An Inventive and Beautiful Nightmare

Can Christmas be saved? Bored with the same old scare-and-scream routine, Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, longs to spread the joy of Christmas. But his merry mission puts Santa in jeopardy and creates a nightmare for good little boys and girls everywhere!

Title: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Release: October 29, 1993
Genre: Stop-Motion Animation
MPAA Rating: PG
Writer: Tim Burton, Danny Elfman, Michael McDowell, & Caroline Thompson
Director: Henry Selick
Music By: Danny Elfman
Produced By: Tim Burton, Denise Di Novi, & Danny Elfman
Distributed By: Touchstone Pictures
Run Time: 76 minutes
Official Site

An animator working for the Disney company saw a window display where Halloween decorations were being replaced with Christmas ones and because those two holidays met in that shop window, that animator was inspired to write a slightly different kind of holiday poem. His name was Tim Burton and that poem was called The Nightmare Before Christmas. It took a little while to get the idea to become more than an idea, and then it took even longer for that idea to become fully developed but after nearly a decade, the living illustration and probably the only movie in existence that can be played both during Halloween and Christmas time was released.

Never my favorite “Disney” movie as a kid, I rediscovered it again when I was a little older and was able to love and appreciate it so much more. Eventually though my VHS copy stopped working properly so it had been years since I’d seen it last when the newest version was released. Tim Burton’s whimsical darkness has fascinated me over the years and its all there in the film. Technically, it’s not as “pretty” as Burton’s other stop-motion animated film The Corpse Bride but its much more fun!

One of my favorite composers (and Burton’s too), Danny Elfman was responsible for helping make the movie what it is because not only did he create the soundtrack and help produce the film, he even sings! He’s Jack Skellington’s singing voice as well as two other minor characters too.

What I find amazing though is how intricate and how hard it was to make this film! True it does show it’s age a little but at the same time, for something that is 15 years old, it has held up remarkably well to the test of time. It has also become a major part of our pop culture too just like the Christmas specials that everyone remembers so fondly today. The only difference is… this one works for Halloween too.

Links: Imdb.com, Nightmare Before Christmas (Wikipedia), Concept for unmade Disneyland attraction (Disney and More), Fan Site (lots of music, etc), The Tim Burton Collective, Halloweentown.org

Interview: Henry Selick (Animated Views), Mike Cachuela (Animated Views)

Trailer, Teaser, The Making of The Nightmare Before Christmas (in 3 parts), & Elfman Interview at Re-release Premiere:

A Swashbuckling Adventure

Ahoy, mateys! Come aboard the good ship Hispaniola and set sail in search of buried treasure in one of Disney’s most critically acclaimed adventure classics.

In his first all-live action feature, Walt Disney has vividly brought to life Robert Louis Stevenson’s timeless tale of buccaneers and buried gold. Authentic locales, rich color photography and musket-roaring action set the stage for the stouthearted heroics of young Jim Hawkins (Bobby Driscoll)- and the skullduggery of that wily, one-legged pirate of all pirates, Long John Silver.

Aye, for that kind of excitement that only treasure and treachery can bring, there’s no better destination than Treasure Island!

Title: Treasure Island
Release: July 19, 1950
Genre: Adventure
MPAA Rating: PG
Based On: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Writer: Lawrence Edward Watkin
Director: Byron Haskin
Music By: Clifton Parker
Produced By: Perce Pearce
Distributed By: RKO Radio Pictures
Run Time: 96 minutes

Pirates tales have been told long before Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island and long before Disney adapted it into a film too but none of them are remembered quite like this one. After the war, Walt Disney couldn’t transfer his earnings out of England so instead of setting up and having to train a new studio of animators, he decided to create his first full-length live action movie and film it in England.

Although Mr. Disney and his family visited Europe during the filming, he had little to do with the actual filming. He left it mainly in the hands of Perce Pearce and the rest of the crew in England which resulted in the film not being as “Disney” as most of his movies. Many critics were shocked by a Disney movie having bloody fights and death, especially since Cinderella had come out earlier the same year. While Cinderella could arguably be aimed mainly toward a female audience, Treasure Island is an all “boy adventure” (of course, many girls enjoyed it too!).

Unsurprisingly, there were a few people upset about an American playing the part of Jim Hawkins but Bobby Driscoll is an essential part of the film and I don’t think anyone before or since has made a better Jim. He was such and talented kid and he helped balance out the decidedly “English feel” to the film and made it relatable for American audiences. However, the real star of this film was Robert Newton because to put it simply, he IS Long John Silver. Whenever I think of a pirate he was the first person to pop into my mind (before The Pirates of the Caribbean movies came out anyway) and evidently I’m not the only one because he has been credited with inventing the “stereotypical pirate voice”. Newton did such a masterful job that he never was able to shake off his pirate image and went on to star in an unrelated movie called Long John Silver and a TV series based on his alter ego too.

It still surprises me to realize that until a few years ago, I had never even seen this lavish, beautiful film. How could I not fall instantly in love with the characters and the settings (many of which have an optical illusion called glass shots painted by Peter Ellenshaw)? I haven’t read Robert Louis Stevenson’s’ book yet but I do plan on it soon. Treasure Island has a wonderful plot, terrific acting, and an amazing adventure… they sure don’t make them like they used to!

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates' loot on Treasure Island and at the bottom of the Spanish Main... and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.” ~ Walt Disney

Links: Imdb.com, Book (Wikipedia), Movie (Wikipedia)
Interview: Byron Haskin (Michael Barrier)

Clip: