- 6 days ago
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00:00The Nightmare Before Christmas is probably one of the most unique movies ever made.
00:04Like, I cannot think of a single other movie in existence that is like this.
00:08And it's the kind of movie that really appeals to the types of themes that I personally most enjoy in films.
00:15Themes about, like, you know, hard lessons and tough truths and stuff.
00:20You know, in a lot of ways it reminds me of Wreck-It Ralph, one of my personal favorite Disney movies,
00:26which I covered, like, two years ago on this channel as one of the first videos I made.
00:30Also, how has it been two years since I made that video? Where has time gone?
00:34But anyway, my point is that in Wreck-It Ralph, the theme is sort of about accepting things about yourself
00:40and the world around you in spite of what other people say.
00:44Now, the theme of The Nightmare Before Christmas isn't exactly the same as that,
00:47but it's also in the same kind of ball court.
00:50I don't even know if I have my expressions correct there.
00:52But, you know, like, it's also about acceptance, but a different kind of acceptance.
00:57Because it's basically a story about a guy who needs to start counting his blessings, if you know what I mean.
01:03You know, speaking of, Jack Skellington is actually quite a great character.
01:07Although, if you allow me to sidetrack right before I was about to start that topic
01:11to mention something else that's both related to Jack's character and the movie as a whole,
01:17um, let me do that first.
01:19Which is that Jack's design is just excellent.
01:22The movements of his animation really fit the stylized character design that he has.
01:28Like, the characters aren't just designed a certain way and then animated generically.
01:33The animation brings out the most in the character designs in this movie.
01:37You know, he sort of has that tall, skinny, lanky type of character design,
01:42except it's really pushed to its limits here in this movie.
01:45As is in general a lot of the visual design of things.
01:48You know, it has that very signature, you know, Tim Burton style to it.
01:53And the story of this film is really suited to the medium of stop-motion animation, too.
01:58Because even as astoundingly good and smooth the animation is,
02:02stop-motion will always have just a smidgen of jankiness to it
02:07that actually really helps to amplify a story like this one
02:10with a lot of creepy visuals and characters in it
02:13where that kind of stiffer and stilted movement
02:16actually adds to the whole atmosphere of the presentation.
02:20And also stop-motion in general I really like
02:22because, you know, it gives everything a very real feel to it.
02:25Because unlike traditional animation, which is all drawn like pieces of artwork,
02:30and even though old-cell animation has a little bit of what stop-motion has,
02:35because it's not in 3D, it doesn't quite come off the same way.
02:38Because of stop-motion being, like, you know,
02:40lit with real lights and special effects often.
02:44Basically making it somewhere in between live-action and animation.
02:49And CGI animation is not even in, like, the same ball court.
02:52It's so far removed from realism.
02:54Which is partially why I find it baffling that CGI animation studios
02:58often tend to chase after realism in their movies for some unknown reason.
03:02Thank goodness Spider-Verse decided to throw a wrench into the mix.
03:07And also technically a couple other movies that came before Spider-Verse
03:10that were a little bit less influential.
03:12But still very important, I acknowledge them.
03:15Don't want to give Spider-Verse too much credit.
03:18But it still does deserve most of the credit, let's be honest.
03:20Anyway, back to Jack Skellington as a character,
03:24aka the main reason this movie is very good.
03:27Now, I wouldn't quite call this movie a masterpiece.
03:30Although, I'm sure there are some people out there who would.
03:33And it's hard to say what exactly it is about this movie
03:36that doesn't make it a masterpiece.
03:38Maybe it's the pacing or the fact that there's, like, a million songs.
03:41Like, I tell you, there's at least 10 or 11 songs in this movie.
03:45It's pretty crazy.
03:46Which, maybe a little bit more than I particularly tend to like.
03:50But none of them are, like, terrible.
03:52And a couple of them are actually really good.
03:53But even in spite of the fact that I don't quite think this movie is a masterpiece,
03:57that doesn't mean it isn't still worthy of a heaping of praise.
04:01So, as I mentioned, Jack Skellington needs to learn a lesson
04:05about accepting what he has and that he doesn't need more in life.
