IT'S NOSTALGIAWEEN TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Animated by Kritken - ruclips.net/user/TheKritken Music by Jayhan - ruclips.net/user/JayhantheMusician Follow us on Twitch - www.twitch.tv/channelawesome
I think my favourite subtle scene after watching all these years is while Jack is contemplating the most complex ways to explain Christmas, Sally arrives to give him a gift out of kindness while he is struggling. In essence, she gets what Christmas is in its most honest form. Showing you care for someone during their most trying of times.
The final scene between Jack and Oogie has always been one of my favourite scenes in the entire film. How often do we get to see a final battle between hero and villain where the hero never has that cliche "looks-like-they're-about-to-fail-but-then-wins-by-some-miraculous-feat" moment? Jack never falters, never struggles, and remains confident the entire time. He just straight up murders Oogie. For most of the film, Jack is revered and respected by the townsfolk, and this one scene makes it very plain and simple as to why. He can go from walking like a gentleman to crawling like a spider in a heartbeat. Bonus points for none of that hero's remorse we also often see, where they sometimes toss up whether or not to kill a villain. Jack just gets it done.
To be fair, Santa is actually the one that kills Oogie. But yeah, the fact Oogie is immediately on the defensive and his only back-up plan is to flee is pretty telling.
I have to agree this is such a great climax to the movie. Jack is just like "I am going to get this done" and though a lot is thrown at him he just moves on and shows why he is the pumpkin king.
I also don't agree with the critic that there's no build-up to Oogie Boogie. It's not much, but Jack acts noticeably angry when someone brings him up earlier in the film.
@@adamloga3788 That was Lock, Shock and Barrel I think. When he sends them to go abduct Santa he says something to the effect of "And leave that no good Oogie Boogie out of it!" I would have been a bit nicer to get the source of their animosity, but there is certainly some history there.
@@josephperez2004 Honestly I'd like to know why they felt their loyalty to Oogie Boogie was worth risking Jack's wrath. Sure he doesn't actually punish them for it, but they know he can remove them from the census and they still take that risk. They seem much happier after Jack helped Boogie's heart file for permanent unemployment and Santa have the last laugh by crushing the final bug
My favourite part is when Jack opens his paper snowflake, and does a double take because he's made a perfect creepy spider when he cut without thinking. He's just naturally a spooky guy, it's like he can't help what he puts out there.
Also I find it funny when jack says “interesting reaction” when he puts the ornament in the beaker like my man you didn’t figure out Christmas you just dissolved glass
For me the fight with Oogie Boogie didn't feel weak or unimportant. Jack easily dealing with all Oogie Boogies traps shows he's back in his right element and unlike his previous failures, this is something you don't beat him at.
That and when Jack sent out Lock, Shock and Barrel to go get Santa, he said "Leave that no account Oogie Boogie out of this!" Meaning the two have some unspoken history before the film took place.
@@livingnightmare92 I'm glad you mentioned this because the fight tells watchers that jack has done this song and dance several times, seen every trick, and easily remembers how to deal with them.
Yeah, I think I remember I got it as a kid. He can't be leader of Christmas, but this Oogie Boogie doesn't know how to do Halloween properly and Jack does.
@@livingnightmare92 Also, the Mayor's reaction when they arrive and the way he reminds Jack that they work for Oogie Boogie. Remember that the citizens enjoy scaring people, not hurting them. Oogie makes it very clear he likes to hurt and kill.
To be fair, this is the same guy who said _Toy Story_ didn't have explosions or creepy monsters - I think he just means these films respectively have much *less* of those compared to their contemporaries.
It's not just that Lock, Shock, and Barrel's masks look exactly like their faces, it's also the fact that their real faces are even scarier than the masks.
@@OliverTCrowe You mean like Willem Dafoe in Sam Raimi's Spider Man? Like the Weird Al song says: Yes he's wearing that dumb Power Rangers mask, but he's scarier without it on.
...You know, as much as a part of me wants to mock your idiocracy....I thought Piglet from Winnie the Pooh was a girl and the Rosie O'Donnell gorilla from Tarzan a boy when I was very young. Also I only figured out Robin Williams was the Genie in junior high, when I was doing homework at a sitter's house while her kids watched Aladdin. It was the line "Pal...What are you doing? Why are you bringing me into this?" during the climactic fight that clicked in my head. Soooooooo......I guess we all have our own flavors of brain fart.
Fun Fact: when you kept mentioning how Christmas encrouching on Halloween was ahead of its time, its actually the reason this story exists! Tim Burton said he was inspired by seeing a window display trying to edge out their Halloween decor with Christmas the day after Halloween ended
My take was that there was a bit of commentary about the Christ being so taken out of Christmas that Jack couldn’t even figure out what Christmas was about, despite studying Christmas seriously like an anthropologist.
Fun fact: in Italy Jack Skellington was entirely dubbed by Renato Zero, a hugely famous singer, and he did such an amazing job a lot of people in my country would choose his version of this movie's songs over the original one
I think the italian dub for this movie was so appreciated that it was nominated as the best one in a foreign language! Though I don't remember the source of that
When he says “curiosity killed the cat you know” and Jack says “I know” I don’t think it’s a weird line, I think it’s supposed to be a joke because they’re all dead.
@@LightningNerd The full phrase is "curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back" but like many phrases, the 2nd half is rarely mentioned. Like Early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
Fun fact: Tim Burton wrote a three-page poem titled The Nightmare Before Christmas when he was a Disney animator in the early-1980s. Burton took inspiration from television specials of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) and the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas. On the 2008 Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD release, Christopher Lee narrates this poem with a new animated visual accompaniment.
If there was a novel written in the mid-1970s about a character named Jack who, along with his dog (named Zero), set out to alleviate his apathy with life by pretending to be something he wasn't, would you suspect that said novel also served as an inspiration to Tim Burton?
It’s a shame we don’t hear “This is Halloween” on the radio all the time around this time of year! If Christmas can have several months to play all that music, why can’t we hear some of these on a satellite radio channel meant for Halloween songs?
A few years ago, SiriusXM radio did SCREAM, an all Halloween channel that played all October. The first year was the only good year though, because SCREAM is now an “ambiance” channel that only plays spooky sounds. I wish they’d revert it back, or put Halloween music on 97.1
@@CynnamonSpyder I remember a cover version of Let it go and a cover version of how far I'll go being on the radio and the loud speaker at the retail store I worked at during those times.
9:23 there’s actually a really interesting theory that Sally, being a reanimated corpse, was killed by humans for witchcraft (ya know, the psychic ability). She was supposedly dismembered, which is why all of her body parts fit and sew like a doll.
I'm not one for fan theories, but that would actually make a lot of sense, considering her vast spice cupboard of spells and potions that, as NC said, "sound like Harry Potter's classes", as well as the vapour butterfly she bottles and gifts to Jack. She understands magic and alchemy.
I myself absolutely adore the Kingdom Hearts rendition! I didn't know I needed the Halloween Ear-worm to wriggle its way permanently in to the recesses of my brain with Yoko Shimomura's orchestral black magic, but by the love of all that is spooky & sinister, she nailed it BEAUTIFULLY! =^.^=
As is, the fight scene does come across that way. It's ashame, though, the altered scene where Dr. Finklestien ended up being Oogie Boogie all along was a misopportunity.
@@GBmovieluv I disagree, honestly. Dr. Finklestein doesn't really strike me as the villainous type who would control Oogie Boogie. It feels like he's just a jaded old codger who wants some control in his life. What would even be the reason for him acting as Oogie Boogie?
There's a prequel video game that says Oogie boogie was the king of his own holiday, Bug day which was a celebration of bugs. But wasn't really popular, so it got disbanded and he went to halloweentown instead. Him and Jack got into a big fight for control. He wanted to be a king of halloweentown but Jack already was. Jack won the fight and banished him to the outlands or whatever. They've hated each other ever since. Whether or not you want to take the game is cannon or not is up to you, but it exists.
Fun fact: in the video game sequel, Oogie's Revenge, Chris Sarandon not only does Jack's speaking voice, but does his singing as well! He does a great job of it, too; sounds almost as good as Elfman in the film. Worth looking up the songs if you've never played the game. ^_^
And I say unto you: "Sadly the Devil has a restraining order on me, so I can't visit Halloween town. I tried to fight him on it, but he has all the lawyers."
The Oogie Boogie fight at the end was probably Disney’s input of retracting Jack as the actual villain. But I think Jack doing his best to make up for his mistakes work better of teaching a proper lesson than a big boss fight
Yeah it was probably to address a studio note. Though sadly even now Jack gets lumped together with other Disney villains in merchandise, when Jack was _never_ evil.
It’s been confirmed on the Netflix show “Holiday movies that made us,” by the director and Elfman himself that originally Elfman was supposed to be the acting voice of Jack as well. Was recast due to the wooden delivery.
