nightmare before christmas

i have seen this movie many times, it is a perennial favorite of mine. i remember going to see it in the theater when it first came out and really loving it. it has been rereleased the past couple of years into the theater in 3-D, and i saw it both years- i truly love this movie!

recently a two disc version was released on dvd, so i figured it was time to see it again! i saw it in the library and figured i couldnt pass up a free rental to check out the dvd extras, so i picked it up. having seen the movie dozens of times, i got it just to watch all the extra stuff they threw into this release.

there are many extras this time out, and they are really quite interesting. it features a half hour behind the scenes feature that i had seen before on the older version of the dvd, but i figured id watch it again, and was reminded just how much work went into this film- they said that on an average day, an animator would be able to create 14 seconds of finished film! talk about painstakingly slow work! they also included some of the screen tests for the different characters showing different ways that they would walk and talk which was very interesting. it even included some cut scenes, which is especially rare for this type of animation! other extras included a walk through of the haunted mansion at disney world when they transform the ride each year from october to january with a 'nightmare before christmas' theme. you can choose the option to just view the ride, or have it intercut with breaks of behind the scene looks at how they designed and build the changes. i watched them both! they also included tim burtons original poem which was the inspiration for the film itself. they created new animation to go along with it. its really cool to see how they took that ten minute poem and stretched it into a full lenght film- it seems like the only changes that were made was the inclusion of sally, oogie boogie, and the scientist. it also includes a commentary by the director, tim burton, and the songwriter danny elfman. the commentary was surprisingly informative, usually tim burton has a hard time being coherent during these things (see 'planet of the apes'). the dvd also includes burtons original short 'vincent' and a half hour movie called 'frankenweenie', which burton informs us he is currently in production turning it into his next stop frame animated movie! cant wait!