(This was my first time seeing this film. I know. I’m a terrible person.)
I hate musicals. Let me get that out of the way. All the spontaneous, choreographed singing? Hate it. I mean, how realistic is it that all the towns folk of Halloween Town simultaneously burst out into song and…oh…Halloween Town. A skeleton man. A living rag doll. And a ghost dog. Right. This is a fantasy world.
Yes, a fantasy world. And a remarkable one at that. The imagination and creativity that went into the character and set design for the film is astounding. Immensely inventive. (And the stop motion adds a special quality not achievable if this were a traditionally animated film.) If Halloween actually had its own town, this is exactly what it would look like.
Is this what it would sound like, too? I don’t know, but I can’t imagine The Nightmare Before Christmas sounding like anything else. Danny Elfman’s work for this film is absolutely spectacular. Strong themes, sharp lyrics, and terrific performances—including Elfman as Jack Skellington’s singing voice—really make this film into the classic it is. (That Elfman never took on a similar project is somewhat disappointing. No other film project of his has matched the level of musical variety and creativity achieved in this film. The closest he came was for Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryand its four highly varied and highly enjoyable songs for Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregarde, Veruca Salt, and Mike Teavee.) From the opening song “Halloween Town” to the film’s highlight song “What’s This?” to the summation of each theme in the end credits, Elfman adeptly supplied the film’s striking visuals with striking music that perfectly matched Tim Burton and Henry Selick’s eclectic vision.
The film itself is probably a three-star or perhaps a four-star effort. Things I was curious about weren’t explored (like why was Oogie Boogie a gambling man or why weren’t the portals ever discovered by someone in any of the holiday worlds). But Danny Elfman’s work makes up for the film’s shortcomings.
And one of those shortcomings is that the film’s still a musical. And I hate musicals. But The Nightmare Before Christmas is so much more. A charming concept. Monsterous visual creativity. And a stellar Danny Elfman soundtrack. If only more musicals were made like this one.
