The Reel Rejects - Extended Version: THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993) IS A MASTERPIECE!! MOVIE REACTION! Full Commentary

Episode Date: October 27, 2025

THIS IS HALLOWEEN, THIS IS HALLOWEEN!! The Nightmare Before Christmas Reaction Watch Along: ⁠  / thereelrejects  ⁠ Receive your New Customer offer + 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at ⁠https://www.mintmobile.com/REJECTS⁠ Grab The New TARAfier Tee & Halloween Sweater: ⁠https://www.rejectnationshop.com/⁠ With Halloween drawing near, Aaron & Johnald give their The Nightmare Before Christmas Movie Commentary Reaction, Recap, Breakdown, & Spoiler Review! Aaron Alexander & John Humphrey react to The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), the iconic stop-motion musical fantasy directed by Henry Selick (Coraline, James and the Giant Peach) and based on the original story and characters created by Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice). Produced by Danny Elfman and Caroline Thompson, this beloved cult classic bridges the worlds of Halloween and Christmas in one unforgettable tale. The film follows Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon – Fright Night, The Princess Bride, with singing voice by Danny Elfman – Oingo Boingo, The Simpsons) as the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town who grows bored with his spooky routine and stumbles upon the magic of Christmas Town. His attempt to take over Santa’s holiday leads to chaos, self-discovery, and some of the most imaginative animation ever created. The cast also features Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone, Schitt’s Creek) as Sally, the ragdoll with a heart of gold; William Hickey (Prizzi’s Honor, The Jerky Boys) as Dr. Finkelstein; Glenn Shadix (Beetlejuice, Demolition Man) as Mayor of Halloween Town; and Ken Page (Dreamgirls, Cats) as the jazzy villain Oogie Boogie. Iconic and highly searched moments include Jack’s haunting “What’s This?” sequence, the kidnapping of Santa Claus, Oogie Boogie’s musical showdown, and Sally’s bittersweet “Sally’s Song.” With its handcrafted stop-motion visuals, Elfman’s timeless music, and a perfect blend of eerie and heartfelt, The Nightmare Before Christmas remains one of the most enduring animated films ever made — a masterpiece that captures both the spirit of Halloween and the joy of Christmas. Follow Aaron On Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/therealaaronalexander/?hl=en⁠ Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...⁠ Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! ⁠https://www.rejectnationshop.com/⁠ Follow Us On Socials:  Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/⁠  Tik-Tok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/reelrejects⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/⁠ Music Used In Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...⁠ POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit⁠ https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo⁠ and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en⁠ Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.⁠ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO:⁠ https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects⁠ Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB:  ⁠https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/⁠ INSTAGRAM: ⁠ https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/⁠ TWITTER:  ⁠https://twitter.com/thereelrejects⁠ Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:  ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/⁠ TWITTER:  ⁠https://twitter.com/thegregalba⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Commentary. Commentary. That's right. Blan, brawain. Rewatch Breakdown, et cetera. These are a fun kind of recent addition to the programming, the fine programming here on the Real Rejects Network.

And I'm excited to jump in to you know, actually this is a perfect November movie. It's a nightmare before Christmas we are about to watch. I'm just, I'm writing the nervous anticipation. are you excited how's your day going how you feeling i'm feeling okay today just uh having some weird body things going on but today i'm feeling actually okay ate me a little salad before we shan

i'm uh we're in the cold studio today so i got me my uh my my my shaman real rejects blanket look on it's a good look thank you thank you get your your blankets here i have my additional I just have an additional sweater So I need to be like you And go to rejectnation shop.com Yeah I'm double-blinking it up So how are you did?

I'm good, I'm good The Tim Burton hair isn't working out As well as I'd hope today I should have spray painted like a streak in it But you know we we endure We persevere I feel like it has been a pretty decent day so far Shot some cool stuff earlier

And yeah I'm excited to jump into a movie That I've grown up with That I love that I watch every year between Halloween and Christmas and uh nice and yeah that you know favorites collides is it so you don't want to play favorites no man it's like it's the right in the between you know when i got the november blues and i like i want Halloween to still be around but i'm also kind of starting to look forward to the cozier holidays like you know it's it's perfect because it goes right in the middle that's beautiful yeah and then you guys can watch this commentary right in the middle that's right in your gears to come as well that's right

And you can also watch it in its fullest extent and form at the Patreon page, patreon.com slash the Real Rejects, where you can sync up with your own copy as well. Over there, we've got the watchalongs for any of the reaction highlights you see here on this channel and a bunch of other shows and stuff with highlights and watchongs streaming as well. I've got a great community of people too. They often are here chiming in on our reviews. This isn't a traditional React video, so the video kind of is the review. but in a normal video they would be guiding our questions afterwards and you know you get a little insight into our shooting schedule just save a little 15% on rejectnation shop.com swag this is our Halloween sweater for the year, new blankies so you can carry it around like Linus I think this intro is long enough though

very excited to hop into this commentary I hope we do a good job and flip an A let's make some Christmas Oh boy Oh shit I'm about to I'm like oddly Like I haven't had like A butterfly

scenario before a react video In a long time Because this isn't a normal react video It's like a commentary Yeah it is So this is different a little bit We get to talk more freely We don't have to wait for the information

We can ask questions Yeah That the movie answers Because we were talking over it We don't have to appreciate or admire Any of the dialogue No We can talk over every moment.