04:10Because at the start of the movie,
04:12he's essentially bored of just being the lead man of Halloween Town
04:17and just doing the same thing every year over and over again.
04:20And it's not like he's done anything wrong.
04:23Nothing has gone wrong whatsoever.
04:25His life is basically perfect.
04:27He just can't quite see how perfect it is
04:29because it's become monotonous to him.
04:31And so, in vain, he tries to spice up his life.
04:35But, well, things don't quite go so well.
04:38Jack, of course, finds Christmas Town
04:40and it becomes his new obsession.
04:42And one thing I love about this
04:44is that he finds Christmas Town fascinating,
04:47but he doesn't really understand it.
04:49But because he's just so tired
05:01of everything being the same that he's done over and over again,
05:04he's desperately trying to find a way
05:06to force Christmas into his own life
05:09even though it doesn't fit.
05:11So, in a similar manner to, say, Mike in Monsters University,
05:17Jack is trying to be something
05:19that he was never meant to be.
05:22And it doesn't matter how much he tries to study it
05:25or understand it,
05:27he's never going to be able to replace Santa Claus.
05:29And part of the problem here, too,
05:44is that he's messing with something
05:45that's already in perfect alignment.
05:47He never asks Santa Claus what the point of Christmas is.
05:51He tries to figure it out on his own.
05:52And then he tries to explain it to everyone else
05:59even though his own understanding is entirely flawed.
06:02And by the time he's done that,
06:04he's let things get out of control
06:05because the only way he could get them on his side
06:08was to try and convince them
06:09that Christmas is somehow similar in some ways
06:12to Halloween.
06:13Something here that you don't quite grasp.
06:16I don't know.
06:18Am I getting it?
06:19Well, I may as well give them what they want.
06:22Sally is also a great character,
06:24especially with how she contrasts Jack's point of view.
06:27Since, unlike Jack,
06:28her life wasn't perfect at the start of the movie.
06:31I mean, she was basically held as a captive,
06:34a servant,
06:35with no true freedom.
06:37Her own personal opinions
06:38and romantic feelings regarding Jack
06:41were basically ignored.
06:43Not that Jack was trying to ignore her or anything.
06:46She just wasn't really able to connect with him
06:49because of all the other problems in her life.
06:50Just want to clarify that.
06:52And so, unlike the other characters
06:53who have never had any problems,
06:55she's more easily able to see
06:57where Jack's flawed plans
06:59to spice up his life
07:00could go horribly wrong.
07:02This is worse than I thought.
07:05Much worse.
07:06Which makes her into a great voice of reason.
07:09However, she's still not able
07:10to fully connect to Jack
07:11and convince him
07:12to not go through with his plan
07:14because she's still just
07:15not used to communicating with him
07:17in the way that she should be able to,
07:19but has been held back from being able to,
07:21if you know what I'm trying to say.
07:23So instead,
07:23she does things based on the way
07:25her life has been up to that point.
07:27Sneaky tricks.
07:28Trying to stop Jack
07:29from being able to accomplish
07:31what he's trying to do.
07:32But it doesn't work
07:33because she needs to grow past
07:34what her life has been
07:35up to that point.
07:36Which is to actually just
07:38be fully open and honest with Jack
07:40both about her opinions
07:41and her feelings.
07:42Which I think is a really neat little arc
07:44that's very subtle
07:45and you have to pay attention
07:46to notice it.
07:47The next time you get the urge
07:49to take over someone else's holiday,
07:51I'd listen to her.
07:53She's the only one
07:53who makes any sense
07:55around this insane asylum.
07:56But because
07:57Sally's plans fail,
07:58Jack ends up going through
08:00with his attempts
08:01to try and take over Christmas
08:02and do his own version of it.
08:04In fact,
08:05he's so confident of his ideas
08:07that he thinks he might
08:07just be able to be
08:08Santa Claus
08:09for the rest of time.
08:11And that Santa Claus
08:12will never have to be
08:12Santa Claus again
08:13because he could just
08:14do his job for him.
