Ask anybody who knows me well what they think of me and I can assure you that a few will consider me a mean spirited little jerk with a decidedly sick sense of humor. Perhaps that's why I so enjoyed The Adams Family, or maybe that explains my fondness for bursting balloons, but I can assure you that this is definitely the reason that The Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is officially the only musical I enjoy.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is the story of Jack Skellington, the ruler of Halloween Town who has become bored with his lot in life. One day after stumbling into Christmas Town he realizes that there is more to life than scaring small children and decides that this year he will take charge of Christmas. His minions kidnap Santa Clause from Christmas Town and Jack sets about teaching everybody to do Christmas. If only they could get it right.

I'm telling you that in all honesty my plot description doesn't even come close to describing how hysterical this concept is. I don't think anything can really prepare you for the giggle when Jack's minions accidentally kidnap The Easter Bunny, or the just down right pitch black humor in that classic scene where the parents ask their kid what Santa has gotten him and, with a puzzled look on his face, he pulls out a decapitated head. This and many other similarly bad taste jokes had me laughing so hard I was crying for most of the films running time.

Of course now you've read that and decided that this is not a film suitable for children of any age. Well, to an extent you'd be right. This is not a film for particularly sensitive children as there is a degree of horror to the films bad taste humor, and the films main villain Oogie Boogie is a big pillow case boogie man that happens to be kind of freaky. However most children aged 12 and up should have no problems with the film as it's a lot more humor based and never graphic. There's no blood in the film, but instead it's atmosphere comes from the films decidedly edgy Plasticine animation that is created using a visual style that would have made Burton proud. I liked this visual style, it was always very dark and bleak, gave everything in the world a very hard edge and as a result the film had a disturbing look, and hilarious jokes, without the need for all that red stuff.

However there's more to this film than just chopped off heads and monsters kidnapping bunny rabbits. There's also songs, a lot of songs, and some of the best songs in Disney's CV. Danny Elfman voices Jack during the song and dance numbers and he really gave a toe tapping energy to the upbeat songs when Jack first discovers Christmas. Yet when it comes time for Jack to convince the residents of Halloween town his voice gets much deeper and the songs become kind of scary. Both forms of song were equally memorable.

At the end of the day, even if you don't want the kids watching it then I'd still recommend trying it for yourself. If you like Adams Family style pitch black humor then the film is so worth it. It's a hilarious black comedy, with great song numbers, memorable characters and a wonderful visual style. What's not to love?




This has been another entry into Tom's Lean-N-Mean III Writeoff.

Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older