We just have to admire every second of Tim Burton's direction in this movie. Because he definitely directed it. Definitely directed it. That's a fact that he did do that. It's funny. We're joking about this. And the second the music kicks in, I'm like, oh, I just want to walk in. Yeah.

Lovely title card. It is very beautiful. Oh, yeah, and all the holidays. It's been a minute stuff seeing this. Perhaps you've seen in your dreams took place in the holiday worlds of old. See, this is, too, before we had, like, cinematic universe brain, and I'm like, let's do an Easter one, let's do a Thanksgiving one. I wouldn't be mad if you saw different variations of the holidays,

but, you know, in this style. Oh, man. That type of scarecrow is, like, indelibly just part of my Halloween aesthetic brain. Oh, nostalgia. Would you like to see something strange? I would love to know how they shot stuff like this. Because you could just move camera through some of this stuff. Oh, yeah.

But then you have, you know, visual effects ghosts, I assume. The buildings can look like witches in that wide. Huh, I never noticed that. Yeah, I wonder how they did do this. Eyes split open. Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair. Dude, this movie has made more money for Hot Topic than any other property. These guys, like...

I still own a ring that somebody gave me from this movie years before I ever saw it. You got to bring that ring in. Yeah, next reaction for sure. I am the shadow on the moon at night, filling your trees to the brim with price. This is an ex-exam. An excellent overture as just a tone setter and all these different iconic images and characters. No, it definitely sets the tone really well. And I love even the design aspect of it, just like the small details and all of their outfits.

The mayor design is great. I love that the kids called themselves tender lumplings as well. I'm going to start referring to myself that way. Okay, if those are, the only thing I'm confused about, if those are skulls hanging from a tree, then what is Jack? Because those skulls don't look like Jack's skull. Yeah, they're like different types of skeleton you can be.

I suppose so. A pumpkin song. Yeah, our moist boy. Hey, I love, too, that there's this ritual. Like, he becomes this, like, scarecrow thing that they, yeah, cast into a, you know, fountain and he becomes, you know. Great Halloween, everybody.

I believe it was our most horrible yet. I love the camaraderie. Without your brilliant leadership. Not at all, mayor. You're a richest, fondest dream. You made Walls fall. We want to suck your bones, Jack. Walls Fall always used to pull me in and make me wonder back in the day.

You're coming with me. Oh, I'm not. I do want to take a second to shout out Henry Selleck, because Henry Selleck gets no credit often for this movie and is the director of the movie. That was a joke in the beginning, guys, as you know. Our first award goes to the vampires for most blood drained in a single evening. If it didn't, that would be embarrassing. Oh, my God, look at these couple of, like, buildings here on the side that are like, they look almost flat. That was the gorgeous details for sure

These guys Bone daddy Bone daddy My dad and my uncle Used to quote that constantly Really? Yeah it's like in the Humphrey family pantheon of movie quote phrases

I love that This cemetery Witch Hazel I wonder if they've ever done any things to recreate This place like in In an amusement park or something I would love it And it's interesting because, like, I always get kind of conflicted when they convert the haunted mansion to nightmare at Halloween.

Oh, they do that already. Because part of me is like, man, if you could do a year-round thing, you could go full in on the texture of claymation. Oh, yeah. And also, I could get my spooky haunted house ride at Halloween time. Yeah, man. When it comes to surprises in the moonlit night, I excel without ever even trying. God, Danny Elfman, and that gargoy. too, or that sculpture.

Who voices Jack? I think is Chris Sarandon is the speaking voice and then this is Danny Elfman singing. This Danny Elfin singing? Oingo, boygo, baby. Dazed, that image yeah, is burned into my young brain, the scream in the, it always looks like a chest

night. You're burnt out, Jack. You need to unplug. Such an iconic image. That light, like, you could take this and recreate it and just make it a living tableau, like a painting. God, the way he like digs deep, too, that long, like that grit that he brings in before going back to the soft tone. It's beautiful. Alas, poor Jurek.

Little grin would tire of this crown if they only understood. God, his body language is really incredible. Zero, too, I want to know how they made. Because at this point, it's got to be like a process or something, but... Yeah, I wonder how long it took them to make this. Like, I can't tell. This almost looks like it's like a 2D drawing, but other times it looks like... That was a beautiful detail, the...

The hair is moving on her back because it's, you know, stop motion. Yeah. And this world is very simple in a lot of it's, it's like it knows where to put an intense amount of detail and a very simple amount of detail. I know how you feel. This endless gray sky, but with these rolling hills and these trees and these interesting mountains and just like the way the moon glows combined with the incidental lighting like this stuff is, it's like you feel like you could reach out and grab the moon.

Definitely. And you feel like the tangibility of like light, if that makes it. You know, when you go out in the sun, you can kind of feel light. The moon kind of has that quality. Remember me? Dude, it's thing's cousin. Connected. Cinematic Universe.

Get Wednesday in that tree ring. The night before Wednesday. Which Tim Burton also didn't direct. shouts how Perry's son and felt. You're on my stove. I made you with my own hands. Oh, yes. You make your own hands as well?

With his feet. Daniel Day Lewis played him in an earlier installment. Specifically, his left foot. What kind of dog do you think he was? Good question. It's a wiener dog probably. Yeah, I can see it. Or like a little whip it.

A little tiny ground. Aw. His is his little nose up, it is a little jack-lantern. Was it always like that? I never noticed that before. I never did either.