Unless Doug does a good Stephen King project like “The Stand” from ‘94 😄 I don’t care if it’s bad or good as Stephen King Time always gives us a good time 😆
Also makes sense when it seems he and the doctor are really good friends. He comes in and says "Can I borrow your stuff?" And the doctor is delighted as if Jack's curiosity has had him drop by the lab often. But I could see him using that phrase often enough to for Jack to want to roll his eyes because he's heard it from him many times before.
@@Kahtisemo It's what I love about these characters and the film's world. You don't need big, grandiose backstories for Jack or Finkelstein, but you can still see they have a history and are very good friends!
This one has a great message. Jack feels like he has an empty space and he's clearly depressed. In the end he realises the answer was within himself the whole time! He accepts himself, for better or worse. People come and go, times change. Theres only ONE person you have to grow old with and thats YOU. Theres nothing wrong with being who you are. Thats the message in my opinion.
The movie also had an unconventional protagonist for the time too. Most kids movie protagonists were the clean-cut, harmless or bland kind that never really stuck out much. What makes Jack Skellington special is his passion. In any other kids movie he'd be a villain, but the film showcases early on that he may scare people, but he's kind-hearted and wouldn't dream of actually hurting anyone. Oogie Boogie, on the other hand, will frighten people before killing or eating them. Oogie and Jack are very similar characters, but Oogie always takes things too far.
Having the intro for this year's Nostalgiaween be a brilliant tribute to the Donald Duck cartoon Trick or Treat is quite amazing. Props all around for this one and having an NC review of one of my favorite Tim Burton movies is well deserved and quite unexpected to me. Looking forward to this year and hopefully the Scary Godmother sequel called The Revenge of Jimmy gets the NC treatment for Nostalgiaween too. Any year for it if not for this year. ^^
@@JayhanOfficial Nothing out of the ordinary, really. But seriously, every Nostalgiaween intro you’ve done has been absolutely amazing! Keep up the great work!
Honestly, with Sally’s Song, I MUCH prefer the cover version by Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee. It’s SUCH a fantastic cover that I recommend any Evanescence fan or Nightmare Before Christmas fan to listen to. Believe me, you won’t regret it at all.
That's mostly because they had to because the script wasn't even finished because the original writer, Michael McDowell, was slacking off on coke, and they had to go into production within a certain period of time. Caroline Thompson was brought into complete the script and fixed up Sally's character to be more likable.
One of my favorite moments: "And what did Santa bring you, honey?" (Kid holds up a decapitated head) (Cue both parents screaming bloody murder!) XD Also, I LOVE what you did with the intro referencing Donald Duck's Trick or Treat cartoon! I know it's a short cartoon, but it would be awesome if you did a review on this one!!! ;3
Fun fact: The only human adult faces shown in this movie are Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, a police officer, and a woman reading a book to elves in Christmas town, all others are only shown from the neck down.
Thanks for having me back, guys! Happy halloween and a kickass job on the animated intro! And gosh, that does take me back to 5 years ago. I'm pretty sure my first gig with Channel Awesome was the introspective on Nightmare before Christmas, with the intro parodying Gravity Falls. Been ever grateful for the opportunity since then! Happy Halloween!
18:51 Right!!! There was no way he could have caught AND move them at that angle or that amount of time, and Jack shouldn’t be able to do the “draw me like one of your French skeletons” pose while on a downward decline
I always just put that down as magic. I mean, the dude set himself on fire for his first appearance in the film, not to mention surviving a missile. Jack's more powerful than he looks. :\
I like that Sally has the vision of a Christmastime-gone-wrong. She's a Frankenstein-esque-creature that is rebelling against her creator. The whole Halloween-Christmas-hybrid-idea is Jack's own Frankenstein creation that ultimately turns on its creator. It kinda works.
Honestly, Jack spends most of the movie being a moron, I think the third act Oogie fight is necessary not for the narrative but for the tone, to bring the whole thing around and give you some screen time where you can root for him as he's basically been the real villain the full movie he needs that moment where he can earn a little redemption. Otherwise Jack's Lament would be too trite as it's got a little of that idea of "Oh well, I scarred children for lifr, but at least I'm over my malaise!" Which is great for the comedy, but for the tone needs some kind of stakes for him to "make things right" I love Santa's anger in this movie. It's one of the many moments that help ground the story and keep it from going too far.
I'm surprised he spent so much time talking about Jack having a different singing voice. It's quite common for singing voices to be dubbed, especially in animated movies.
Not always especially now as the voice actors tend to do their own singing now. Back in Renaissance Disney the dubbing was more common (mostly with some of their female leads like Lea Salonga for Linda Larkin & Ming-Na Wen, Sally Dworsky for Moira Kelly and Judy Kuhn for Irene Bedard) much like Golden Era Hollywood dubbed a lot of their actors whose voices didn’t quite match the quality needed. I think here it really does work to have the composer perform his songs. According to Chris Sarandon, he said he couldn’t sing & was perfectly fine letting Elfman do the job
From what I understand, Elfman wrote all those songs with barely the vaguest idea what the plot was lol. He basically wrote the movie himself seems like
Oogie Boogie is definitely one of my favorite Disney villains, such a fun design, voice and personality. And dammit, he’s got such a dang good song which is my favorite song in the movie.
@@princessthyemis i grew up watching it on vhs, thinking that the movie is great. But watching it as an adult i can understand his point, this song in English sounds not as good as i remember. I still love it though.
@@Athanael777 agreed. I really loved at the time how her song is "for i'm not the one" but then when both sing it it's "fo we are meant to be" (iirc) . Also, they're really good songs in general
Sally is not really a "doll" she's more of a reanimated corpse (like Frankensteins monster) and technically a Golem It used to be traditional to tell scary ghost stories at Christmas time. And I would pay hallmark to bring that tradition back.
Check out the Tales from the Darkside episode "Seasons of Belief" if you like this concept. In it, on Christmas Eve, a stormy night ensues and the parents make up a story about a North Pole monster called the "Grither". I also grew up with images of creepy Christmas boogeymen like The Grinch and Krampus and many others. I don't know why Christmas Eve traditionally features scary stories - I always assumed it was sort of to inspire little kids to behave. Then in the 1980's, after a sea of slasher movies featuring killer Santas, I saw less and less of the traditional scary holiday vibe, although Krampus was trendy a few years back with hipsters and such.
@@JarethTheGoblinKingForever love tales from the Darkside. Those kids are forever scarred emotionally and psychologically "It sure wasn't Santa!" Krampus is a very old Nordic legend that's actually really cool. I don't remember a lot of it except he is the grandson of Loki and he captures naughty children to create coal
My favorite, most remembered song is the second one. Jack’s woes. I love to sing it. I almost have it memorized. Something I find funny is how pathetically dependent the town was on jack. And the mayor was such a useless yes man. “Jack please! I’m only an elected official, I can’t make decisions by myself!”
I totally agree! That song is one of my favorites! I first heard it on a CD of Disney songs. But for many, many years I had no idea that it was from this movie so I would make up what I thought visuals were. 😊
I got to meet Chris Sarandon and Ken Paige at a con for a photo op. And there was a family in front of us that the dad was in a wheelchair. He was able to stand and walk for short periods. But when Chris saw him getting up, he immediately ran over and supported him and helped him to the center where both actors supported him. Truly an amazing moment to witness.
My all-time favorite movie. Fun Fact: Originally, when Oogie Boogie got the cloth material ripped off, it was going to reveal Dr. Finklestein who admits that he made Sally to be his girlfriend, but she fell in love with Jack instead. This was obviously changed at some point, but I still think it's interesting.
I knew that. Honestly, I kind of think that change was for the better. The doctor was kind of grumpy and a jerk to Sally but I never saw him as outright malicious. Plus, if he created Sally to be his girlfriend, and then treated her as he did, it would kind of cross the line. Suddenly he goes from overbearing dad to abusive boyfriend . . . and her dad.
I’m liking the expansion to more positive nostalgia. It lets us look at movies that were really great and we just want that chance to remember them. Thanks for doing a great review, looking forward to the next ones!
I wasn't expecting this this Nostalgiaween. This was a great start to the season! 15:17 - 15:24 I actually met Greg Proops a few years ago. He was recording his podcast in my city. Really nice guy!
I absolutely loved Sally's Song, but I have to admit that I listen to the version in the soundtrack that was done by Amy Lee, it's just beyond fitting for her to sing given she's the lead singer for Evanescence
Give the different translations to the different languages a try, It's one of those movies (and that song in particular) where each country has a slightly different twist on it, as combination of the language having characteristics, the chosen talents, and how they go about it. The german chose Nina Hagen, which gives a very distinct but (for her slightly untypical) brittle rendition which is just amazing. But japanese, russian aso. they are all slightly particular.
If some of you actually owned the GBA Version; Oogie himself actually did have a motivation and that Is to create his own bug-theme holiday and wants the other out of commission for his to take over for himself. But If you still want him to shine again; then just play Oogie's revenge Instead!
Just don't be expecting new song material (save for one) when it comes to the vocal songs in Oogie's Revenge. Practically every one of the ones that are sung are just the same ones from the movie but with new lyrics. The only exception to this being the song being sung during the battle with the Doctor (and KINDA the final song, even though it's just a different version of Oogie's song).
I owned the GBA game, but never finished it has it was becoming difficult and I would share it with my younger brother to get past the levels and bosses that I couldn't. The last level where I stopped playing at was in the graveyard (or forest, I couldn't remember) and I couldn't gel with the bit where there's smoke that reverses the controls and there's a timed door with the smoke too. But yeah, I did kind of remember that story being mentioned before the game began and it was a prequel to the movie, I believe.
“What is this review? It’s something new…” By the way, anyone remember the teaser trailers from those Disney VHS tapes in the early 1990s? The marketing was very weird. It changed from Walt Disney Pictures to Walt Disney Studios to Touchstone Pictures and eventually back to Walt Disney Pictures after Touchstone Pictures dissolved. Also the Hollywood bowl hosts a live viewing of the movie with Danny Elfman singing the songs. It’s returning this year after a hiatus due to the pandemic.
19:30 Also made for a really fun and creative Boss fight in Kingdom Hearts. Funny enough, that was my introduction to the Nightmare Before Christmas. Up till then, I had only heard about the movie in passing but afterwards I did everything I could to track down the VHS. (Really crazy to think that I still had a VHS player at the time of the PS2 era.) Ended up finding it at a rental store and it became an absolute favorite of mine and a tradition to watch it every Halloween.
I remember watching this in the theaters when it first came out. I was 7. I went with a couple of aunts and cousins. I still remember the 90s chic, neon light decor of the place - there was a tunnel of green and purple lights leading to each screen room. There were life-sized cardboard cutouts of the characters and souvenirs for sale at the concession stands. And I remember being blown away by this movie as a kid, and my cousins and I screeched in that annoying way kids do when they're excited about something and hopping up and down. I still love this movie. There's better stop motion films out there with more engaging dialogue and greater complexity, yes, but this one holds a special place in my little, black heart.
That sounds awesome. I was at an early screening of Illumination's The Grinch, and they had decor and souvenirs as well. The movie was okay, but the experience was the best part. I posed for a picture with a grinch cutout. XD
If you don't have Nostalgiaween fully booked out I would love to see you take a look at the TV film 'Tower of Terror' based off the Disney ride. Has a young Kirsten Dunst and is a fun TV film that not many people I've talked to know about, even if they love the ride.
9:05 I dont think it was a literal vision, rather she just gave Jack a gift, an honest gift from the heart, wich is what christmast is kinda about. After that some chrismast manifested around her, but that could not survive in the land of halloween thus making it burst into flames. Indicating christmast was doomed to fail there.
It's this and _Corpse Bride_ which are my top Burton movies. The "Sing Along" Blu Ray was the best purchase I made for all the extras including Sir Christopher Lee reading the poem which inspired this wonderful flick. Nobody would've done that better than him. Rest in Peace, you magnificent man.
One of my favorite Tim Burton movies, something that manages to be a staple Christmas movie AND a Halloween movie at the same damn time, how many movies can you say do that successfully?
I have to admit: Jack with closed eyes was one of the most frightening things of my childhood. I mean... these are empty eye sockets, they are not supposed to be closed like eyelids! Anyway, the review is awesome, thank you!
After all these years, you finally decided to review this movie. For as long as I live, I shall look back on this day knowing my prayers have been answered. Thank you, Doug.
i allways heard the curiosity killed the cat part as: "i know" = "we were all there at the funeral my guy, let's not bring it up" or "i still remember how much money i lost on the multiple lives bet" or even "the cat lady witch is still complaining about you doc for what you did to it!"
On the topic of Chris Sarando's singing voice, in the video game Oogie's Revenge, they incorporate the songs into the boss fights where it becomes a bit of a rhythm game, and change the lyrics accordingly. He does Jack's singing voice in that and it's really good. The game itself looks like fun too, was made by Capcom. If I ever get a PS2 I'll probably end up playing it first thing lol.
@@Kyolover8 Him, Ken Page,the Mayor and I think Finkelstein's voice were the only returning ones however. It's not too bad, one of the three little terrors is voiced by the lady who did Phil and Lil in Rugrats, but Sally's voice is so obviously different it's kinda hilarious lol
@@ratchetmechani2002 oh wow I guess that shows how long it's been since I've played that game. I wish they would kinda remaster it and bring it back out for ps4. I honestly love the game it's just I no longer have a ps2 to play it on
@@Kyolover8 I'm just salty it wasn't on GameCube or PC at the time, lol. Only PS2 and Xbox. I'd say Sony should try to get it on the PS Store as a PS2 classic, along with Twisted Metal Head-On but who knows.
The movie was released in between Aladdin and Lion King, Disney released the Nightmare before Christmas to have an animated movie in theaters in 1993. It’s also turned into the Rocky horror picture show for kids with multiple theatrical rereleases, my local theater is showing the movie again!
@@TheAlps36 it’s such a fun Halloween movie to sing along and even kids dress up as the characters in the movie. The movie has a strong cult following, my cousins saw it in theaters few times.
I love this movie, and a few years ago when it re-released and they made a new soundtrack asking bands to cover the score, I realized that is can easily be classified as a musical as listening to the songs in order tells the story almost on it's own.
Tim Burton has said the original poem was inspired after seeing Halloween merchandise display in a store being taken down and replaced by a Christmas display. The juxtaposition of ghouls and goblins with Santa and his reindeer sparked his imagination. In 2001, Walt Disney Pictures began to consider producing a sequel, but rather than using stop motion, Disney wanted to use computer animation. Tim Burton convinced Disney to drop the idea. "I was always very protective of [Nightmare] not to do sequels or things of that kind," Burton explained. "You know, 'Jack visits Thanksgiving world' or other kinds of things just because I felt the movie had a purity to it and the people that like it." It is stated in "The Making of..." book that the most difficult shot to film in the entire movie is the shot in which Jack is reaching for the doorknob to Christmasland. Viewers can see the perfect surround reflection of the forest around Jack in the background. Zero's nose is actually a tiny glowing jack-o'-lantern. The reason it's Sally's left arm that detaches after she jumps out the window is because her right arm was more recently stitched up, making it more secure to her body. Some of the presents Jack delivers to the kids are nods to Tim Burton films. The snake looks like a Sandworm from Beetlejuice (1988), and the shrunken head is from the afterlife waiting room in the same film. The Cat and Duck are both featured in Batman Returns (1992) - the Cat as the mascot for Shreck's department store, the duck resembling a vehicle driven by the Penguin. Oogie Boogey is reminiscent of the Boogeyman concept and old phrase "don't let the bed bugs bite" since Oogie is a pun on the Boogeyman and is composed of bugs. Jack breaks off one of his own rib bones for Zero to fetch. In 2013, Catherine O'Hara participated in "Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton" to perform "Sally's Song" from this film. She received a standing ovation when she entered the stage, as well as when she left. The character of Dr. Finklestein is listed only as "Evil Scientist" in the cast credits. This is the first stop-motion animated film to be rated PG by the MPAA. In the first few seconds after the title is shown, you can see that there are actually 7 Holiday Doors. Going counter clockwise, the doors are: A Pumpkin (for Halloween), A decorated Christmas Tree (for Christmas), A turkey (for Thanksgiving), A brightly colored egg (for Easter), a green four leafed clover (for St. Patrick's Day), a red heart (for Valentines Day), and a red and white and blue firework that can only be seen at the very beginning for just a few seconds. This door could be for American Independence Day or British Bonfire Night. Marilyn Manson did a cover of the song "This Is Halloween." Despite being considered a villain by many fans, Tim Burton himself does not consider Oogie Boogie evil. Nevertheless, Oogie is still marketed as a villain and is considered one due to his heinous actions against Santa, Sally and Jack throughout the movie. Jack's doorbell is a nod to a similar contraption in the Addams Family original TV series. The bathtub has human feet. Chris Sarandon was cast as Jack Skellington because his speaking voice matched the singing voice of Danny Elfman.
The simple dialogue in this movie must be why it's one of the most organically worked in worlds for Kingdom Hearts, as the dialogue in those games can be kind of cringy and simplistic
I love how the animated intro for this years Nostalgiaween is a big reference to that one Donald Duck Halloween episode where Huey Dewey and Louie try to get candy from Donald as he pranks them and the which helps them out thus making a reference that we all see in the intro
4:16, To be very fair, the Devil (or Demon if you wanna call him that) is a Scary Creature, so him being a Citizen in Halloween Town is okay for me and I'll let that slide for know.
That’s the theme of Jack’s Obsession. It’s a satire on how the Christ is so taken out of Christmas that Jack can’t even find it with a serious anthropological study.
