Nightmare Before Christmas 1993, Rated PG

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It may seem like a strange question to begin a movie review about a film with lead actor's made of clay, a medium that was technologically outdated in the 1960's, but nonetheless, it must be answered: what is art?

Some would argue that a dead horse hanging from the ceiling is not art. Others, like the folks at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, where said dead horse used to reside, will argue otherwise. Whatever the case may be, art is very subjective, even more so than music and movies. I come from the school of thought that suggests that art is the creation or displa.html>spla.html>spla.html>spla.html>splay of an item or talent that is unique to that individual or group. Art should not be thinking of something first--recovering shipwrecks and filing patents should have to do with being first. Art should be about the making of something brilliant, beautiful and unorthodox.

As the new millennium progresses, more and more people (artists?) are pushing the boundaries of what constitutes 'art'. Now that most of America is convinced that superb athletes like Michael Jordan, Barry Sanders and Michael Johnson performed artistry on their respective playing fields, filmmakers seem to be the next group of professionals deemed artists.

For years, mainstream directors and actors have lobbied that American films could, indeed, be considered art. And for years, critics and art museums have responded by nodding their heads and then deeming 8 minute film shorts of people washing their hands and falling off ladders worthy of being called 'art'.

With directors like Joel Schumacher, Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich still present in Hollywood and still making films, it is rather obvious to see why more and more American films are being lumped together under the heading of popcorn entertainment.

Every so often though, a mainstream film is released (or re-released as is the case here) that genuinely deserves to be viewed as a work of art. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is just this; one of the most artistic and creative films to have been produced during the '90's.

Burton originally conceived of this macabre little tale while working as an animator at Disney during the early '80's. Realizing that Halloween was the only American holiday besides Flag Day without a mythical figure attached to it, Burton created the character of Jack Skellington, a thin skeleton with a fine singing voice (Chris Sarandon, dialogue / Danny Elfman, singing).

Skellington is the king of Halloween Town. Year after year, it is Jack who plans the Halloween parade, the ghoulish events the night before and merrily leads the citizens of Halloween Town in rousing Halloween songs. However, after one particularly good Halloween, Jack finds himself bored with the festivities and wondering why people can't be nice to one another every now and again; the sport of choice for young citizens of Halloween Town is playing catch with severed heads. Distraught, he wanders deep into the shadowy woods pondering his place in the world, when he happens upon the doorway to Christmas Town, a far more jolly, festive world than the one to which Jack is accustomed. After a covert stroll through Christmas Town, Jack returns to Halloween Town a happier bag of bones, brimming with ideas on how to celebrate this new holiday he has learned of. And things begin to spiral downward from there when Jack convinces the residents of Halloween Town to kidnap "Sandy Claws" and celebrate Christmas as a change of pace.

With Burton being the creative mastermind behind the story and characters of this fantasy, the tone of this material is, naturally, very dark and humorously demented.

Directed by Henry Selick (James and the Giant Peach), a visionary in the world of stop-motion animation, The Nightmare before Christmas was an enormously time consuming film to make, with production of this under 90 minute feature taking well over two years to complete. The length of production was a necessary evil though with Burton's heart set on filming his vision in stop-motion animation; a technique that consists of positioning a clay figure in a certain pose, taking a picture of that pose, moving the figure ever so slightly, taking another picture, and so on. Bearing in mind that the standard film is shot at 24 frames per second, one can quickly comprehend where those two years went.

With so many breakthroughs in the field of computer generated images (CGI) and animation techniques during the '90's, one might question Burton's desire to film in clay-mation, but the reason was simple: Burton had envisioned his creations as nasty little figures of clay and that was precisely what he was going to film. And, doing so, Burton, and his team of roughly 20 animators, created one of the most lush, dark and radiantly settings in cinematic history. With landscapes lit by moonlight, interiors lit by fire and the purplish glow of the night, The Nightmare before Christmas is a visually spectacular treat.

With a collection of catchy songs composed and performed by Elfman, the tone of this film is decidedly sprightly and filled with the cool flavors of Halloween and the late fall season.

Lovely and enjoyable on several different levels, The Nightmare Before Christmas is Burton's artistic apex.