Tag Archives: 1993

Movie Project #47: The Nightmare Before Christmas [1993]

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Due to the surprising success of my initial Movies Project, I decided to do a part two for 2012. This time around I put a greater emphasis on directors I am not familiar with, but I also tried to compile a mix of different genres and eras. This will be an ongoing project with the finish date being sometime this year.

The Nightmare Before Christmas [1993]

The Nightmare Before Christmas [1993]
Director: Henry Selick
Genre: Animation/Family/Fantasy
Starring: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon and Catherine O’Hara
Running Time: 76 minutes

Although this is only the second movies project I have put together, I am noticing a trend. There is one film from each that garners the biggest “how have you not seen this?!?” reaction. With last year’s project, hands down it was Back to the Future. This year it’s Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (with apologies to Rocky and The Bourne Identity).

Set in the spookily morbid world of Halloween Town, the film follows the plight of one Jack Skellington, a thin skeleton who wears a snazzy black pin-striped suit. Every year the monsters and mutants that make up the town’s population rely on Jack to lead their Halloween celebrations. This year, however, Jack has become disillusioned with their proceedings. While wandering about, he stumbles upon a portal into a new world — Christmas Town — and becomes enchanted with what he sees there. Seeking to bring that Christmas spirit into his hometown, Jack decides he wants to be Santa Claus and hires a group of residents to kidnap the jolly fat man.

The Nightmare Before Christmas [1993]

Clearly this is a bad idea, but it sets the precedence for some of the film’s greatest moments. As a trio of kids — dubbed Lock, Shock and Barrel — chase down Santa, a ridiculously inappropriate (but wildly amusing) song starts playing that discusses how they want to “chop Santa into bits.” I don’t know how appropriate that is for children, but I got a kick out of it. It was also a lot of fun watching Jack masquerade as Santa Claus, delivering frightful gifts to little kids.

Outside of these comical bits, however, I felt little attachment to the film. Most of Danny Elfman’s musical numbers, outside of the opening tune, are forgettable, and the film’s emotional development rests its weight on the skinny little shoulders of Jack Skellington. Most of the supporting characters fall flat, and I did not feel connected to any of them.

The Nightmare Before Christmas [1993]

On the flip side, I did find it amazing that Burton’s stop-motion animation still holds up remarkably well nearly 20 years later. I can’t use the word “beautiful” because of the grotesque subject matter, but this is one slick-looking film. The character designs are especially imaginative, and there’s always something new to catch the eye.

I can’t help but feel that a lot of The Nightmare Before Christmas‘ appeal rides heavily on nostalgia from those who saw it in their youth. It’s a solid film, but is it truly worthy of its near-unanimous praise (IMDB Top 250, 96% on Rotten Tomatoes)?

7/10

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The Sandlot [1993]

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The Sandlot [1993]
Director: David M. Evans
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Family/Sports
Language: English
Country: USA

“You’re killin’ me, Smalls!”

The Sandlot is a movie that I have fond memories of watching as a child. I grew up as a huge baseball fan and loved to play the game, so it is easy to see why this was one of my favorite movies back then. The movie is about a kid, Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry), who moves into a new neighborhood and has difficulty making friends. He stumbles upon a sandlot baseball game and is very interested despite not knowing anything about the sport. One kid, Benny (Mike Vitar), gives him a chance and decides to help him learn the game. The first half of the movie is about Smalls bonding with the other baseball players (who are an interesting batch of characters themselves). Once Smalls is accepted, the movie quickly changes gears into a battle of man vs. dog. Outside of the sandlot, there is a house with a nasty dog-beast that supposedly eats both children and baseballs. When Smalls loses his stepfather’s prized Babe Ruth autographed baseball over the fence, the kids try to figure out how to get the ball back.

After watching the Sandlot for the first time in several years, I greatly enjoyed the first half of the movie. I was able to relate to Smalls in terms of trying to fit in with a new group of peers, and I couldn’t help but wax nostalgic at my own childhood. The movie gets a bit too over-the-top for my liking now when it comes to the dog/beast/monster behind the fence. I can see how kids would get a kick out of this subplot, however.

The Sandlot is filled with memorable scenes and characters. Who could ever forget Ham (Patrick Renna), the pudgy catcher on the team who uttered the timeless quote at the beginning of this review? How about the scene where the kids try chewing tobacco just like their baseball idols, and then proceed to get sick on a tilt-a-whirl ride? Of course, Squint’s (Chauncey Leopardi) run-in with the sultry lifeguard is unforgettable as well.

There is a lot to like in The Sandlot, and it has certainly withstood the test of time. Even with the ridiculous antics involving the dog, this is a great movie. This is a movie I plan on watching with my own children when that time comes. You don’t have to like baseball to enjoy this adventure, either.

8/10