Nightmare Before Christmas Steelbook

My favorite Halloween & Christmas movie!!! Fun for whole family

Fantástico

My family watches this every year at Christmas time, though it is entertaining to watch anytime of the year!

gift

Very good movie

Note: This is a review of the 2008 DVD releaseWhat's this? A new "Nightmare Before Christmas" DVD package? Actually there are three versions: this two-disc set that includes a downloadable digital copy, a Blu-ray version, and a collector's edition that comes with a bust of Jack Skellington with a detachable Sandy Claus beard and hat.Though this version is billed as a two-disc set, it actually has three discs. The third one contains the digital copy. An instruction sheet spells out in clear steps how to download the file to an iPod or similar device.The movie itself is a feast for the eyes, ears and imagination. A delectable witches' brew of stop-motion animation, catchy show tunes and a seriously warped creative license, it always stays true to its timeless message: to be happy, be yourself. Devilishly nonconformist, it's an enduring holiday musical for the whole Addams family.Well, almost. Though all of its fright gags are played entirely for laughs, some of the imagery is downright creepy, especially for small children. Anyone older than say, 6, however, should enjoy every minute. Teenagers will love it.The story -- the citizens of Halloweentown attempt to annex neighboring Christmastown -- comes from the macabre mind of producer Tim Burton, who wrote it in his spare time (as a poem!) while working as a Disney animator in the 1980s. The movie blends the tastiest bits of Burton's earlier Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands with a sprinkling of the stop-motion magic first found in Disney's 1961 Babes in Toyland.The imaginative cast of characters includes:* Pumpkin King Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon), a mischievous misfit who believes his purpose in life is to merge the holidays of Halloween and Christmas.* Jack's faithful dog Zero, a ghost with a glowing, jack-o'-lantern nose who, like the hound in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, eventually pulls a sleigh* Rag-doll heroine Sally (voiced by Catherine O'Hara), Jack's love interest, who sews herself back together when she loses a body part* Oogie Boogie (Broadway veteran Ken Page), a slimy, singing bag of bugs who channels the cartoon version of Cab Calloway in the old Betty Boop cartoons* Lock (Paul "Pee-Wee Herman" Reubens), Shock (O'Hara) and Barrel (Danny Elfman, the film's composer), a trio of evil trick-or-treaters who "kidnap the Sandy Claws"* Wheelchair-bound evil scientist Dr. Finklestein (William Hickey), a duckbilled quack whose flip-top head lets him scratch his brains for inspiration* A mayor (Glenn Shadix, the interior director Otho in Beetlejuice) who is literally two-faced.Blessed with the ability to bring adult minds back to child's level, Burton dwells in dark mischief. In fact, some of Nightmare's best scenes include the kidnapping of Santa Claus and Jack's hilarious attempt to replace him on Christmas Eve, when the skeleton gleefully delivers presents such as tree-devouring snakes and severed, shrunken heads.Director Henry Selick painstakingly created the film over three years. Though he had a production crew of over 100, each minute of footage took a week, as each second required 24 ever-so-slightly different shots.BONUS FEATURESThis 2-disc DVD package has a nice collection of extras:* An audio commentary with Burton, Selick and Elfman.* A downloadable digital copy of the film, which you can transfer to an iPod or similar device.* Burton's first short, 1982's 6-minute "Vincent," a black-and-white stop-action film about a boy who dreams of being Vincent Price, who narrates.* Burton's 1994 Disney live-action short "Frankenweenie." This 30-minute black-and-white film re-imagines the Frankenstein story as the tale of a young boy and his car-struck pet dog in suburban America. A recently taped introduction by Burton shows some working sketches being used for his full-length version now in development.* A reading of Burton's original "Nightmare Before Christmas" poem by actor Christopher Lee* A promotional film for the annual "Nightmare" makeover of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion.* Promotional and making-of featurettes, a storyboard to film comparison, deleted scenes and theatrical trailers and posters

I like this movie. Grandson loves it. Didn’t purchase through Amazon so Im not sure why I was asked to review through Amazon.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is one hour and sixteen minutes and was released in theaters on October 15, 1993. The movie was initially to be released through Disney Studios, but the powers that be though that Nightmare was and I quote "too dark and scary for kids". Jack Skellington, The Pumpkin King, has just finished another Halloween and is depressed because it is the same old scare year after year; though the residents of Halloween Town enjoy it very much. Jack is looking for that something in his life and goes wondering off into the woods and find the holiday trees of Valentine Day, Easter, Saint Patrick Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas. Each tree is a portal to that town and he accidently opens the Christmas Tree's portal door and gets sucked into Christmas Town. Jack is amazed at what he sees in Christmas Town; Christmas Town is the exact opposite of Halloween Town. In Christmas Town everybody is happy, building toys, and the smell of pie is everywhere. When Jack comes back to Halloween town and calls a town meeting, he tries to explain Christmas to the resident but the residents just cannot grasp it.Jack heads home and stays lock up in his lab trying to use a scientific approach to understand Christmas as well as performing experiments. Finally Jack is able to solve the problem about Christmas and announce to the residents of Halloween Town, who are witches, ghosts, vampires, zombies and bunch of other scary residents, that Christmas is ours this year. The only thing wrong with this picture is that the people who live in Halloween Town have live a life of scaring, doing creepy things, and being evil. They are unable to grasp the goodness of Christmas, but they do their best to try. The sleigh that Jack drives is coffin shaped and is pulled\flown by three skeleton reindeers; just to give you and example. Jack sends Lock, Shock and Barrel to snatch Santa Claus and bring him to Halloween Town. The three are able to find Santa Claus and hand him over to Oogie Boogie who begins to taunt him. Meanwhile Jack, along with his ghost dog Zero, flies off into the night sky with his bag of scary toys to hand out to the children of the world.Jack plans backfires when the parents inform the police of the phony Santa Clause and Jack's sleigh and reindeers are shot down from the sky. Jack realizes what he has done and head back to Halloween Town to rescue Santa Clause and set everything straight. Jack discovers that Santa Claus is held captive by Oogie Boogie and that Oogie Boogie is about to kill Santa Claus and Sally. Jack is able to rescue Santa Clause and Sally and defeats Oogie Boogie. In the end Santa Claus is able to restore Christmas and out the end of the movie it begins to snow and the residents begin to sing their version of What's This. Not since Mad Monster Party came out in 1967 has there been a stop motion picture been made; though I could be wrong. The Nightmare Before Christmas gets an AAAAA+++++.DVD EXTRASChapter SelectionsSet UpA. Spoken LanguagesB. Captions and SubtitlesC. Return To FilmBonus MaterialsA. Theatrical TrailerB. Additional TitlesPlayVHS EXTRASPreviews1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs2. D2 The Mighty Ducks3. Gargoyles