Oh, wow. I just lit up. That's insane. His bolo ties of Black Widow. His head reminds are those toys when he was having when we were kids. Did you press the top? I love his design.

I've got the plans for next Halloween. Please, I'm only an elected official here. I can't make you to you by myself. I want to know more about the government system of Halloween town. Oh. And what, you know, species of spooky is the mayor? Yeah. Is he like a toy man?

It hasn't been home all night. Dude, the guy in the middle is a grave. voice. And the Halloween sun always struck me. Also, are there multiple Halloween towns? Because there's also the Disney Channel series Halloween Town. That's true. There's that one. And then there's Rob Zombie's Halloween Town and David Gordon Green's Blumhouse Halloween Town. Really? Yeah. There's a much more violent version of this happening somewhere off screen. God. Ten more years, John. Are they going to do the live action version of Night Before Christmas? The one they have at the park actually kind of freaks me out. I don't know if I

if I want that. And how different this movie could Multiverse, like think of it. St. Patrick, Jack. And I love to this part of the forest is like the further he wanders away from town the more it looks like he is actually just in like a charcoal sketch or something.

For sure. Which does tribute nicely the artwork from the, what was this a book first that Tim Burton came up with? Oh, I don't know. Like it obviously is like it is Timberton's story and designs and all that stuff. So like you can't separate him from this at all but you know god that's right because yeah zero in those moments looks very kind of practical almost like yeah like they shot some kind of sheet dog with a light on

its nose and then comped in somehow like it's such a cool marriage of different animation styles and like production design and like the borealis light behind the city a little town down there Yeah, that's beautiful That single shot Always makes me want to like as a kid I would always if we were like you know Visiting family where it was snowy Just like grab a clump and chomp it

Then you learn as an adult Oh snow's dirty It depends on where you get your snow You know Oh cool Yeah very cute elf designs I need another a version of this with him as

the snowman, that'd be fun. Children throwing snowballs instead of throwing heads. Absolutely, no one's dead. This is like a perfect marriage of talents. Oh, look, what's this?

The hanging mistletoe. They kiss? Why that looks so unique. In here, they've got a little tree. How queer. And who would ever think? And why? I love the cadence of this song. well yeah and like I don't know I don't have a huge lexicon I don't have the best

lexicon for oingo boingo but this does seem like the perfect movie application of what Danny Elfman did with his band and in more you know mainstream music environments no listen to Oingo bingo may have to do that after this huh throw on dead man's party I love how ADHD this song is yeah no totally it is and the like shadows are great I swear I can't have music in the air The smell of cakes and pots They're absolutely everywhere

I always like He's literally a kid in a candy shop right now Any animation makes food look better And apparently Miyazaki was just out here Saying the food in all his movies Tastes like shiss Like What?

Yeah I don't know if that's real or not But I didn't see that on the internet So take Oh What is this? And the yeah The Snow

outline is classic. Because, yeah, Oingo Boingo certainly has like a lot of very theatrical quality to much of their music and certainly stretches Danny Elfin's voice. And this has, this calls upon so much of that in an almost rock opera-esque kind of way, but is also just like a spooky musical

that also has these beautiful, you know, either mournful or elated tones too. It's really great. Oh, man, it's an odor in and of itself, though. Like both of its eyes are in one side of its face. Yeah, it's like perfectly cartoony in the right ways. Ooh. Where's that worm's word?

Dude, Catherine O'Hara, too, major props. Oh, Catherine Hara's her voice? I don't know that. I remember when I first found that out and it blew my mind a little bit. That's insane. And I think she does the singing too. I mean, she sings. I believe when we were with the Hollywood Bull, she's saying it.

He's literally scratching his brain. This is, like, so dense with iconic images. I used to wish I could do that. And the way his, like, dimples under his hand is so funny. I thought you liked Frog's breath. You taste it. I won't swallow a spousal. Ew, David.

Good sounds, too. Like the little clattering of the spoon. Yeah. you will hardly have strength as it is. You know he kind of sounds like Willow and Defoe a little bit. A little bit and like Peter Lorry coded for sure.

What's what was Peter Lorry done? He's like he's a classic movie actor and I can't remember where he was from but you've seen him in cartoons. He's always the guy who's like he's got the big buggy eyes and he's always out to something, you know. Oh, yep.

Definitely ringing some bells. Dude, these four vampires, like, they're matching Couture, their little umbrella game. They're, uh, this movie is so head-canonable. Oh, they plan their outfits every day. Yeah. They're like a click within Halloween time. Yeah. I'll tell everyone all about it.

Where immediately. And too, yeah, it's like, I like that you have a bunch of, like, archetypical creatures. But then you have these other things that are sort of unique and besiegel. spoke to this movie, or to this, you know, Burtony nightmare world. That's fun. Like a most improbable dream. Very unique sounding songs, too,

both in the instruments and just like the modes of the scales. Yeah, never heard anything like it before a sense. Oh. Oh. Ooh. Ooh, uh-huh. All the thing starts with a box. Is it steel?

Is it filled with a pox? A pox. How do you like for a pa? A lot of kids learn what a pox is that day. I don't know what a pox is. It's like a plague. Oh. Chicken pox.

Oh, okay. A pox on this house. We pick up an oversized sock and hang it like this on the wall. Does it still have a foot? Let me see. Is it rotten? And then cut it with cook? Are they like a little Russian nesting Jack the Rippers?

