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Movie Forums :: Reviews :: The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D |
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Posted on 10/29/07
The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D
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Film lore has it that Tim Burton, long before he was Tim Burton, walked by a storefront that was taking down Halloween decorations and putting up Christmas ones. Seeing them side-by-side sparked an idea in him which eventually grew into 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas, an inspired effort which brings clay-based figures to life with stop-motion animation.
After doing fairly strong business at the box office, the film built up a dedicated fan base, to the point at which it was thought wise to re-release it last year in Disney 3-D. That, too, was a success, and with similar results again this year, the film's re-release seems destined to become an annual event.
The film itself, for those who don't know, concerns a series of worlds, each dedicated to a major holiday. Halloween Town is run by a lanky skeleton named Jack, who tires of the repetition and predictability of a place that starts planning for next year's Halloween the day after celebrating the last.
His soul-searching takes him to a remote wood, where he discovers a series of doors to the other worlds. Something inside Jack is instinctively drawn to the door with the image of a decorated tree. He senses that his purpose might be found within, and he tumbles inside before landing in the snow, leading into the most brilliant of the film's many wonderful tunes.
Oh, did I neglect to mention that it is a musical? It is, and it is supremely confident of its ability to ensnare viewers who do not usually make time for the genre. Its lyrics range from exceedingly clever (the aforementioned "What's This?") to downright goofy ("Kidnap The Sandy Claws "), but they're rarely predictable. The tunes themselves are catchy and mostly irreverent, and while each is unique, they all feel like part of a larger whole.
The tale itself is nothing grand; Jack decides to give Santa this Christmas off, and enlists the fearsome creatures of his own world as surrogate elves for Halloween Town's take on the holiday. The developments are fairly amusing and unique, but it is the style, flair, and music that keeps people coming back even fourteen years later. The film is a tremendous technical achievement, and one can easily sense the incredible care and effort that went into each of the film's many detailed frames.
The conversion to 3-D does not especially alter the film; one gets the feeling that 3-D offerings work better when designed as such from the ground-up. There are a few changes from the original, however, to emphasize the additional dimension. Fans who have seen the original time after time will notice the occasional extra tree or random object placed in the foreground, added simply to allow for the illusion of depth. It is an interesting gimmick, but it only enhances a few select shots; the film is still left to entertain on its own, which it does with aplomb.
A modern-day classic, The Nightmare Before Christmas is a confident, original creation, and its success can perhaps be attributed to the lack of same in today's cinemas. It stands out as an island of daring and creativity in a sea of predictable retreads. Truly, they don't make 'em like this anymore.
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