In all honesty, the entire NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS story was all in the music; they literally went into production doing the song scenes and going through screenwriters (including former Burton writers like FRANKENWEENIE's Lenny Ripp and BEETLEJUICE's Malcolm McDowell). Then, Burton quickly asked EDWARD SCISSORHANDS scribe Caroline Thompson to write the script. However, not only was she irritated neither Burton nor then-BF Danny Elfman had come to her first, but the songs were so intergrated into the story, she felt she could contribute very little, so much of her script was more in developing the Sally story, which DOES make sense as honestly Sally wasn't a big part of the original short story nor much of the film itself (Elfman only added the SALLY SONG after Thompson had written her overall story). Sadly, she found the experience distressing and unfortunately never worked with Burton again.
@@LucyLioness100 Okay. Sorry. At least I got the McDowell right (and yeah, sadly passed on particularly young; co-wrote a book with Stephen King's wife too)
That makes sense, the story felt rushed and underdeveloped from having had to be rewritten but the Sally parts were the best written and it's a shame they didn't get more development.
Fun fact critic there is actually a sequel book, called 'Long Live the Pumpkin Queen' And this thing has speculated about turning that book into a movie, and yes the book was written with Tim Burton's permission
IT'S NOSTALGIAWEEN TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Music by Jayhan - ruclips.net/user/JayhantheMusician
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Great Opening!
Love this year's intro
Review all the Hotel Transylvania movies please
Looooook out there is bull sh*t about. *Chuckles*
Review Cartoon Network Infinity Train
I think my favourite subtle scene after watching all these years is while Jack is contemplating the most complex ways to explain Christmas, Sally arrives to give him a gift out of kindness while he is struggling. In essence, she gets what Christmas is in its most honest form. Showing you care for someone during their most trying of times.
well said
I never thought of it that way. That's so sweet. :-)
I think you're thinking about this way too hard.
@@cowbatboots282 And what's wrong with analyzing films? Jesus you must be fun at parties.
And why is it their most trying time? Because it's Christmas.
The final scene between Jack and Oogie has always been one of my favourite scenes in the entire film. How often do we get to see a final battle between hero and villain where the hero never has that cliche "looks-like-they're-about-to-fail-but-then-wins-by-some-miraculous-feat" moment? Jack never falters, never struggles, and remains confident the entire time. He just straight up murders Oogie. For most of the film, Jack is revered and respected by the townsfolk, and this one scene makes it very plain and simple as to why. He can go from walking like a gentleman to crawling like a spider in a heartbeat. Bonus points for none of that hero's remorse we also often see, where they sometimes toss up whether or not to kill a villain. Jack just gets it done.
To be fair, Santa is actually the one that kills Oogie. But yeah, the fact Oogie is immediately on the defensive and his only back-up plan is to flee is pretty telling.
I have to agree this is such a great climax to the movie. Jack is just like "I am going to get this done" and though a lot is thrown at him he just moves on and shows why he is the pumpkin king.
I also don't agree with the critic that there's no build-up to Oogie Boogie. It's not much, but Jack acts noticeably angry when someone brings him up earlier in the film.
@@adamloga3788 That was Lock, Shock and Barrel I think. When he sends them to go abduct Santa he says something to the effect of "And leave that no good Oogie Boogie out of it!"
I would have been a bit nicer to get the source of their animosity, but there is certainly some history there.
@@josephperez2004 Honestly I'd like to know why they felt their loyalty to Oogie Boogie was worth risking Jack's wrath. Sure he doesn't actually punish them for it, but they know he can remove them from the census and they still take that risk. They seem much happier after Jack helped Boogie's heart file for permanent unemployment and Santa have the last laugh by crushing the final bug
My favourite part is when Jack opens his paper snowflake, and does a double take because he's made a perfect creepy spider when he cut without thinking. He's just naturally a spooky guy, it's like he can't help what he puts out there.
Also I find it funny when jack says “interesting reaction” when he puts the ornament in the beaker like my man you didn’t figure out Christmas you just dissolved glass
For me the fight with Oogie Boogie didn't feel weak or unimportant. Jack easily dealing with all Oogie Boogies traps shows he's back in his right element and unlike his previous failures, this is something you don't beat him at.
That and when Jack sent out Lock, Shock and Barrel to go get Santa, he said "Leave that no account Oogie Boogie out of this!" Meaning the two have some unspoken history before the film took place.
@@livingnightmare92 I'm glad you mentioned this because the fight tells watchers that jack has done this song and dance several times, seen every trick, and easily remembers how to deal with them.
Yeah, I think I remember I got it as a kid. He can't be leader of Christmas, but this Oogie Boogie doesn't know how to do Halloween properly and Jack does.
Totally agree!
@@livingnightmare92 Also, the Mayor's reaction when they arrive and the way he reminds Jack that they work for Oogie Boogie. Remember that the citizens enjoy scaring people, not hurting them. Oogie makes it very clear he likes to hurt and kill.
"There's no... hidden adult humour"
"Jack, please, I'm only an elected official here, I can't make decisions by myself!"
That's what I thought too. And some slightly risque implications. I mean, look at the pose Jack does when Oogie finds him. The heck? XD
@@pundertalefan4391 "draw me like one of your spooky girls"
To be fair, this is the same guy who said _Toy Story_ didn't have explosions or creepy monsters - I think he just means these films respectively have much *less* of those compared to their contemporaries.
Thanks. Now I have Kingdom Hearts 2 flashbacks.
*Looks at the jokes about Sally’s leg, especially with Oogie involved.
Umm sure no adult jokes
It's not just that Lock, Shock, and Barrel's masks look exactly like their faces, it's also the fact that their real faces are even scarier than the masks.
Exactly.
Yeah, it's not often you see a character wear a mask to tone down the scariness.
Texas Chainsaw
But his mask is literal skin so it's still scary
@@OliverTCrowe You mean like Willem Dafoe in Sam Raimi's Spider Man? Like the Weird Al song says: Yes he's wearing that dumb Power Rangers mask, but he's scarier without it on.
I didn't even think of that part.
I feel like an idiot. I never noticed the mayor was literally a two-faced politician.
We're in the same boat!
...You know, as much as a part of me wants to mock your idiocracy....I thought Piglet from Winnie the Pooh was a girl and the Rosie O'Donnell gorilla from Tarzan a boy when I was very young.
Also I only figured out Robin Williams was the Genie in junior high, when I was doing homework at a sitter's house while her kids watched Aladdin. It was the line "Pal...What are you doing? Why are you bringing me into this?" during the climactic fight that clicked in my head.
Soooooooo......I guess we all have our own flavors of brain fart.
And his best line is "I'm only an ELECTED official! I can't make decisions by myself!" 🤣
I guess you could say that the mayor of Halloween Town represents any politician because all of them are two faced!
Interesting, his being two faced was the only thing I noticed about the mayor.
Fun Fact: when you kept mentioning how Christmas encrouching on Halloween was ahead of its time, its actually the reason this story exists! Tim Burton said he was inspired by seeing a window display trying to edge out their Halloween decor with Christmas the day after Halloween ended
Heck, I saw Christmas stuff showing up in stores during September BEFORE the Halloween stuff
My take was that there was a bit of commentary about the Christ being so taken out of Christmas that Jack couldn’t even figure out what Christmas was about, despite studying Christmas seriously like an anthropologist.
Not surprising. I've been working in retail for 20+years and they do put up the Christmas decorations the same time as the Halloween decorations!
@@autumbreeze1129 I’m definitely not surprised.
That tidbit is literally the only interesting thing about this movie.
Fun fact: in Italy Jack Skellington was entirely dubbed by Renato Zero, a hugely famous singer, and he did such an amazing job a lot of people in my country would choose his version of this movie's songs over the original one
Another fun fact: the composer for the movie Danny Elfman was Jack's singing voice.
@@catandrobbyflores Another fun fact: You said a fact that Critic says in the video
I think the italian dub for this movie was so appreciated that it was nominated as the best one in a foreign language! Though I don't remember the source of that
Well then, good job, Renato!
What a kick ass name, too
When he says “curiosity killed the cat you know” and Jack says “I know” I don’t think it’s a weird line, I think it’s supposed to be a joke because they’re all dead.
I always thought a perfect line would be this:
“Curiosity killed the cat you know!”
“…and brought it back as well!”
@@LightningNerd The full phrase is "curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back" but like many phrases, the 2nd half is rarely mentioned. Like Early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
I always felt like that “I know..!” was Jack just kinda like “Yes yes, dead cats, can we just get to work!?”
I always heard it as Jack's response to be warned about curiosity one too many times. Like he's frustrated, but goes along with it.
I thought the "curiosity killed the cat" line was the Doctor essentially saying "Be careful, Jack".
I always assumed it was meant like a positive saying in their world, kinda like Jack's responding with "Hell yeah!"
I always thought of it as "oh yeah, I know. How do you think I died in the first place?"
Ok
Fun fact: Tim Burton wrote a three-page poem titled The Nightmare Before Christmas when he was a Disney animator in the early-1980s. Burton took inspiration from television specials of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) and the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas. On the 2008 Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD release, Christopher Lee narrates this poem with a new animated visual accompaniment.