08:15Which is a really great way
08:16to show that
08:17in our enthusiasm
08:18and excitement,
08:19we often forget
08:20just how ignorant
08:22we can actually be.
08:23And we think that
08:24we're smarter
08:25than we actually are.
08:26And indeed,
08:27at this point in the movie,
08:28Jack has basically become
08:29the main antagonist.
08:31Like,
08:31he's not the main villain.
08:33That's basically
08:33Oogie Boogie
08:34and the three Creepo kids.
08:36But he is the main antagonist
08:37because he causes
08:38the main problem
08:39at the climax of the film.
08:41You know,
08:41of course,
08:42that being
08:43ruining Christmas.
08:44And in the end,
08:45it takes
08:46the whole world
08:47seeing him as a villain
08:49for him to realize
08:50the error of his ways.
08:59But I like how genuine
09:07he is about
09:08realizing his mistake.
09:10What have I done?
09:14What have I done?
09:18How could I
09:20be so blind?
09:24He instantly acknowledges
09:25the fact that he's
09:26clearly done something wrong.
09:27And he reasons out in his mind
09:29just what led him
09:30to this point.
09:31Because we know
09:32he is not a bad person
09:33and he never had
09:34any bad intentions
09:35to let this happen.
09:37But I never
09:38intended
09:39all this madness.
09:42Never.
09:43He was just trying
09:44to be something
09:45that he was never
09:46meant to be.
09:47And sometimes
09:47that's a hard fact
09:49that people have to accept.
09:50Because we're all
09:51so different.
09:52We're all made
09:53for different positions
09:55and places
09:56and skills in life.
09:58You can't just decide
09:59one day
10:00that you're bored
10:01of how your life is
10:02and just go do
10:03something else.
10:04Because the chances are
10:05you'll fail dramatically
10:07at trying to do
10:08that different thing.
10:09And sometimes
10:09even if you try
10:11to put in all the effort
10:12to research it
10:12and understand it
10:13and get better at it
10:14you still might not
10:16be fit to do that thing.
10:18No one person
10:19can just
10:19do everything.
10:21Our skills and talents
10:22are so varied among us.
10:24Jack was meant to be
10:25the head of Halloween Town
10:26not the head
10:27of Christmas Town.
10:29And he can't just
10:30change that
10:31or just do it.
10:32That's not how things work.
10:33Especially when you
10:34don't consider
10:35the consequences.
10:36He never realized
10:37that trying to do this
10:39and make his life
10:40more interesting
10:40could have such
10:42dramatic side effects.
10:43And the only person
10:44who warned him
10:45he wouldn't listen to
10:46because he was so
10:47stuck up in his head
10:48about wanting to
10:49change his life
10:50and do this
10:50exciting new thing.
10:52After that
10:53we see Jack
10:54finally fix
10:56his mistake
10:57by going to
10:58rescue Santa Claus
10:59who has been
11:00delivered into the
11:01hands of Oogie Boogie
11:02who's a pretty decent
11:03villain in his
11:04short amount of
11:05screen time.
11:10The visuals of his
11:12lair and the
11:13exciting action
11:14sequence that
11:14ensues in the finale
11:16are all fantastic
11:17things to watch.
11:18You know just once again
11:19I must give a lot of
11:20praise to the animation
11:21here.
11:22Oh and also
11:22shoutouts to Sally
11:23for attempting to
11:24rescue Santa Claus
11:25and getting
11:26this close.
11:27We were on the
11:28verge of greatness.
11:29We were this close.
11:31But sadly her plan
11:32didn't work and
11:32she kind of needed
11:33to be rescued too.
11:34Oogie Boogie's
11:35actual defeat though
11:36like and I suppose
11:37it's his permanent
11:38end on top of that
11:39is a very
11:40satisfying one.
11:41It's nice to see
11:48that raw terror
11:50that Jack has
11:51inside him
11:51unleashed on
11:53Oogie Boogie
11:53someone who genuinely
11:55deserves it.
