Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 30, 1993 TAG: 9311010058
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO Correspondent
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It's an unusual full-length work of stop-motion animation. There are no human actors in the film, only clay puppets that are moved slightly and photographed one frame at a time. There's no other way this curious little fantasy could have been told.
Burton's story is set mostly in Halloweentown, where long-legged Jack Skellington (sung by Danny Elfman, spoken by Chris Sarandon) is the king of the holiday. He's the most imaginative of the cute but grotesque characters who live there. Every year, he comes up with the most spectacular trick-or-treat stunt.
Lately though, he's grown tired of his success. He thinks that there are no more worlds left to conquer. He's so melancholy he hasn't noticed that poor Sally (Catherine O'Hara), with her detachable limbs, is desperately in love with him.
Then Jack stumbles across Christmastown and is delighted by the shiny trappings and generosity of spirit he finds there. He's so taken with the place that, in a moment of madness, he decides that Halloween and Christmas should be combined.
That's about all there is to the plot. It's secondary to the film's overall tone and appearance. Those are appropriately bizarre and hard to define.
Burton, who produced the film and came up with the story and characters, is trying to create another variation of the whimsical atmosphere that was so important to "Edward Scissorhands" and "Beetlejuice," a combination of childlike wonder and horror that isn't really frightening.
Judged by that standard, the movie does exactly what he means it to do. Burton and director Henry Selick sustain a dark, charmed mood. At the same time, though, the film is so cool in emotional terms that it's difficult to develop any real interest or to care about what happens.
Songs that Elfman composed carry much of the action and, for the most part, they're not particularly memorable. Only one of them, "What Is This?" really cuts loose. The rest aren't as strong, but Elfman's instrumental score is as evocative as work on "Batman."
Serious fans of animation will find a lot to enjoy in this "Nightmare," and despite the subject, it's not really too intense or graphic for younger viewers either.
Other audiences will come away from the film with the same curious reaction they've had to other Burton films. In most cases that will mean either delighted or perplexed.
\ Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: **1/2 stars. A Touchstone release playing at the Tanglewood Mall Theatre. 76 min. Rated PG for subject matter.
by CNB