‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ A Visually Entertaining Original Flick (Disney Plus)

*** You can find 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' on the Disney Plus streaming service***

Around Halloween 1993, Walt Disney Pictures released another little Halloween feature called “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Earlier that year, the studio released the modern classic “Hocus Pocus.” This Tim Burton produced movie ended up receiving great reviews and became a decent hit. Over the years, it has become a cult classic and has been reissued in theaters quite a few times.

In the Walt Disney Pictures/Tim Burton presentation of “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” the film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown’s beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the “real world.”

When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life - he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry.

“Nightmare Before Christmas” is a unique and original movie that will always be remembered for years to come. The Tim Burton produced movie is visually incredible and is quite entertaining. Quite a few sequences are very imaginative and there is even a bit of humor scattered throughout. The songs that were created for the movie are certainly entertaining and fans of the 1993 movie will surely know them by heart. So, come on down to the theater and check out the misadventures of the Pumpkin King on the big screen! Filled with great songs and great fun, “Nightmare Before Christmas” will ALWAYS deliver, no matter how many times you have seen it over the years.

The cast: Chris Sarandon (Fright Night; the original Child’s Play) as Jack Skellington, Catherine O’Hara (The Addams Family) as Sally/Shock, William Hickey (Christmas Vacation; Major Payne) as Dr. Finkelstein, Glenn Shadix (Beetlejuice) as Mayor, Ken Page as Oogie Boogie, Paul Reubens as Lock and Danny Elfman (also the movie’s composer/songwriter) as the singing voice of Jack/voice of Barrel. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is written by Caroline Thompson (1991s The Addams Family; Corpse Bride; Edward Scissorhands) and directed by Henry Selick (Coraline; Monkeybone; James and the Giant Peach).

In the early 1980s, Tim Burton wrote a small poem called “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, which ultimately became the basic storyline for the 1993 movie. Even though Burton created the story and produced the movie, he didn’t direct due to working on “Batman Returns'' at the same time. It took a group of around 100 people three years to complete this movie.

According to director Henry Selick, Vincent Price was originally cast as Santa Claus. But, due to his failing health and weaker vocal performance, Price had to step away from the movie. At one point, Tim Burton considered making this a TV special rather than a feature film.

In 2001, Disney began to consider producing a sequel, but rather than using stop-motion, Disney wanted to use CGI. Burton ultimately convinced the studio to drop the idea. A 2004 video game, “The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge,” eventually served as a sequel to the movie. A film follow up is still in the works as of February 2019.

“Nightmare Before Christmas” was initially released on October 29, 1993. The modern classic earned $74 million domestically and roughly $89 million worldwide. The numerous theatrical re-releases helped the movie’s financial run over the years.

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is rated PG for some scary images and has a running time of 76 minutes.