Jack Skellington has been with us every Christmas since 1993.
¿Can a Christmas movie satisfy both lovers and critics of these parties? Can you manage to be chilling and heartwarming at the same time? Tim Burton proposed it, Henry Selick carried it out and an acclaimed Jack Skellington got it. Is The Nightmare Before Christmas began in 1993. , but its songs and its peculiar history they have never left.
Although there will be many who decide to enjoy it on these dates, this title has also won many followers on halloween day . The truth is that the Pumpkin King managed, not only bring together two historically opposed teams , but managed to conquer both sides.
In a world in which the typical festivals are prepared in places especially dedicated to it, the main stage will take place in Halloween Town . And, if while reading this, you are humming in your head “This is Halloween! This is Halloween!” It means that you fell into the nets of the wonderful soundtrack by Danny Elfman.
Welcome to Halloweentown!
Between Thanksgiving, Easter, Valentine's or St. Patrick's, the colorful mayor of the city opens the doors for us to a dark world where October 31st Paradoxically, everything is celebration and joy. Floats, songs and catwalks in which the biggest topics parade of this sinister party: witches, ghosts, spiders, vampires... All of them are the preamble of the king of fear, the most terrifying, the patron of the day: Jack Skellington!
And at this moment comes into play that palpitation that all Tim Burton fans feel when they see his characters . The latter produced it, but the director, Henry Selick, has already declared that his intention was to make a film as similar as possible to its aesthetic . It is then that we return to enjoy long figures, bulging eyes and thin faces , and we fall in love all over again, like we did after Emily, Corpse Bride, or Frankenweenie.
After the revelry and euphoria, product of such a special day for which the rest of the year is prepared, we attended the saddest moment in history . In a clear representation of reality, between praise and fame, we found a grieving Jack who, together with his ghost dog Zero of his, dreams of changing scenery, going further, break with the routine of a Halloween that is no longer enough for him.
We all accompany Jack during the plot, but our hearts always go out to Sally.
And now yes, it is the turn of the Christmas. When Jack falls by mistake in christmas town , an exciting universe opens up before his eyes. To the rhythm of "What's this? What's this? , we live with the protagonist that feeling that we have all felt at some point with Christmas. Lights, colors, snow, trees, elves and many gifts... What for many is a gooey and sugary scenario, for Jack it is an opportunity to recover the magic that he needs.
Suddenly, the viewer begins to see Jack from Sally's skin. This rag doll creation of Doctor Finklestein , anxious to escape from her castle in a Rapunzel style, she observes the illusion of the protagonist who, after returning, tries to convey his fascination with Christmas as if it were a child.
This is where you start to realize that Sally is much more than a supporting role in this plot. Without a doubt, she is the smartest character , not only for knowing how to constantly flee from the clutches of its creator, but also because she is the only one who sees the coming catastrophe . And in the course of the plot, the viewer realizes that he is facing a film that has left no detail behind.
It is a story of Halloween, of Christmas, but also of love. And perhaps therein lies the magic of it and the power to transcend to the present day. The art of knowing how to harmonize the gooey of one party with the creepy of another , because after all, we all know that love brings together a good dose of both ingredients.
Maybe Christmas is getting a little out of hand for Jack...
However, the highest point of this merger comes when Jack tries to "steal" Christmas . And we say steal because it is in practice, but not in theory. This charismatic skeleton all you want is to give Santa Claus (or Sandy Claws) a vacation , as he calls it) and take care of delivering happiness to children, instead of scares, at least once in a lifetime.
The culmination of pleasure for those who do not opt for one date or another comes when we serve Jack's peculiar 'Halloweenesque' Christmas: skeleton reindeer, socks turned into snakes and gifts ranging from broken toys to headless dolls , even ducklings that stop being rubber to bite. Can there be better parties? (If you're one of those who think Jack's Christmas should have stayed, you're not alone.)
Okay, it is true that perhaps the ways are not the right ones, maybe kidnapping Santa Claus is too much . But thanks to this we live one of the most spectacular musical moments of the film. The blues that is marked Oogie Boogie Man, the villain of the film (yes, in Halloween Town there can also be them), it is a song worthy of the top ten of the successes.
We'll never know if it was its soundtrack, the charisma of the characters or being able to imagine a world in which Christmas and Halloween make up a town . We do not know if it is the originality of the story, our love for Tim Burton or an animation , carried out by more than 120 workers, so impeccable that it led to an Oscar nomination for best visual effects. Or maybe it's that putting together "terrifying" and "Christmas" in the same movie sounds too good . The result is always the same: not a single December without the Nightmare Before Christmas.
Oogie Boogie Man's henchmen are little devils.