Sometimes it's good with small toys. Small toys, do they bite? They snap or explode in a sack. Or perhaps they just spring out and scare girls are pulled. It looks like Pugsley. I was just thinking of that. I'm about the reference to him. The songs are really well written too in the cross talk and like the ingenuity of what words they choose to be both conversational and evocative of the themes.

Lenny. What's his name? I'm just choosing that. I was thinking meep. Could be meep. Meep is happier than Lenny. That's true. For him, Sandy Clark.

Oh. Oh, man. That's tricky. Oh, my God. A little planter with the eyes in it. R. This book is about Rudolph. I also too love art within art,

whether it's like, ooh, a paint. or a book or, you know, whatever it might be. Yeah, because it would have to be a different style than the one that you're watching, so then you get a two-for-one in a way. There's got to be a logical way to explain this Christmas thing. The scientific method.

That's funny. You know what you should be reading is the Bible, Jack? What Christmas is really about. Clean's your soul, Jack. Yeah, pray to the baby Jesus. Oh, and the spider webbing on the roof is great. Oh, wow.

fun detail. He's Christmas and Christmas of finding his little area. Slowly but surely. Oh yeah, and the holly berry. That's just real Spraggo Holly right there. I just remember finding it very kind of unsettling when that happens when it squishes the berry. Volts.

I wanted to try that, I think, with a candy cane and see if it would come out like a noodle. that's a great gag too that he like just naturally cut something spooky without even trying this too always looked like it would taste impossibly lovely

it's uranium glass must capture the essence of Christmas you can see some of the little jitters as the camera like completes its movement within the stop motion And two, like, this is earlier, obviously, so we have less cleanup. So it's, like, really fun to see, like, the kind of hopping and jittering of, like, her clothes and things like that. Yeah, that's what I was seeing earlier.

Just, like, the little hairs, maybe the wind in the studio that day was moving them. Yeah, yeah, or, yeah. And then when you see, like, oh, like the cauldron or a tower kind of shifts a little bit, it's like, yeah, you can tell. And maybe that's not, like, the most fluid thing. But it makes you appreciate the artistry, I think. and like the fact that like a bunch of people were there just moving this stuff around. Oh, 100%.

That's the other thing too. It's like, you know, they obviously sell a lot of Sally costumes and stuff like that. And I always have to go back and look at the movie because it's like the patterns are all there. When you see it in real life, it's so much brighter and more saturated.

And here it's like it's almost easy to miss because they are so like sepia toned out. Yeah, it's a lot more. muted. Yeah. Sandy Claus equal Christmas. Like this is, I get why he's the Pumpkin King, you know, he's a chemist, he's a mathematician, he's, you know, an artist. And two, I think it's cool that a lot of the textures, especially in the ground and in, you know, smaller things all feel like pencil strokes. Like they feel like, you know, that scribbly kind of doodily quality that timber and stuff has. oh no she's shine this is a great number and a great like visual this does so much the like he loves me he loves me not into the premonition is like quite choice that's beautiful and even that i wonder like i guess they they might have it's like the fire is animated but it looks like the spinning of the tree might have been a practical thing that they just posed that

arm to hold or something. Oh, and she's just asleep there. I don't know if I ever got that either. Oh, he hasn't died. Dude, who's so dry shit, kid? Oh, and all the windows have like little bats and pumpkins in them. That's fun. I like how the windows look like scribbles.

Yeah. It's beautiful. It's just something you feel, man. Or perhaps it's really not as deep as I've been led to think. Am I trying much too hard? You are, Jack. Everywhere. Doesn't mean I can't believe it.

This is here, Christmas will be ours. This is a fascinating. turn because this is the first time that Jack does appear a bit like hubristic or you know yeah like the tide is turning and this might be a doomed venture the job i have for you is top secret and we thought you didn't like us jack that is also katherine o'hara i believe oh wow yeah okay Catherine O'Hara. It's a love team up with Mr. Burton. God, man, the amount of earworms on this soundtrack is wild.

The other crime, now and forever. Let's do it together. Just bar after bar. And it's just the way, it's just so pleasant he listened to. First, we're going to set some bait inside a nasty trap and wait. When he comes to sniffing, we will snap the trap and close the gate. Cutest cockroaches have ever looked, honestly. Aww.

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Mr. Ugy-Buggy-Buggy-Man. Oh, these used to freak me out, too. That is freaky. And I never realized, too, that that would just be Oogie-Buggy, like, assimilating another bug into his mainframe. He's not just eating, he's, you know, molding with, molten-less, like, what am I trying to say? Yeah

We take our job with pride We do our best to please him And stay on his good side I'm not the dumb one You're no fun Sandy Claus I wonder if that's I wonder if they used

The same shot of him As the moon there I'm wondering about some of these like shadowing and smoke effects I had the most terrible vision It was about your Christmas There was smoke and fire. My Christmas is filled with laughter.

My Sandy Clause outfit, I want you to make it. Oh. Open it up. Quickly. Hello. Hey. That Sandy Clause. It is it?

Who is it? Bunny. Bunny. I got the bag as little lanterns on it. Sandy Clause is behind a door shaped like this. Ah, you should have led with that. Oh, man. The banner work.

I love the oscillating thing of skulls. I want to know where each one came from. Making Christmas. Making Creeasmus. I wonder who sings them. It might be Danny Elfman again. Hmm. Just harmonizing with himself.

