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Reviews WesternAnimation / The Nightmare Before Christmas

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DrNoPuma [[VideoGame/{{Klonoa}} Tat]] Since: Mar, 2015
[[VideoGame/{{Klonoa}} Tat]]
09/18/2023 12:04:45 •••

Excellent on a technical level, but story needs work

Let's get one thing out of the way: This movie has no flaws that I can think of on a technical level. The animation is mind-blowing, the acting is great, and I love the musical style. This is one of my most favorite animated movies of all time. However, there are a few things that bug me about the story. I'll list them here:

  1. It doesn't really teach the true meaning of Christmas. My family and I love How the Grinch Stole Christmas! because it teaches that Christmas is about more than just presents and Santa Claus. But in this movie, that's apparently all that Christmas is about. When Jack can't go to deliver presents, the Corpse Kid says "There goes Christmas" and it's treated like a major Tear Jerker. And Christmas is only "saved" because Santa delivers good presents. I'm not saying they had to talk about the Nativity (most Christmas movies don't), but this movie could have at least talked about some of the other values of Christmas, such as spending time together, giving, etc. I think that's what Jack was really missing in "Jack's Obsession" and if only Santa or someone else had talked to him about the true meaning of Christmas, that would have really wrapped up the story nicely.
  2. Jack doesn't seem to grow that much as a person. Jack is a fun protagonist, but when I rewatched the movie recently, I noticed that he's kind of self-absorbed throughout most of the movie. Most of the story is about him trying to get what he wants, with dozens of loyal followers supporting him, and he glides through the conflict with nothing of consequence happening to him (he survives getting shot down with no injuries, and he gets only a brief reprimand from Santa that barely affects him.) He does call Santa and Sally his "friends," but I don't see much evidence that he really cares for them that much. He and Sally feel Strangled by the Red String at the end. I wish there was a scene before the ending that makes it clear that Jack cares for Sally as much as Sally cares for him.
  3. Oogie is a Plot-Irrelevant Villain. He's so cool, and it kills me that he didn't have a bigger role in the movie. Here's what I would have done. Since he's the Shadow on the Moon, I would have Jack stay on the spiral hill until the end of "Jack's Lament" and then have Oogie speak to Jack via the moon. Oogie would tell Jack about the other holiday doors and manipulate Jack into leaving Halloween Town. This could be the beginning of a grandiose plan to take over Halloween Town and turn it into... Helloween Town. (rimshot) This would also highlight Oogie as a Foil to Jack, showing what kind of monster Jack could become if he doesn't put aside his egotistical ways.

That's all. Again, nothing bad to say about the animation, music, acting, or anything like that.

rjung Since: Jan, 2015
09/17/2023 00:00:00

DrNoPuma, while I agree with most of the points you made, I do feel compelled to address this one:

"It doesn't really teach the true meaning of Christmas." You are absolutely correct, but I would argue that Nightmare isn't trying to say anything about Christmas at all. Despite the title, the true story here is Jack's development as a character — trying to find a "meaning of Christmas" moral in this film is like watching Knives Out and expecting to learn about honing and being a cutler.

In fact, I think most of your criticisms of the movie can be addressed if we accept that Jack is simply the Anthropomorphic Personification of Halloween. He's got one thing to do that he absolutely excels at, but he's stuck in a rut and makes a well-meaning but misguided attempt to get himself out of it with something new. He's self-absorbed only because that's his nature; everyone else in Halloween Town is a creation to support his will (and a similar argument can be made for the other holiday personaifications — I doubt the elves in Christmas Town have any major ambitions of their own). Jack is an Easily Forgiven Karma Houdini because there's never any malice in his actions; he simply wanted to try something different, and his mess-up is quickly resolved because his mess happens on the day when the Anthropomorphic Personification of Christmas is at his most powerful. It's like a toddler who playfully throws a pillow off the bed, followed by the mildly-irate parent who puts it back in place with a chuckle (and really, is there anyone more qualified to know if someone is truly malicious or not than Santa Claus?).

I agree with you that Oogie is a cool but wasted Plot Irrelevant Villain, but I don't think the movie would have worked as well if it was a bog-standard "battle for the crown" plotline. Jack's Curb Stomp Battle with Oogie simply reinforces the idea of Jack as the Anthropomorphic Personification of Halloween; Oogie may be frightening to the other denizens of Halloween Town all he wants, but Jack is the god of the realm.

WarJay77 (Troper Knight)
09/18/2023 00:00:00

Yeah, I find it kind of odd to criticize this movie when it's not trying to make any statements on the meaning of Christmas. It's just a movie about the king of Halloween discovering Christmas but not understanding it. Not every Christmas movie actually needs a moral or to explain the goodness of the holiday. (I mean, Halloween is also about more than just candy and spooky stuff, but that's all it depicts in this movie as well. Would you actually enjoy it, though, if they halted the story to talk about the true importance of Halloween as a holiday of returning spirits and honoring souls?)

I can agree with the other points, though, but I think rjung is correct about why all of this is. Jack had no bad intentions; he was simply unable to comprehend what Christmas was because he had never experienced it before. And then throughout the journey he regained his passion for Halloween and decided to embrace who he was instead of attempting to be Santa. While IDK if he IS the personification of the holiday or not as was suggested, he's spent his days being worshipped by literally everyone in Halloween Town because he's the scariest of them all — those aren't circumstances that would make anyone humble, nor do the citizens ever question him because... why would they? He's their king! I also don't think Jack was intended to be seen as a horribly selfish character, so having him learn a lesson doesn't really fit the tone of the movie which is more about Jack deciding to do what he loves once again.

Oogie is an interesting one because while it's true that he doesn't impact the actual plot much, he does at least make it clear that the people of Halloween Town are not evil and are just "silly" scary types who mean no harm. He's not Jack's foil because he's selfish; he's Jack's foil because he's malicious and feared by everyone in the bad way. Also, he does at least provide a situation where Santa needs to actually be saved and isn't just, like, sitting around looking at pumpkins and stuff.

Current Project: Black Sheep

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