymous with the festive season.

The admirably high concept plot is one of the film’s greatest strengths, and is summed up quickly in the opening narration. Jack and his monstrous buddies live in Halloweenland, a realm of (fairly pleasant) freaks and oddballs, the door to which is in a tree. During a lonesome wander, Jack stumbles off the beaten track and ends up in a world full of snow, elves and holiday cheer: Christmasland. Gazing in wonder at all the happiness (‘there are children throwing snowballs here, instead of throwing heads!’), he decides he wants this for himself, and after several aborted attempts at creating Christmas stuff, decides to take the easy route: kidnapping Santa Claus.

So, some people will simply not get on board with THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. But for those without quirk allergies, there is an awful lot to love. The songs are genuinely terrific, penned by the always reliable Danny Elfman. The ‘What’s This?’ song Jack sings as he arrives in Christmasland is beyond joyful, summing up Christmas in about three minutes, from togetherness and warmth to presents and treats. Oogie Boogie’s boastful villain song is as catchy as it is toe tapping, and his evil presence in general is one of the film’s highlights. The film is sweet but not sappy, and quite dark in places (to name two examples, a freaky scientist scooping out a portion of his brains and the final scenes of Oogie Boogie). Though it is a family film, it manages not to completely ignore the aspects of horror, and as such would be a good film to introduce a child to the genre (if that’s something you want to do).

To reiterate: there are many among us who will never, ever enjoy, or even tolerate, this film, and that’s fine. And in all fairness, were I to watch it for the first time today, I might not care for it too much. But I have such fond memories of watching it at a young age, and still find a lot to love about it today. It’s not perfect by any means, but as a Christmas film that provides sweetness and light as well as darkness and a clown with a tearaway face, I’d rank it well amongst my favourites. Pick your viewing companions carefully to avoid eighty minutes of grumbling and enjoy the best mix of festivities and frights since GREMLINS.

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