Well time to get the blue ray release lol
Best bonus features ever
If there was a novel written in the mid-1970s about a character named Jack who, along with his dog (named Zero), set out to alleviate his apathy with life by pretending to be something he wasn't, would you suspect that said novel also served as an inspiration to Tim Burton?
that's the face of the creeper 14:25
Ok
It’s a shame we don’t hear “This is Halloween” on the radio all the time around this time of year! If Christmas can have several months to play all that music, why can’t we hear some of these on a satellite radio channel meant for Halloween songs?
A few years ago, SiriusXM radio did SCREAM, an all Halloween channel that played all October. The first year was the only good year though, because SCREAM is now an “ambiance” channel that only plays spooky sounds. I wish they’d revert it back, or put Halloween music on 97.1
@@katielinzie7444 that’s unfortunate. Hopefully someone will bring that back…
Like Disney would allow that to happen.
I mean, it's on rotation in my workouts right now, along with other Halloween songs.
@@CynnamonSpyder I remember a cover version of Let it go and a cover version of how far I'll go being on the radio and the loud speaker at the retail store I worked at during those times.
Jack is the greatest Disney princess, complete with song lamenting how he has everything, but oh, if only he had something more...
🎶 I want to be where the Christmas trees are…🎶
@@dorothyallspice1862 🎼 I wanna see, wanna see them sharin'
Giving each other things... What do you call 'em?
Oh, presents! 🎶
Why again didn't Disney greenlight more Elfman operettas?
9:23 there’s actually a really interesting theory that Sally, being a reanimated corpse, was killed by humans for witchcraft (ya know, the psychic ability). She was supposedly dismembered, which is why all of her body parts fit and sew like a doll.
I'm not one for fan theories, but that would actually make a lot of sense, considering her vast spice cupboard of spells and potions that, as NC said, "sound like Harry Potter's classes", as well as the vapour butterfly she bottles and gifts to Jack. She understands magic and alchemy.
Exactly!
The professor created her. He even says that in the film.
But from what? Ooooh.
A corpse perhaps.
witches were burned, not chopped into dozens of bits
This Is Halloween should be October’s national anthem
In all seriousness though, it actually is a really good song!
Show some love to the composer and animator
Animated by Kritken - ruclips.net/user/TheKritken
Music by Jayhan - ruclips.net/user/JayhantheMusician
The Marylin Manson rendition is awesome!
Spooky Scary Skeletons or Monster Mash should be the anthem.
It should, but we have to pry it from the cold, dead hands of "Thriller" first.
is it a reference to something this intro? I don't get it.
Producer: “Is this a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie?”
Writer: “Yes.”
It's both.
@@kobatroy3428 its neither, its a way of life😁
@@spawn760 I have spoken!
It's a little bit of everything all of the time
@@kobatroy3428 noice
"This Is Halloween" is the definitive song I think of when the season approaches every year!!!
DIIIITTOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
At this point "This is Halloween" is Halloween's anthem.
I myself absolutely adore the Kingdom Hearts rendition! I didn't know I needed the Halloween Ear-worm to wriggle its way permanently in to the recesses of my brain with Yoko Shimomura's orchestral black magic, but by the love of all that is spooky & sinister, she nailed it BEAUTIFULLY! =^.^=
@@pinkneko13 Agreed. Although I can't decide which version is better: Danny Elfman, or Marilyn Manson?
DVDmask
I always liked the line: “How dare you treat my friends so shamefully!”
Jack is a cool dude.
I did too, even if Sandy didn't view Jack as a friend in that moment! 😅
I feel like there's definitely an implied rivalry between Jack and Oogie just from the way they address and react to each other.
As is, the fight scene does come across that way. It's ashame, though, the altered scene where Dr. Finklestien ended up being Oogie Boogie all along was a misopportunity.
@@GBmovieluv I disagree, honestly. Dr. Finklestein doesn't really strike me as the villainous type who would control Oogie Boogie. It feels like he's just a jaded old codger who wants some control in his life. What would even be the reason for him acting as Oogie Boogie?
There's a prequel video game that says Oogie boogie was the king of his own holiday, Bug day which was a celebration of bugs. But wasn't really popular, so it got disbanded and he went to halloweentown instead. Him and Jack got into a big fight for control. He wanted to be a king of halloweentown but Jack already was. Jack won the fight and banished him to the outlands or whatever. They've hated each other ever since.
Whether or not you want to take the game is cannon or not is up to you, but it exists.
@@teddybearkiller5271 The game’s a sequel, not a prequel.
@@ThePa1riot There's two games one with nice 3D graphics any other was a 2d platformer for like the DS or something. That's the one I'm talking about.
Fun fact: in the video game sequel, Oogie's Revenge, Chris Sarandon not only does Jack's speaking voice, but does his singing as well! He does a great job of it, too; sounds almost as good as Elfman in the film. Worth looking up the songs if you've never played the game. ^_^
And I say unto you:
"Sadly the Devil has a restraining order on me, so I can't visit Halloween town. I tried to fight him on it, but he has all the lawyers."
But we’re still free to go there right ?
I have an....acquaintance who visits Hell and back
This joke is like an ogre.
It has layers.
@@clairetaylor8929 Halloween town is technically a democracy so yes
@@KnicksBasketball96 aw sick
19:34 And who could forget that line from Jack as it happens: “How dare you treat my friends so SHAMEFULLY!” 🎃
Yeah something tells me Santa wouldn’t appreciate being referred to as Jack’s “friend”
I think if it means it stops him from being burned alive he’ll just take the label and go with it lmao
@@catiepierce4206 He does sort of chew Jack out a minute later admittedly.
@@mrcritical6751 he does give Jack a good scolding but accepts that they're friends
Sally=FRIENDZONED.
The Oogie Boogie fight at the end was probably Disney’s input of retracting Jack as the actual villain. But I think Jack doing his best to make up for his mistakes work better of teaching a proper lesson than a big boss fight
Duh. That's what Kindom Hearts is for. :p
@@manuelalbertoromero9528 Literally all I could think about when he was showing that scene 😂
Yeah it was probably to address a studio note. Though sadly even now Jack gets lumped together with other Disney villains in merchandise, when Jack was _never_ evil.
even weirder was that the doctor(the one who created sally) was originally the villain disguised as Oggie Boogie(there is a deleted scene of this)
@@systemshocker2875 Burton got so pissed at this idea he kicked a hole in the wall🎃
It’s been confirmed on the Netflix show “Holiday movies that made us,” by the director and Elfman himself that originally Elfman was supposed to be the acting voice of Jack as well. Was recast due to the wooden delivery.
All I could think watching this was that the critic should have seen that to get his facts straight
Elfman insists he’s a horrible actor. But if you watch his Danny & Buddy Show he does the voice of his dummy Buddy pretty well.
Neat!
I should watch that! Sounds cool!
Wooden delivery? The heck does that mean?
When Nostalgiaween doesn’t start with Stephen King Time:
“Somethings wrong, I can feel it”
I think Doug should do a Nostalgia Critic review of THE MANGLER, one of the worst ever Stephen King films.💣
@@peterkrug4124 sounds interesting, given the number of hilariously bad King movies
I'm calling it now, the Stephen King review will be on The Dark Tower.
Unless Doug does a good Stephen King project like “The Stand” from ‘94 😄 I don’t care if it’s bad or good as Stephen King Time always gives us a good time 😆
I’ve just heard about salams lot and would like him to review that.
"Frog's breath will overpower any order."
"Worm's wart!"
I have seen this movie hundreds of times, how have I never realized that?
The Worm's wart was to tone down the frog's breath, which was to cover the scent of the nightshade
@@tanandalynch9441 true, but if the frog's breath can overpower any oder, it should overpower the worms wart
Don't forget... Mad scientists have the best sense of smell. He did smell the Frog's breath with the wormwort, yet did not suspect a thing.
"Nothing's more suspicious than frog's breath!"
Doc: You know curiousity killed the cat?
Jack: I know. I killed it.
That line suddenly makes sense
You see, that's the way I always interpreted it.
'Uh, yeah, I killed it, remember?'
DAAAAANG!
*"The cat is dead" from Danny's canned film "Little Demons" plays*
I thought Jack's, “I know” was just him being fucking sick of hearing that. It had definite talking to my mom vibes to me.
Also makes sense when it seems he and the doctor are really good friends. He comes in and says "Can I borrow your stuff?" And the doctor is delighted as if Jack's curiosity has had him drop by the lab often. But I could see him using that phrase often enough to for Jack to want to roll his eyes because he's heard it from him many times before.
@@Kahtisemo It's what I love about these characters and the film's world. You don't need big, grandiose backstories for Jack or Finkelstein, but you can still see they have a history and are very good friends!
Elfman could've ad libbed something cleverer I'm sure.
This one has a great message. Jack feels like he has an empty space and he's clearly depressed. In the end he realises the answer was within himself the whole time! He accepts himself, for better or worse.