I like that guy's nose. It's all like shrively. Yeah. Ah, like the reef with the skulls. That's adorable. Yeah. I'm surprised. I don't know if someone's made that.

That's a thing in somebody's house. Has to be. It's got to be some iconic. Skeleton festoons out there, some wreaths. Whoa. Oh. Try something fresh. Something pleasant.

Try again. Don't do. The mud guy must have been hard to animate. I like the idea that there's just a place where it perpetually is this holiday. Or at least everything is just of that aesthetic all year. And then once a year it's like go time. To have it so good at it. They prep every single day for an entire year.

I would hope they get like a week off or something after the holiday that they're trying to prep for. There's got to be. That's where they get all those photographs of Santa Claus and a Hawaiian shirt. you know, singing 50s rock and roll. Having a Coke. Oh, no. Anything the clown guy is involved with

is probably a nightmare. More so than some of the others. Is that snake sort of a reference to the one in Beetlejuice? It seems like a Tim Burton, just, yeah, shared creature. Hey, where's Tara at? She's the other room. It's Christmas time.

Oh, Christmas time. God, look at the moon and the clouds, like a perfect autumn. Yeah, shroudy moon. Kathleen, Bobby, Susie, yeah, Susie's been nice. Nice, nice, naughty. Is he putting it in his lunchbox, a little thermos? I love all the little jars of, oh, yeah, the beard design is wild. Now, who could that?

It looks like there's a big chin under there. It does. Whoa. Got so much detail, even just that one interior alone. He's trying to commit a Yuletide suey. A chin to connect it. This time we very did. He sure is big, Jack.

Oh, no. Interesting to make Santa Claus have black gloves. Whoa. Surprised, aren't you? Of course. That's what I'm missing. Oh, no. I was saying that was like a little tough on top of his head.

Jack, you got to see the big picture. Where are we taking? Where? Doogie boogie, of course. No. Yeah, where else? I mean, I guess. I guess Oogie Boogie would have hedonistic pleasures.

Oh, he has mistletoe pants. I know. That's so funny. Dude. I never thought about what that must feel like for Santa. Oh, my God. Just right up in the danger zone. All of the above.

All his giblets. Yeah. Poor Sandy. Oh, that's right. All the black light paint. Oh, dope. His jacket must drag on the floor. That's what it is.

laying down. Santa Claus I wonder how they do that stuff where the light shines through his mouth. That was a cool

skeleton design. I wonder what they're doing with the dice here. It's hopeless. You're finished. You have... Oh, the periphery ghosts are great. You ain't going nowhere.

Nowhere. He must be going somewhere. No, no. Nowhere? A good for 20 minutes. Three minutes of playtime. If only macho man was in this movie. Oh, yeah.

Fog it up. And it's such a great effect, because then you just use some... You know what? I wonder if they would have to, like, do any kind of finagling to actually have the fog come out and look good. Oh, that's a good question. If they comp it in maybe or... My glorious dreams.

There goes Christmas. I love that literally Rudolph is about to happen. And he was reading the Rudolph book. How a brilliant nose you have. The better to light my way. To the head of the team, zero. And was the Rankin and Bass, Rudolph, like, the original animated Christmas movie? Like.

Wait, Jack. No. The orchestrations, too, man, sound really amazing. Just like the array of instruments and the, you know, the boom and bombast. Mm-hmm. Just sounds so full and lovely. Yeah, it's supposed to be really wild and impressive to see live. sally hope my premonition is wrong yeah you're crazy

i sense there's something in the wind do tim burton directs corpse bride yes uh how is his first animated or stop motion movie directed wise anyway maybe feature because i think he's i i know he's done some like stop motion shorts and things and frank and weenie was based on a short i'd be curious to yeah get his full trajectory of directing animation Did he direct Frankenweeney? Yeah, the movie and the, you know, shorts that it originated from, I think.

I don't know if that was stop motion or not, but it might have been. It's never to become, for I am not the one. This reminds me of one of my favorite songs in late Miz, weirdly enough. I mean, direct inspiration on Les Mis, this movie. A little known fact, too. A little known fact. that's a really gorgeous song though and I think Catherine O'Hara does sing it

and you know for as much as we know her for comedy and on SCTV she would do a lot of the like musical comedy that's a really beautiful number and like the combination of her voice and the animation really makes it feel alive I was noticing the film grain too actually more than in a lot of other moments

like it really felt like you're actually looking at something that was really photographed which it is but you know like it makes it feel your scale and real. And yeah, it's that's all right. I guess Edward Gory would be the reference point. God, this one could head.

Two of his hands from one of yours. Attacked by Christmas toys That's strange That's the second toy can play we've had That voice sounds very yeah I wonder if it was somebody From one of those old animated Like Rankin' bass movies or something

And two I love how you don't At least his face You just completely obscured behind that big police light I feel like we don't see the adults Right Ah Granny love her I like how granny

Her shadow is like Oh iconic too Granny's shadow is like more photo real than a lot of the humans look definitely I can see that grandma oh that snake looked like he had like a sock kind of texture all those black kids in this

dude see if Henry Selle could do it well and it's weird too because you know Jack's normal calling vocation what have you involves screams and terror So, in his own twisted way, this is validation. And my own head can, and I'm imagining the doors from Monsters, Inc. are also here.

