This post might be extremely opinionated but I’ll try and use as many examples and facts as I can. I don’t believe I have seen an animated movie with as much creativity and innovation as The Nightmare Before Christmas. That’s probably a very bold claim and I’m also going to admit I’m very biased on this topic. I mean I’ve seen the movie more times than I can probably count on my hands, but I digress. This wonderful film is full of crazy characters, fun and sometimes powerful songs, and amazing landscapes. I think the film critique Roger Ebert puts it best when he says, “The movies can create entirely new worlds for us, but that is one of their rarest gifts.[…] One of the many pleasures of ‘Tim Burton‘s the Nightmare Before Christmas’ is that there is not a single recognizable landscape within it.”
The movie is set around the idea that each holiday has it’s own town that basically runs it. Jack Skellington, the main character, is the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown. Every year for Halloween he helps come up with new ideas to celebrate the holiday with the town, however this year he is not in the Halloween spirit. The movie begins with the Halloween celebration but afterward Jack is in a slump, he is tired of doing the same thing every year so he goes for a walk. He ends up walking all night until he ends up lost in the woods and finds a circle of trees with painted doors, each with a representation of a certain holiday. He ends up choosing the door for Christmas and his eyes are opened to a new world full of cheery elves and colorful lights. Once Jack gets a taste he wants more and decides that he will take over Christmas this year with some help from his Halloweentown friends.
The story alone is unlike anything I had ever heard before which might be part of the reason it’s so popular. However there are many other aspects that make this such a great and original film. The look and movement of the characters. Jack’s skeleton frame and his graceful movement add a beautiful element that always catches my eye, no matter how many times I watch it. I have such respect for the crew on this set because to create that kind of movement on a stop motion picture, you probably want to pull your hair out by the end. The songs and music in general in this movie are also magnificent. The range of ferocity to softness that Danny Elfman was able to bring to the voice of Jack was incredible. The best example of this is definitely in the song “Jack’s Lament”.
Overall if you haven’t seen the movie I highly recommend it and I hope you’ll love it as much as I do.
just animation 
I am a big fan of Tim Burton’s work. I love the way he does stop motion animation and how smooth he gets it. Of all his works for some reason this is my least favorite of all of them. I like the idea of the movie, the scenery, and the characters but it just didn’t capture my attention as much as his other works did, like Corpse Bride or Coraline. One of my favorite things about Tim Burton is how he can create these dark, eye-opening worlds that make you look at your surroundings a bit differently. I do agree with the points you made, it’s just not one of my favorites.
I hate to say it but I was never a fan of this movie. I do enjoy the work and appreciate what tim burton does. To do a future length film in stop motion alone is incredible and I do not want to take that away from him. But I could never get behind the story and characters he chose to use. I enjoy the backgrounds involved in the movie because they are so extravagant. But this movie as a whole I did not enjoy.
I think you’re the second person I’ve heard this from. I guess I understand I mean it’s not for everyone, but at least you can appreciate it which is great