People come and go, times change. Theres only ONE person you have to grow old with and thats YOU. Theres nothing wrong with being who you are. Thats the message in my opinion.
The movie also had an unconventional protagonist for the time too. Most kids movie protagonists were the clean-cut, harmless or bland kind that never really stuck out much. What makes Jack Skellington special is his passion. In any other kids movie he'd be a villain, but the film showcases early on that he may scare people, but he's kind-hearted and wouldn't dream of actually hurting anyone. Oogie Boogie, on the other hand, will frighten people before killing or eating them. Oogie and Jack are very similar characters, but Oogie always takes things too far.
Having the intro for this year's Nostalgiaween be a brilliant tribute to the Donald Duck cartoon Trick or Treat is quite amazing. Props all around for this one and having an NC review of one of my favorite Tim Burton movies is well deserved and quite unexpected to me. Looking forward to this year and hopefully the Scary Godmother sequel called The Revenge of Jimmy gets the NC treatment for Nostalgiaween too. Any year for it if not for this year. ^^
Wait they make Donald Duck cartoon trick or treat parody opening Intro.
That intro was a lot of work, but oh it was so worth it 😁
@@JayhanOfficial Nothing out of the ordinary, really. But seriously, every Nostalgiaween intro you’ve done has been absolutely amazing! Keep up the great work!
Thank you for explaining where the inspiration for this years intro is from, it felt like it was something from disney.
I’m hoping the same for the scary godmother sequel
"I'm a cameo!" Chaplin is the best cast member.
I didn’t even notice it was his cats
That was a good intro, but could someone tell me what the hell this was based on??
@@jaytender4949 it was based on the Donald Duck cartoon “Trick Or Treat”
@@jaytender4949 I dunno man, I dunno. But it was cool so I'm cool with it.
@@Mooms Thank you man 😊
Honestly, with Sally’s Song, I MUCH prefer the cover version by Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee. It’s SUCH a fantastic cover that I recommend any Evanescence fan or Nightmare Before Christmas fan to listen to. Believe me, you won’t regret it at all.
Same! I was just about to comment that :)
Amy Lee made me love Sally's Song. Which isn't hard as I love every song she sings.
I think Fiona Apple's cover was amazing.
I should check it out!
Amy Lee covered that song gotta check that one out
Fun fact: Tim burton and Danny elfman actually worked on the songs for the nightmare before Christmas way before the script was even finished
That's mostly because they had to because the script wasn't even finished because the original writer, Michael McDowell, was slacking off on coke, and they had to go into production within a certain period of time. Caroline Thompson was brought into complete the script and fixed up Sally's character to be more likable.
One of my favorite moments:
"And what did Santa bring you, honey?"
(Kid holds up a decapitated head)
(Cue both parents screaming bloody murder!) XD
Also, I LOVE what you did with the intro referencing Donald Duck's Trick or Treat cartoon! I know it's a short cartoon, but it would be awesome if you did a review on this one!!! ;3
Maybe for a Dark Toons episode? :03
I remember seeing that moment in VHS commercials all the time!🤣🤣🤣
I think it was supposed to be a shrunken head,
but yes I agree.
one video said the guy who voices andy voiced the kid with the shrunken head in this
Fun fact: The only human adult faces shown in this movie are Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, a police officer, and a woman reading a book to elves in Christmas town, all others are only shown from the neck down.
So are we just not counting the children opening presents as human?... Actually I agree with that assessment, carry on!
@@ericsebena1734 He did specify "human adult" faces, so no the children do not count as adult faces. XD
you mean secret mrs claus, don't tell mrs claus, but all the elves know
Actually you really don't get to see the cops face (its mostly hidden in shadows)
Well, i mean you can technically count Tim Burton himself too, due to the version of the vampires playing hockey with his head
Thanks for having me back, guys! Happy halloween and a kickass job on the animated intro!
And gosh, that does take me back to 5 years ago. I'm pretty sure my first gig with Channel Awesome was the introspective on Nightmare before Christmas, with the intro parodying Gravity Falls. Been ever grateful for the opportunity since then!
Happy Halloween!
Thank you for once again doing such an amazing job on this!! It's so good!!!!!!!!!!!!
Excuse me, may I know the lyrics for the song? I'm not English-speaker, and I couldn't get the last two verses.
When I was younger, I was convinced that "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" was the reason this movie had the PG rating.
18:51 Right!!! There was no way he could have caught AND move them at that angle or that amount of time, and Jack shouldn’t be able to do the “draw me like one of your French skeletons” pose while on a downward decline
I always just put that down as magic. I mean, the dude set himself on fire for his first appearance in the film, not to mention surviving a missile.
Jack's more powerful than he looks. :\
I like that Sally has the vision of a Christmastime-gone-wrong. She's a Frankenstein-esque-creature that is rebelling against her creator. The whole Halloween-Christmas-hybrid-idea is Jack's own Frankenstein creation that ultimately turns on its creator. It kinda works.
Honestly, Jack spends most of the movie being a moron, I think the third act Oogie fight is necessary not for the narrative but for the tone, to bring the whole thing around and give you some screen time where you can root for him as he's basically been the real villain the full movie he needs that moment where he can earn a little redemption. Otherwise Jack's Lament would be too trite as it's got a little of that idea of "Oh well, I scarred children for lifr, but at least I'm over my malaise!" Which is great for the comedy, but for the tone needs some kind of stakes for him to "make things right" I love Santa's anger in this movie. It's one of the many moments that help ground the story and keep it from going too far.
Agreeeee!!!!
I'm surprised he spent so much time talking about Jack having a different singing voice. It's quite common for singing voices to be dubbed, especially in animated movies.
Not always especially now as the voice actors tend to do their own singing now. Back in Renaissance Disney the dubbing was more common (mostly with some of their female leads like Lea Salonga for Linda Larkin & Ming-Na Wen, Sally Dworsky for Moira Kelly and Judy Kuhn for Irene Bedard) much like Golden Era Hollywood dubbed a lot of their actors whose voices didn’t quite match the quality needed.
I think here it really does work to have the composer perform his songs. According to Chris Sarandon, he said he couldn’t sing & was perfectly fine letting Elfman do the job
The songs are amazing. This is Halloween, Jack's Lament, Poor Jack and Oogie's song!
From what I understand, Elfman wrote all those songs with barely the vaguest idea what the plot was lol. He basically wrote the movie himself seems like
I like Kidnap Mr. Sandy Claws, especially the Soul Eater amv
In addition he wrote the full screenplays for two other operettas that Disney never let him finish making. The song demos are amazing though.
Oogie Boogie is definitely one of my favorite Disney villains, such a fun design, voice and personality. And dammit, he’s got such a dang good song which is my favorite song in the movie.
I love Sally's song by Nina Hagen in German version, she just sounds so delicate and fragile! Simply beautiful
I concur! Such a beautiful delivery.
I know right! I was SHOCKED when he said people didn't like it. I've never heard of that opinion!
@@princessthyemis i grew up watching it on vhs, thinking that the movie is great. But watching it as an adult i can understand his point, this song in English sounds not as good as i remember. I still love it though.
16:46 "Sally's Song is the weakest of the musical numbers."
*OH NO HE DIDN'T*
Beautiful song, very well executed, and the cherry on the top is how that theme comes back in the final love duo.
I’m going to see Billie Eilish perform it this month
@@nuclearcatbaby1131 So am I!! 15 more days!!!
@@dorothyallspice1862 I’m hoping I can get my aunt’s friend who shares a birthday with me on that date. If not I will have to take a Greyhound
@@Athanael777 agreed.
I really loved at the time how her song is "for i'm not the one" but then when both sing it it's "fo we are meant to be" (iirc) . Also, they're really good songs in general
When you realize that Sally is voiced by Kevin McCallister’s mom from Home Alone.
Didn't she also play Lydia's step mom in Beetlejuice?
And Moira from Schitt's Creek
And, looking at her filmography, she seems to be quite the Tim Burton favorite.
She’s had a great working relationship with Burton over the years. Similar to how well she works with Eugene Levy
Wait what?!
The intro is an amazing reference to the Donald Duck cartoon “Trick or Treat”. Hits me right in the childhood
I know had that on my house of villans VHS
@@mottychein6533 That’s actually where I saw the cartoon: House of Villains
same
So THAT'S what the opening is referencing I thought it was somewhat based on the "Spooky Scary Skeletons" song
6:38 I would count the Mayor as hidden adult humor. He's a literal two-faced politician.
He's basically all the popular politician jokes rolled into one. He even straight-up says he can't make his own decisions.
I LOVE this movie. Have ever since it came out. Also I love Sally’s song cause it mixes well to the ending duet with Jack
Sally is not really a "doll" she's more of a reanimated corpse (like Frankensteins monster) and technically a Golem
It used to be traditional to tell scary ghost stories at Christmas time. And I would pay hallmark to bring that tradition back.