And they're just like, oh, I mean, honestly. I'll take it. This feels like the proto version of that in a world where there's more than just monsters for spooky. Oh, Jack. My guy doesn't get it. Cotton stuffing. Wow. That's so vile, so fun.

Leaves in her stuffing. Lovely. Oh my god, ogie-buggy-bugy is a footman. Oh, God. Diggoo-d-d-do-do-tintan. Tentino under there, is like? What? Say you.

So much power in his voice. You can never be a dupe, boogie-bugy. Oh, he's Kirby's evil cousin. And the coffin-shaped sleigh with the big trash can on the back. The bat runner like sled rails. Yeah, it's so fascinating because like the human, the adult human stuff is like, oh no. It's so kind of foreign and everyone's face is obscured. cured and it's like you know it's intentionally kind of holds you at like a charlie brown-esque

distance i was literally about to say that yeah reminding me a charlie brown on that way like codename kid next door i guess that helps to under yeah it helps to undercut like the harshness the worst tragedy of our time no and the bobbing like the expanding and contracting of the horn oh you kind of see this guy's face I think it's a different cop though yeah all these poor little kids little Asian kids and the other kids

too not all the kids are white we did it yeah I'm done how could I be so blind I like that his suit is

underneath it it's like the drawing I wonder if they worked with the cast, the dancers, or had dancers or something, or if they just... I know if you're an animator, you probably have a very vivid imagination anyway, so maybe not, but... I went and did my best, and by God, I really tasted something swell. This song is underrated. It's fine. I don't really remember this. It is the one I often am like, oh, yeah, that's right.

There's true time. That things right. Sandy claws. Yeah, it's like the way it goes from despondent to reflective to hopeful to like triumphant is really cool. Yeah. And his embracing of, you know, his essence and his nature and his, you know, mission again. Yeah, it's so funny. I haven't seen this movie in so long.

So they're coming out from different places. And like, obviously, the movie you grow up with it, you love. And I'm like, yeah, I've seen this. But it's not one that's like the top of my brain. So it's kind of funny reliving. in that way. And the thing that's, I guess, most striking is, like, you hear a lot of about, like, oh, a couple goals, Jack and Sally and, like, the songs and stuff, but, like, they're barely together in this movie. Yeah. And she's just spending their whole time being like, dude,

don't do it. This is going to be terrible. Like, please just stay here. And he's like, no, I got this is amazing. I'm going to totally change everything. It's just, it's like a great reminder. Like, you got to, you know, temper your life. You can't do one thing 100% of the time, but you also can't 100% change yourself. You got a, you know, Do some other stuff to be in line with your passion and your purpose. Yeah. Bye-bye. And Sandman.

Sandman. Oh, that's right. Doing the cool pose. Double dead. Not quite dead. He's an extra concentrated ghost. This bit, too, where he's like moving like a spider. I didn't now remember this

It's cool though That's the thing is this movie does have an element of danger It's like there's an iron maiden These knife kings all looked Pretty like scary to me as a kid And the gun You know slot machines Cowboy guys

Which is interesting Because like they're all weapons Dancing on the guns It's so funny Oh whoa Oh Diant Blom freaky.

This must have been quite a challenge. Oh, that shot always got me. Yeah, I think that is at least in a... They probably just filmed that thing rotating. Oh. Is that the, like, proto boogie? I couldn't let you just...

Sally, I can't believe I never realized that you... Jack! Oh. Oh, the coffee cup. little angels I like her little plant too Hey

Give me that Oh my That's a big upgrade From a severed Shrunken Head Dude I want a little Subquest with the Witch ladies and their

Lagoon friend Yeah that sounds nice So do you think Rollers in the old guy's hair I wonder if Santa conjures puppies or does he like breed dogs? That's an excellent question. Are the elves in there

breeding pure bread Santa dogs? Oh my God. That kid balancing on that hat. Oh. Is that a CG element or is that a drawn element? It looked flat

so I have to imagine it's a drawn one. And the hill with the snow on it is lovely. The few little icicles. Oh, and it's a reprise I'd like to join you by your side. Oh, and it's a reprise of her song, the melody. And sit together now and forever. Golly.

What a beautiful frame. Yeah, truly gorgeous. Whatever they, whatever this moon is, however they did that, It looks like a big glowing something or other And it is really Lovely Love true love God man

Literally just a tale about like Figuring out how to direct it by Henry Selleck Put some respect on that boy's name Respect them Produced by Tim and Denise De Novi Music and lyrics by Danny Elfman that tracks Stories and characters by Tim Yeah, that was really something.

That was really something special. Oh, and Caroline Thompson, didn't she write the script for Friggin' Adam's family? I didn't know. Her name is on more stuff than you would think from around this time that was all sort of like spooky skewing it, but she might have written on Casper to Pete Kozachik. Excellent cinematography and like, too, it really makes you wonder about what the actual

scale was because I think I often just imagine. stop motion characters being really small but they must be like actually a pretty decent scale. Pretty decent sizeable yeah because you have to get the camera in there really close and everything and I imagine that like there's already crazy math that you have to do with any

lens when you're shooting on like 16 millimeter versus 35 millimeter but like I imagine if you're shooting subjects that are like much smaller than normal you probably have to take into take other things into consideration yeah this is just such a you know it's evident why this is an enduring classic but each time and this time especially just so a lovely to see the marriage of different

