Parent Movie Guide, Parental Site.com - Review: The Nightmare Before Christmas

	Film Title: The Nightmare Before Christmas		Best for ages: 8 and up.

	Movie Website: Click Here	Year Released: 1993 2008(DVD)	Rated: PG (US) PG (CANADA)

SYNOPSIS
The Pumpkin King" Jack Skellington of Halloween Town is not quite happy with the way his town has been. He thinks that it's losing it's spark and it's meaning. When everyday in the town is Halloween. trick or treating may get a bit to redundant. In an attempt to make things more exciting. Jack experiments with ways to make things better. While walking in the woods he finds a door that leads to none other than Christmas town. At first he has no clue what's going on in this town, everything is bright and happy and wonderful and magical things happen there. Jack decides that he will try and take over for Santa Claus, but many of the people don't except him as the new Santa, meanwhile Oogie Boogie is keeping Santa captive and plays a game with his life. In an attempt to make things right, Jack tries to bring Christmas to all the people of all the towns and share Christmas with everyone. Click Here
VIOLENCE/GRAPHIC CONTENT/language/etc...
For families with Christian values you might not want your kids looking at some of the characters in the film that live in Halloween town. It's not that they really go into it or anything, but you are able to tell and understand that they have cult like beliefs. Just a quick warning for you religious folks out there. There is plenty of animated violence and references to harming Santa Claus. Dr. Finkelstein is always coming close to becoming a victim to one of his own creations, Sally. Sally is always trying to kill him but never succeeds. She in turn has her own problems as her limbs seem to always fall off and she is constantly stitching them back onto her body. Oogie Boogie is always in the sprit of Halloween and along with a few friends is always trying to scare the residents of Christmas Town. Oogie Boogie also is always trying to get at Santa to knock him off or hurt him. He even attempts in the film to boil him to death. Jack is also shot down with missiles when it is realized he is not Santa in his sleigh. There are also some lyrics in some of the songs in this film that refer to doing violent things to Santa, and also talking about kids play catch with a head and so on. But many of the things I found to be a little off the hook for kids to hear involved lyrics about blowing up Santa with cannons and the likes. Other things include Oogie Boogie touching Sally's leg in an odd inappropriate way, and a few jokes played by Oogie Boogie that are meant to scare and a child getting small head for Christmas present. There is some animated graphic content as well, that pertains to Oogie Boogie and the way he decided the fate of the people he tortures and besides Sally losing her limbs, Jack can also remove his head, and there is a characters who insides are exposed and shown as insects crawling all over. The film also has a very dark and gothic like feel to it, that might be scary to some young children.
OVERALL VIEWS
This was my first time viewing A Nightmare Before Christmas, it's a film that I never actually got around to seeing. It is a animated film that was directed by Henry Selick whom also directed James and the Giant Peach and was written by Tim Burton, the man behind film such as Beetlejuice, The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Planet of the Apes Remake, The first two Batman films that stared Michael Keaton, Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, and a lot of other blockbuster hits. The animated film stars composer Danny Elfman as the voice of Jack Skellington when singing and Chris Sarandon while talking, Catherine O'Hara as Sally and Paul Reubens as Lock. The film has very similar animation to many of the Christmas films that played on television in the 1960's such as Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, except with a more detailed look in both the characters and set design. It has some good music although there are some songs with odd lyrics. The film is also dark in it's appearance, and for younger kids might be a bit scary. I know when I was in High School this film came out in theaters and was a big hit with some of the kids in my school, till this day I still see some teenage kids dawning T-shirts and pins that relate to this film, so it does have a cult following. The DVD is really cool looking. It has a very impressive looking 3-D like cover and comes with tons of special features, such as Jack's Haunted Mansion Holiday tour, Frankweenie, a short film by Tim Burton, another short film titled Vincent. Tim Burtons original Nightmare Before Christmas poem narrated by Christopher Lee. A Behind the scenes look at the making of the film, The Worlds of The Nightmare Before Christmas, All New Audio Commentary with Tim Burton, Henry Selick and Danny Elfman, Deleted Scenes, Storyboard to film Comparison, and plenty more.. Overall, The Nightmare Before Christmas seem to be a good film that can be enjoyed from October (Halloween) all the way though December (Christmas) by not only young kids but teenagers and adults as well. I would that kids ages eight and up will probably like it, there are a few things that might frighten younger more sensitive kids, but overall it's a fun film to watch though the Holiday seasons towards years end.
BUY THIS MOVIE.