Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1072 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-10-02
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Portuguese, Dutch
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 77 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
For those who never thought Disney would release a film in which Santa Claus is kidnapped and tortured, well, here it is. The full title is Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, which should give you an idea of the tone of this stop-action animated musical/fantasy/horror/comedy. It is based on characters created by Burton, the former Disney animator best known as the director of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and the first two Batman movies. His benignly scary-funny sensibility dominates the story of Halloweentown resident Jack Skellington (voice by Danny Elfman, who also wrote the songs), who stumbles on a bizarre and fascinating alternative universe called ... Christmastown! Directed by Henry Selick (who later made the delightful James and the Giant Peach), this PG-rated picture has a reassuringly light touch. As Roger Ebert noted in his review, "some of the Halloween creatures might be a tad scary for smaller children, but this is the kind of movie older kids will eat up; it has the kind of offbeat, subversive energy that tells them wonderful things are likely to happen." --Jim Emerson

On the DVD:This Special edition is a must for all Burton fans with the biggest gem to be found on a DVD release--"Tim Burtons Early Films" which holds his first two works. Vincent is clear predecessor of Nightmare before Christmas using the same stop-animation style and voiced superbly by Vincent Price himself; and Frankenweenie--a B&W live-action flick--takes you back to early B-movie territory seen through the eyes of a boy. Added to these films is a great special-features menu including a short documentary offering an interview with Burton, which exposes the inspiration for this magical animation and presents the three-year task of making the "Nightmare". On top of this is an in-depth commentary by director Henry Selick and Art director Pete Kozachik and layer upon layer of "character development" offering an insight into the intensity of thought that went into making these animated figures real. You also get a great selection of storyboards along with the sequences they manifest into, deleted storyboards and an animated sequence with a surprise alternative ending. The menu is beautifully animated in keeping with the style of artwork in the film. With a 1.66:1 widescreen format and Dolby digital transfer this charming DVD is perfect for Halloween, Christmas and beyond! --Nikki Disney

DVD Description
DVD Special Features:

Deleted Scenes and Animated Sequences
Behind The Scenes at the Studio
Storyboards and Image Gallery
Audio Commentary and Original Trailers
Languages: Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Italian, Spanish
Subtitles: English, English for the hearing impaired, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Widescreen format 1.66:1

Synopsis
Tim Burton's stop-motion animated feature finds Pumpkin King Jack Skellington thinking the grass is greener over in Santa Claus's holiday. He marshals all his goblins and ghouls to take over Christmas, but alas--poor Jack belongs to Halloween. An amazing visual and musical feast that should be seen at least twice to catch all the kinks and quirks in the nooks and crannies. Academy Award Nominations: Best Visual Effects.

Customer Reviews

Cinematic Masterpiece
When this animated Tim Burton film was first released back in the early nineties, I was still a child and it rightfully and quickly engraved its place as my fravioute film of all time. I am extreme pleased to see that it has stood the test of time and established itself as a cult classic with huge populatily. It is nothing less than a cinematic masterpiece that can be watched again and again and again - as it was when I first got the film years ago on video. The Nightmare Before Christmas is an fanasty film that tells the story of Jack Skellington ( a skeleton ) who longs for a more meanful existence in his home of Halloween Town, and desides to spread his version of Christmas to all, but his well meaning plan goes wrong. If for some strange reason you have not yet seen this brilliant production you must do so as soon as possible. Even now in my early twenties I can really appreate the pure atmosphere and blissfull characters that are created in the world of The Nightmare Before Christmas. It is a must own at all costs kind of film.

Christmas films don't come any better than this.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a beautiful film for all year round. Jack Skellington, the main character is adorable. Getting sick of his "Pumpkin King" crown, he one day stumbles upon Christmastown, from which he later decides to kidnap Santa, whilst taking over his job to give presents (and scares) to children all over the world.
With Burton's own unique twist, and Elfman's musical stylings, it's fresh (even though the film is 10 years old), completely original, and unlike any other christmas film you are ever likely to see.
Plus, you get Vincent, a short, 5 minute homage to Burton's childhood hero, Vincent Price (gorgeous in everyway and truely does deserve a disk of it's own) and Frankenweenie (another of Burton's early films).
If you're an avid Tim Burton fan, like myself.. you'll love it, and even if you're not.. you'll love it still.
Definately worth every penny.

A "brilliant" idea: to hijack Christmas :)
This movie, directed by Henry Selick and written by Tim Burton, is absolutely delightful. I recommend it for children, teens and adults with lots of imagination, who believe they are prepared to watch a different and sensibly darker take on Christmas.

The main premise is that, whether we know it or not, all holidays are planned in advance in diverse special towns. "The Nightmare Before Christmas" takes place in one of those towns, Halloweentown, that is the place where Halloween is planned each year. Te main responsible of that planning is Jack Skellington, also called the King of Halloween. However, not many know that Jack is bored to death of always doing the same thing. Jack knows he is missing something, but has no idea whatsoever of what that is. Of course, everything changes when Jack discovers Christmastown, the town where (of course) Christmas is planned. For Jack, Christmas is something totally new, and foreign. All the same, he falls in love with it, and has a "brilliant" idea: to kidnap Santa Claus, and to hijack Christmas.

Needless to say, things don't go smoothly, but that is a big part of the fun of watching this movie. Confusions abound when Jack and all his friends of Halloweentown try to plan Christmas for the very first time, and the result is extremely entertaining. That is specially true if you are bored of classic Christmas films that end up saying the same things all over again. This is certainly not the case in this animated film :)

All in all, I think you are highly likely to enjoy this movie. Notwithstanding that, I don't recommend "The Nightmare Before Christmas" for young children, due to the fact that some of the scenes might scare them a little. Having said that, I think that this film is a treat you are going to enjoy, and thus I highly recommend it...

Belen Alcat