aesthetics to bring such a wonderfully realized world to life with two very distinct Halloween Christmas aesthetics but also yeah just like the density of great songs uh there's not a lot of fat in there and there are certain songs that yeah aren't as like you know iconic or the first ones that you think of but even those ones you know serve either a you know narrative and thematic purpose and or you know just fill in another layer of sound and and you know like emotive sound um oh and there we go we got the the voices of the uh singing voices here uh or the cast sung by so danny elphman uh was uh jack and then chris randon did the speaking role and then sally was katherine hara william hickie i'm sure is like a that

guy, Glenn Shattuck's, I think, was in Beetlejuice, if I'm not wrong. Paul Rubens was Locke, so you got Peewee, Catherine O'Hara, and then Danny Ophman doing the other two kids, Oogie Boogie was Ken Page, and then Ed Ivory, I'm sure, is also somebody. That's, you know what, I wonder if there's any trivia about that or anything like that or if there are other. You're not even credited, are there? No, unless there are additional voices. Because, too, one of the fun things about the credit.

I grew up in a credits staying family, so, you know. But one of the cool things about credits and animated movies that I have learned over time and here as well is just the way they break that stuff up because sometimes, because oftentimes they'll have like the character animation credited and the voices credited. And sometimes they'll do the credits by sets of characters

or just like instead of like the normal live action. Like here's the cast. And then the next department and the next department, like the mixture of where voices and purposes and performers with animators goes can be different. But yeah, from like the big band stuff and like the jazzy stuff to the more sort of like theatrical, you know, and I don't know, almost like circus or organ grindery kind of stuff. Like just so many like great little lovely sounds.

And yeah, just a story about, I don't know, learning how to give yourself the proper amount of a break from your every day, but also learning how to like not. lose yourself in the pursuit of you know breathing some new vigor into your life's work I guess you know when it comes to credits do you like when they have like a little something on the side to like keep you there and do you prefer that do you think that takes away from what the credits are actually doing or and is there like a unique credit movie credit that you like um I mean like I'm not I don't complain I don't have any sort of beef with that you know I don't think that we should have to like trick people into sitting through credits but like you know if you want to show bloopers or something like that or additional scenes i think that's fun um you know it's like i understand fully inco i am not sitting here absorbing everyone's name and a lot of the times it's most exciting for people who are actually working on this movie to behold the credits and see their actual name or someone you know um but you know yeah i can easily appreciate when there's stuff alongside them i often like an especially animated movie

when they put little things happening. There's, like, cute little characters walking by the screen are like, oh, here's a little scene in one corner, you know, here. So if you are sitting here and you are watching the credits, there's like, oh, here's a neat little treat, you know, rather than it being like, here's something else to watch entirely while you're not paying attention at all to this. No, I love the naked gun credits because I have, like, little fake names in there.

It's like, here's a brownie recipe or, you know, some kind of weird play on words. Yeah. Yeah, which I always loved as a kid. I think the most unique weapon, I mean, the most unique one was weapons that we saw. It was like a little triangle the way it was coming up. Yeah, that was really a cool design for that. I like when people get creative with the credits, you know, it's an art form into itself. Until AI starts doing that entirely, some people make those.

Yeah. But yeah, any just stray thoughts? You know, obviously we've been sitting here. We've been discussing the movie. So most of this is concluded. but you know in a few just closing thoughts of review or anything you're compelled to talk about um yeah i thought it was really fun it was great getting to see this classic a movie i think that they do a really good job of you know showcasing a lot of character a lot of detail and a lot of heart

and movie that's a lot shorter than probably people probably think it is in its memories yeah uh because yeah you think it's like oh this movie night before night before christmas but it's only like maybe like an hour 10 hour 12 something like that so yeah it's a it's a quickie but yeah thoroughly enjoyed it and i'll be watching it from years to come and hopefully you guys watch it and watch our reaction or our commentary of it because we had a lot of i had a lot of fun yeah this is a blast and it's fun to get to share it it's fun to get to dive in in a way where the point is to like kind of a now you can observe everything and kind of the point is to you know find those things but yeah it's it is interesting that this does feel you never think about the time when you're a kid so

much but like i am frequently marveled and one of the fun things about doing like the animated dc movies different though they may be from this is that there is a lot you can do this is a nice reminder of like oh in an hour and 10 or 15 minutes you can do a lot for sure ending on what it is and how you're doing it and this yeah you know you have it's weird when you're sitting and you're watching it you're like oh i guess there isn't that i i had both feeling at different times because there were times where I would be like, oh, yeah, I guess this is a pretty compact and straight story. And then there were other times where I'd be like, oh, I forgot about this, you know, and it feels substantial. It doesn't feel too long or too short, and it has

just the right amount of grip on its fantasy and how lush it wants to be. It's like there's a ton of really great, you know, texture in the environments, in the natural stuff, in the, like, bricklaying and covalstones and the wrought iron and the shapes of the buildings. But, you know, you'll have a lot very simple just like the gray sort of gray scale gradient sky in the backdrop like they know where to be simple and where to be very ornate and the way they embody

Christmas and the warmth of Christmas is really potent but it doesn't take over the movie so much that it clashes and the blend of Christmas and Halloween is really effective and yeah like you know it's it's got such a fun array and medley of different yeah classic spooky characters

uniquely Burtonesque characters everything has some level of flourish on it and uh and yeah like jack and sally it is fascinating because you there's so much of a you know iconic couple of characters who you associate with being you know in love of some kind yeah and i totally always forget that yeah they spend so much time not communicating properly and she's just trying to get his attention and just trying to warn him and she loves him so much but you know he's got the world on his mind and, you know, the future of Halloween and now Christmas.