11:56Oh and also
11:56that's another thing
11:57I forgot to mention
11:57about Jack's design
11:58like the way his face
11:59is designed
12:00that he can have
12:00this really happy
12:01smiley look on it
12:02but then this like
12:03super terrifying
12:04expression at the
12:05same time
12:05just more evidence
12:06for how peak
12:07his character design
12:08really is.
12:09But anyway after all
12:10that I think it's
12:11very fitting that
12:12when Jack apologizes
12:13to Santa Claus
12:14he's not very happy
12:15about the whole ordeal.
12:17Forgive me Mr. Claus
12:19I'm afraid I've made
12:21a terrible mess
12:21of your holiday.
12:22Bumpy sleigh ride
12:24Jack.
12:25Because Jack
12:26never had any right
12:27to do what he did
12:28and even though
12:29he was sorry
12:30he needed to be
12:31sternly told
12:32that he was wrong.
12:34Just because Jack
12:35was wrong
12:35and he needed to be
12:36shown firmly
12:37that he was
12:38Santa Claus
12:39was still forgiving
12:40of him
12:41and decided to
12:41still come
12:42and bring Christmas
12:43to Halloweentown
12:44to try and bring
12:45a little bit
12:46of what Jack
12:47experienced in
12:48Christmastown
12:48to him
12:49instead of him
12:50you know
12:51hijacking his
12:52entire job
12:53and trying to
12:53force his
12:54worldview
12:55on the entire
12:56world
12:56through the guise
12:57of another person
12:58who he didn't
12:58even fully understand.
13:00So anyway
13:00basically the main
13:01point of The Nightmare
13:02Before Christmas
13:03the main theme
13:04of the movie
13:04basically boils down
13:06to always think
13:08before you act
13:09never be ignorant
13:10and if you don't
13:11fully understand
13:11something
13:12then maybe
13:13just maybe
13:14it's not a good
13:16idea to try
13:17and do something
13:18major
13:18based on that
13:19thing you don't
13:20fully understand.
13:21Realize
13:22just how blessed
13:23you actually are
13:24and how good
13:25your life really
13:26is as it is
13:27before you start
13:28to take things
13:29for granted
13:30and think
13:31that you need
13:31something new
13:32and something
13:33better
13:33because trying
13:34to force
13:34a big change
13:35may have
13:36worse consequences
13:37than if you
13:38did nothing
13:38at all.
13:39Always consider
13:40how your actions
13:42will affect
13:43other people.
13:44If anything
13:44that's arguably
13:45the most important
13:46takeaway.
13:47You know
13:47I guess the best
13:48way to sum up
13:48this entire movie
13:49is that
13:50it really ought
13:51to have been
13:51called
13:51Tim Burton's
13:52The Midlife Crisis
13:54Before Christmas
13:55and with that
13:56I must give
13:56a big thank you
13:57to all my
13:58patrons
13:59and channel members
14:00all of whom
14:01I greatly
14:02appreciate
14:03and do just
14:04a little bit
14:05extra to help
14:05support me
14:06on this journey
14:07through YouTube.
14:08Additionally
14:08I suppose
14:09I'm obligated
14:09to mention
14:10my gaming channel
14:11even though
14:11I rarely ever
14:12upload to it
14:13as well as
14:13all my social
14:14media accounts
14:15which you can
14:16get to with
14:17links in the
14:17description down
14:18below
14:18you know
14:19if you're
14:19interested in
14:20any of that
14:20kind of stuff.
14:21Hey
14:21before you go
14:22sneaking off
14:22to some other
14:23random video
14:23in the recommendations
14:24can I at least
14:25plead to you
14:26to check out
14:27another one
14:27of my
14:28videos first.
14:30For example
14:30I have an entire
14:31playlist of
14:31Disney related
14:32videos that you
14:33can check out
14:33over here
14:34or perhaps
14:35villain analysis
14:36type videos
14:37are more of your
14:37thing.
14:38Either way
14:39I'm sure you'll
14:39find something
14:40of interest
14:40but most importantly
14:42of all
14:42always remember
14:43to be iconic.
Recommended
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