I know it's a cartoon with songs but I can really picture this as a stage show!
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Rating: *****
Cast: Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman, Catherine O'Hara, Ken Page, Paul Reubens, William Hickey & Glenn Shadix
Set in Halloween Town, the Pumpkin King Jack Skellington is tired of the repetition of ruling Halloween every year & yearns for something different in his life, which is what long-time admirer Sally also yearns for while being under protection by Dr Finkelstein. Jack stumbles across Christmas Town, which he becomes obsessed with, as well as the ruler he dubs 'Sandy Claws', leading him to take over Christmas with the other residents of Halloween Town, with their own funny & macabre view of Christmas, which leads to disaster as Sally predicts.
The music & songs are so memorable & treasured to me & Danny Elfman is a genius, with his lavish & diverse score being renowned, with songs such as 'What's This?', 'Sally's Song' & my all-time favourite 'Kidnap the Sandy Claws' which never fails to make me sing along to it.
The animation quality is also really good for stop motion, considering it was in the early 90's when it was made & also features one of the funniest montages I've seen when Jack gives various children around the world rather gruesome gifts, including a large Christmas tree eating snake, even though he had good intentions. The film overall lets Tim Burton's imagination run wild with it's twists of colliding Christmas & Halloween together to make it become a musical film & holiday classic with it's own funny & macabre twist.