Check out the Tales from the Darkside episode "Seasons of Belief" if you like this concept. In it, on Christmas Eve, a stormy night ensues and the parents make up a story about a North Pole monster called the "Grither". I also grew up with images of creepy Christmas boogeymen like The Grinch and Krampus and many others. I don't know why Christmas Eve traditionally features scary stories - I always assumed it was sort of to inspire little kids to behave. Then in the 1980's, after a sea of slasher movies featuring killer Santas, I saw less and less of the traditional scary holiday vibe, although Krampus was trendy a few years back with hipsters and such.
@@JarethTheGoblinKingForever love tales from the Darkside. Those kids are forever scarred emotionally and psychologically
"It sure wasn't Santa!"
Krampus is a very old Nordic legend that's actually really cool. I don't remember a lot of it except he is the grandson of Loki and he captures naughty children to create coal
Really? Well, that explains Christmas Carol.
For the talent show, in high school, I sang, "Jack's Lament" and was so good, people kept thinking I was lip-synching.
In my highschool choir, for our November concert we did a medley of songs from Nightmare Before Christmas.
NICE!!!!!!!
And everyone clapped right?
@@uberd3323 Well, yeah. I also did something different by wearing a cordless mic and walking through the audience as I sang.
Is your name Mille or Vanille?
My favorite, most remembered song is the second one. Jack’s woes. I love to sing it. I almost have it memorized.
Something I find funny is how pathetically dependent the town was on jack. And the mayor was such a useless yes man. “Jack please! I’m only an elected official, I can’t make decisions by myself!”
I totally agree! That song is one of my favorites! I first heard it on a CD of Disney songs. But for many, many years I had no idea that it was from this movie so I would make up what I thought visuals were. 😊
@@princessthyemis i even rather like Sally’s song.
I got to meet Chris Sarandon and Ken Paige at a con for a photo op. And there was a family in front of us that the dad was in a wheelchair. He was able to stand and walk for short periods. But when Chris saw him getting up, he immediately ran over and supported him and helped him to the center where both actors supported him. Truly an amazing moment to witness.
"This is Halloween"
"Wait, this is Christmas?"
Missed opportunity.
"It's a holiday clusterfuck..."
How About Easter?
My all-time favorite movie.
Fun Fact: Originally, when Oogie Boogie got the cloth material ripped off, it was going to reveal Dr. Finklestein who admits that he made Sally to be his girlfriend, but she fell in love with Jack instead. This was obviously changed at some point, but I still think it's interesting.
XD yeah I have seen that xD
I knew that. Honestly, I kind of think that change was for the better. The doctor was kind of grumpy and a jerk to Sally but I never saw him as outright malicious. Plus, if he created Sally to be his girlfriend, and then treated her as he did, it would kind of cross the line. Suddenly he goes from overbearing dad to abusive boyfriend . . . and her dad.
Also Tim hated that ending so much he kicked a hole in the wall
I’m liking the expansion to more positive nostalgia. It lets us look at movies that were really great and we just want that chance to remember them. Thanks for doing a great review, looking forward to the next ones!
I wasn't expecting this this Nostalgiaween. This was a great start to the season!
15:17 - 15:24 I actually met Greg Proops a few years ago. He was recording his podcast in my city. Really nice guy!
Chris O'Niell: "Oh no it's the Nostalgiaween intro"
- Kingdom Hearts 2 playthrough
NC: The songs were great! They also weren't written to have a hit on the radio or anything...
Phil Collins: *nervous sweating*
I absolutely loved Sally's Song, but I have to admit that I listen to the version in the soundtrack that was done by Amy Lee, it's just beyond fitting for her to sing given she's the lead singer for Evanescence
Give the different translations to the different languages a try, It's one of those movies (and that song in particular) where each country has a slightly different twist on it, as combination of the language having characteristics, the chosen talents, and how they go about it. The german chose Nina Hagen, which gives a very distinct but (for her slightly untypical) brittle rendition which is just amazing. But japanese, russian aso. they are all slightly particular.
agreed.
If some of you actually owned the GBA Version; Oogie himself actually did have a motivation and that Is to create his own bug-theme holiday and wants the other out of commission for his to take over for himself. But If you still want him to shine again; then just play Oogie's revenge Instead!
Also kingdom hearts 2
Just don't be expecting new song material (save for one) when it comes to the vocal songs in Oogie's Revenge. Practically every one of the ones that are sung are just the same ones from the movie but with new lyrics. The only exception to this being the song being sung during the battle with the Doctor (and KINDA the final song, even though it's just a different version of Oogie's song).
I owned the GBA game, but never finished it has it was becoming difficult and I would share it with my younger brother to get past the levels and bosses that I couldn't. The last level where I stopped playing at was in the graveyard (or forest, I couldn't remember) and I couldn't gel with the bit where there's smoke that reverses the controls and there's a timed door with the smoke too. But yeah, I did kind of remember that story being mentioned before the game began and it was a prequel to the movie, I believe.
He could just take over Earth day. Insects are good for that. XD
8:46
I guess you could say Sally
*REALLY FELL FOR JACK!*
I'll see myself out...
19:05 We saw him literally in the opening. He was hinted to ever since the Oogie Boogies henchmen were introduced. Like I just don’t get it
I feel a bit like Mrs. Potts. "After all these years, he's finally learned to love."
No way! Excited to see what this review, and all of Nostalgiaween has in store. The intro is amazing also!
I know defiantly one of my favorite of all the NC intros
Agreed, but I may be biased 🙃
“What is this review? It’s something new…” By the way, anyone remember the teaser trailers from those Disney VHS tapes in the early 1990s? The marketing was very weird. It changed from Walt Disney Pictures to Walt Disney Studios to Touchstone Pictures and eventually back to Walt Disney Pictures after Touchstone Pictures dissolved. Also the Hollywood bowl hosts a live viewing of the movie with Danny Elfman singing the songs. It’s returning this year after a hiatus due to the pandemic.
Dumbass teenage me used to get in arguments that it wasn't a Disney movie, it was a Touchstone movie lol
Lost my shit at “unexplained leg is the best kind of leg” 😂😂
DON’T YOU KNOW THE FOOT IS ALL I REQUIRE?!?!
It's one of those rare jokes that really gets you! 😆
@@anonymousmoth4759 Especially with that Yoshikage Kira guy from Jojo 'cept his thing is Hands!
What if the one line was something like this.
"Curiosity kill the cat you know.
"I know. Zero always chases its ghost."
19:30 Also made for a really fun and creative Boss fight in Kingdom Hearts. Funny enough, that was my introduction to the Nightmare Before Christmas. Up till then, I had only heard about the movie in passing but afterwards I did everything I could to track down the VHS. (Really crazy to think that I still had a VHS player at the time of the PS2 era.) Ended up finding it at a rental store and it became an absolute favorite of mine and a tradition to watch it every Halloween.
I still need to play Kingdom Hearts when I have time. Only beat Birth By Sleep a long time ago(As of this reply).
Every time I watch this movie I think to myself, “dang I need to play kingdom hearts again” 😂
“I didn’t make you to beat my head, I made you to-wait.” The Doctor’s my favourite character and I honest to god lost it there 😭🤣
I remember watching this in the theaters when it first came out. I was 7. I went with a couple of aunts and cousins. I still remember the 90s chic, neon light decor of the place - there was a tunnel of green and purple lights leading to each screen room. There were life-sized cardboard cutouts of the characters and souvenirs for sale at the concession stands. And I remember being blown away by this movie as a kid, and my cousins and I screeched in that annoying way kids do when they're excited about something and hopping up and down.
I still love this movie. There's better stop motion films out there with more engaging dialogue and greater complexity, yes, but this one holds a special place in my little, black heart.
That sounds awesome. I was at an early screening of Illumination's The Grinch, and they had decor and souvenirs as well. The movie was okay, but the experience was the best part. I posed for a picture with a grinch cutout. XD
If you don't have Nostalgiaween fully booked out I would love to see you take a look at the TV film 'Tower of Terror' based off the Disney ride. Has a young Kirsten Dunst and is a fun TV film that not many people I've talked to know about, even if they love the ride.
9:05 I dont think it was a literal vision, rather she just gave Jack a gift, an honest gift from the heart, wich is what christmast is kinda about. After that some chrismast manifested around her, but that could not survive in the land of halloween thus making it burst into flames. Indicating christmast was doomed to fail there.
It's this and _Corpse Bride_ which are my top Burton movies. The "Sing Along" Blu Ray was the best purchase I made for all the extras including Sir Christopher Lee reading the poem which inspired this wonderful flick. Nobody would've done that better than him. Rest in Peace, you magnificent man.
13:57
Surprised you didn’t critique how Jack actually trusts those obviously untrustworthy brats.
He wants to assume the best in people. And monsters. XD
One of my favorite Tim Burton movies, something that manages to be a staple Christmas movie AND a Halloween movie at the same damn time, how many movies can you say do that successfully?
Black christmas???