Dreams and ambitions. Yeah, and it's fascinating because I never would have thought about that. I'm like, you are dating like the king of Halloween or you do, you are in love with this guy and, you know, he knows your dad who's, you know, the Frankenstein of the town, you know, and these little things of like the mayor, who's an elected official, clearly, says, and it's just like it's stuff that you don't have to think about and it's not important. It's not plowls. It's not any of that.

But it's like fun to be like, oh, interesting. like this is for her she's at home you know she's just out here trying to live he's out here with all these grand aspirations and he loses himself he loses sight of himself he loses you know grip on just his world and his you know place in it and uh and yeah she tries to you know keep him from falling down you know a bad rabbit hole and then you know he has his brush with that and then he finds his way back and comes back more energized for next Halloween, you know, back in his lane now that he tried something different. And yeah, maybe it didn't go right.

And maybe he went too hard at it. But, you know, he's back. And it seems like now they can finally kind of recalibrate and actually be together. Yeah. Sometimes you've got to fail to realize what's right in front of you. Yeah. I think it's important lesson to at least, you know, even if it didn't work out, he saw it through and gained inspiration.

from seeing it through. But, yeah, the fact that most of the movie is not even with them together, really. It's not into, like, that last song. He has a line right before that last song. I'm like, man, so many iconic things. Like, that's that one song, like, we can live like Jack and Sally.

Oh, yeah, that's, like, way too song. Yeah, man. Is it, is it, don't waste your time? Is that song? Yeah, yeah. I was like, they're barely together in this. Yeah. Yeah, well, you know.

But it's a beautiful song at the end. And it leaves you off, yeah, or they're going to go live spookily ever after or whatever. But this movie has like, it has all the fun and variety and sort of gleeful spookiness. And it's a little bit gallows and it's a little bit macabre. It feels very much like Halloween and the Christmas things feel very appropriately Christmassy. But I also love that there are just a lot of these very meditative, airy moments where you can feel the chill in the air. Like when they're on the snow-covered hillside at the end and the little icicles hanging down and you see the little footprints in the snow, like you really feel that stuff. Yeah.

Or like when he falls off, when he hits the pole and he falls in that deep jack-shaped like snow, just like, you know, depression in the snow. Like you just feel that or the, you know, fog in the air or the, you know, smell of leaves on the wind. Yeah, no, it's very atmospheric in that way and you can, yeah, you really get it. A couple of the fact that, you know, it's a pretty cold in the studio. So it makes it feel more alive. That too. Oh, my God. Yeah.

And really well-constructed songs. A lot of really interesting part. Like, yeah, some great stuff for like one singer or two. And then some really great ensemble pieces. And yeah, just stuff that's like really perfectly macabre and perfectly heartfelt in its own way or perfectly soulful in its own way. Oogie boogie. All that stuff was great.

And two, like he lives, I think it's also kind of nice. that this is from a time when like things had a little bit more edge even if they were kid accessible because like he lives in a gambling den essentially you know he's probably got in a harder version of this movie there's there's probably a brothel here you know and uh yeah like even though he's of halloween town it nicely separates him out as like this is a guy who's taking a little too far you don't want to hang out with him i wonder if in just my own head canon here because obviously Halloween town all the spooky things if like what's the holiday in cocoa like is that a different door dia de los mortos yeah i wonder actually because they're so did i imagine if you climb the Halloween tree there's another door or something because it's like over in that same door if you pan if you if you if you yeah dolly the camera a little over to the right there's another tree right next to it that has like a big sugar skull on the door something like that because yeah it's like they're so close and the the skeletons hanging off the tree do have like if you gave them some ornate like flower

designing and pinstriping they would look like you know the dia los mortos like skeleton imagery you're used to seeing so it's like it's got to be like just down the just down the road they're both Disney they're both in the Disney house yeah funny and yeah all the stuff that harkens to like you know ink drawings and and Edward gory and everything and yeah just like props to the voice performers both especially jacks i think you know Danny Elfman is who the people think of most but like the Chris Sarandon's performance of the character in dialogue really marries well with that and it's all tied together in the animation Catherine O'Hara is amazing the rest of the we're gonna have to go find out who some of the

incidentals are but yeah like such a great voice cast a lot of cool marriage of effects and yeah like it's got just the right amount of like just fun stuff in it that it's perfect for any holiday you know watch around Halloween to Christmas and anywhere between but also So yeah, it's got just enough extra sort of like pathos and an actual story about it, an actual little, you know, fable happening that, yeah, like leaves an impact. Like, not only is it beautiful and impressive and fun and spooky and it's got great music that sounds really good. But it's also, yeah, like just really well attuned to being exactly what it wants to be. No more or less. Yeah.

And what that is is a lot of things. So, you know, so it is an embarrassment to riches. But yeah, this is super beautiful. Yeah, I'm happy we watched it. It's a lot of fun. Yeah, absolutely. Well, gang, leave us your thoughts on A Nightmare Before Christmas. Thank you for joining us for this little reaction commentary.

We rewatch yaking at you thing. And, yeah, we'll hopefully catch you for something else pretty cool, pretty soon. And, yeah, this is a joy. Be well and, you know, stay spooky and get ready for Christmas soon. Everybody scream! Thank you.