Honestly, Oogie Boogie works as a better and more developed villain in Kingdom Hearts over this movie
I still think Tarzan 2 would been a great review
I have to admit: Jack with closed eyes was one of the most frightening things of my childhood. I mean... these are empty eye sockets, they are not supposed to be closed like eyelids!
Anyway, the review is awesome, thank you!
I still question that to this day. I guess they wanted some way for Jack to show expressions?
13:47 to skip the nightmarish ads
The Nightmare before Christmas is a perfect blend of creepy and heart warming.
After all these years, you finally decided to review this movie. For as long as I live, I shall look back on this day knowing my prayers have been answered.
Thank you, Doug.
i allways heard the curiosity killed the cat part as:
"i know" = "we were all there at the funeral my guy, let's not bring it up"
or "i still remember how much money i lost on the multiple lives bet"
or even "the cat lady witch is still complaining about you doc for what you did to it!"
I'll go with option a
15:47 R.I.P. to the legendary Ken Page. 😢 Thanks for voicing one of the best Disney villains ever.
On the topic of Chris Sarando's singing voice, in the video game Oogie's Revenge, they incorporate the songs into the boss fights where it becomes a bit of a rhythm game, and change the lyrics accordingly. He does Jack's singing voice in that and it's really good. The game itself looks like fun too, was made by Capcom. If I ever get a PS2 I'll probably end up playing it first thing lol.
Did Chris Sarandon do Jack's singing voice in the game? Because Danny Elfman did his singing voice in the movie.
@@Kyolover8 Yeah!
@@Kyolover8 Him, Ken Page,the Mayor and I think Finkelstein's voice were the only returning ones however. It's not too bad, one of the three little terrors is voiced by the lady who did Phil and Lil in Rugrats, but Sally's voice is so obviously different it's kinda hilarious lol
@@ratchetmechani2002 oh wow I guess that shows how long it's been since I've played that game. I wish they would kinda remaster it and bring it back out for ps4. I honestly love the game it's just I no longer have a ps2 to play it on
@@Kyolover8 I'm just salty it wasn't on GameCube or PC at the time, lol. Only PS2 and Xbox. I'd say Sony should try to get it on the PS Store as a PS2 classic, along with Twisted Metal Head-On but who knows.
The movie was released in between Aladdin and Lion King, Disney released the Nightmare before Christmas to have an animated movie in theaters in 1993. It’s also turned into the Rocky horror picture show for kids with multiple theatrical rereleases, my local theater is showing the movie again!
Nightmare Before Christmas as a children's Rocky Horror fits surprisingly well
@@TheAlps36 it’s such a fun Halloween movie to sing along and even kids dress up as the characters in the movie. The movie has a strong cult following, my cousins saw it in theaters few times.
I love this movie, and a few years ago when it re-released and they made a new soundtrack asking bands to cover the score, I realized that is can easily be classified as a musical as listening to the songs in order tells the story almost on it's own.
Tim Burton has said the original poem was inspired after seeing Halloween merchandise display in a store being taken down and replaced by a Christmas display. The juxtaposition of ghouls and goblins with Santa and his reindeer sparked his imagination.
In 2001, Walt Disney Pictures began to consider producing a sequel, but rather than using stop motion, Disney wanted to use computer animation. Tim Burton convinced Disney to drop the idea. "I was always very protective of [Nightmare] not to do sequels or things of that kind," Burton explained. "You know, 'Jack visits Thanksgiving world' or other kinds of things just because I felt the movie had a purity to it and the people that like it."
It is stated in "The Making of..." book that the most difficult shot to film in the entire movie is the shot in which Jack is reaching for the doorknob to Christmasland. Viewers can see the perfect surround reflection of the forest around Jack in the background.
Zero's nose is actually a tiny glowing jack-o'-lantern.
The reason it's Sally's left arm that detaches after she jumps out the window is because her right arm was more recently stitched up, making it more secure to her body.
Some of the presents Jack delivers to the kids are nods to Tim Burton films. The snake looks like a Sandworm from Beetlejuice (1988), and the shrunken head is from the afterlife waiting room in the same film. The Cat and Duck are both featured in Batman Returns (1992) - the Cat as the mascot for Shreck's department store, the duck resembling a vehicle driven by the Penguin.
Oogie Boogey is reminiscent of the Boogeyman concept and old phrase "don't let the bed bugs bite" since Oogie is a pun on the Boogeyman and is composed of bugs.
Jack breaks off one of his own rib bones for Zero to fetch.
In 2013, Catherine O'Hara participated in "Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton" to perform "Sally's Song" from this film. She received a standing ovation when she entered the stage, as well as when she left.
The character of Dr. Finklestein is listed only as "Evil Scientist" in the cast credits.
This is the first stop-motion animated film to be rated PG by the MPAA.
In the first few seconds after the title is shown, you can see that there are actually 7 Holiday Doors. Going counter clockwise, the doors are: A Pumpkin (for Halloween), A decorated Christmas Tree (for Christmas), A turkey (for Thanksgiving), A brightly colored egg (for Easter), a green four leafed clover (for St. Patrick's Day), a red heart (for Valentines Day), and a red and white and blue firework that can only be seen at the very beginning for just a few seconds. This door could be for American Independence Day or British Bonfire Night.
Marilyn Manson did a cover of the song "This Is Halloween."
Despite being considered a villain by many fans, Tim Burton himself does not consider Oogie Boogie evil. Nevertheless, Oogie is still marketed as a villain and is considered one due to his heinous actions against Santa, Sally and Jack throughout the movie.
Jack's doorbell is a nod to a similar contraption in the Addams Family original TV series.
The bathtub has human feet.
Chris Sarandon was cast as Jack Skellington because his speaking voice matched the singing voice of Danny Elfman.
The simple dialogue in this movie must be why it's one of the most organically worked in worlds for Kingdom Hearts, as the dialogue in those games can be kind of cringy and simplistic
Ironic seeing how the games are one of the most convoluted things to ever exist
It’s So Hard To Tell What Intro For Nostalgiaween Would Be.
That’s Awesome You Did The Donald Duck Short!
"I'm a cameo!"
-Pure catto pumpkin, 2021
Also:
"What the hell does this have to do with Jesus?"
-Jack
Yes, I was thinking: should i watch it on Halloween or Christmas? The thing is, it fits both!
But is this movie for Halloween or Christmas?
I'd watch it on Christmas
Diego Bareno I did watch it and I find it amazing
All year
But if i had to choose id say wach it on Halloween
I love how the animated intro for this years Nostalgiaween is a big reference to that one Donald Duck Halloween episode where Huey Dewey and Louie try to get candy from Donald as he pranks them and the which helps them out thus making a reference that we all see in the intro
I was wondering why that song sounds like it's from the 40s.
4:16, To be very fair, the Devil (or Demon if you wanna call him that) is a Scary Creature, so him being a Citizen in Halloween Town is okay for me and I'll let that slide for know.
"What does any of this have to do with Jesus?"
Why did that make me laugh so damn hard
i just thought "wait til he sees Easter"
It makes the Thanksgiving door seem like a missed opportunity, but that might be harder to explain.
I mean, it is kinda true. XD The winter solstice was what originally was celebrated. The Christians just decided to put their own twist on it.
@@pundertalefan4391 that and to fit in to avoid being ridiculed by Pagans.
That’s the theme of Jack’s Obsession. It’s a satire on how the Christ is so taken out of Christmas that Jack can’t even find it with a serious anthropological study.
In all honesty, the entire NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS story was all in the music; they literally went into production doing the song scenes and going through screenwriters (including former Burton writers like FRANKENWEENIE's Lenny Ripp and BEETLEJUICE's Malcolm McDowell). Then, Burton quickly asked EDWARD SCISSORHANDS scribe Caroline Thompson to write the script. However, not only was she irritated neither Burton nor then-BF Danny Elfman had come to her first, but the songs were so intergrated into the story, she felt she could contribute very little, so much of her script was more in developing the Sally story, which DOES make sense as honestly Sally wasn't a big part of the original short story nor much of the film itself (Elfman only added the SALLY SONG after Thompson had written her overall story). Sadly, she found the experience distressing and unfortunately never worked with Burton again.
Actually it’s Michael McDowell who wrote “Beetlejuice”; he was a famous horror writer. Sadly he passed away young
@@LucyLioness100 Okay. Sorry. At least I got the McDowell right (and yeah, sadly passed on particularly young; co-wrote a book with Stephen King's wife too)
That makes sense, the story felt rushed and underdeveloped from having had to be rewritten but the Sally parts were the best written and it's a shame they didn't get more development.
I think Christmas decorations going up before Halloween is Santa's revenge on Jack. "Let's see how YOU like having your holiday hijacked! Ho-ho-ho!"
XD Wow.
Fun fact critic there is actually a sequel book, called 'Long Live the Pumpkin Queen'
And this thing has speculated about turning that book into a movie, and yes the book was written with Tim Burton's permission
"I give ...five more years until people call that problematic."
*eats orange and black popcorn:* Don't gave them ideas, Critic!