Just watched it for the first time ever, it's creative and good for what it's worth but gosh! The overuse of music and out of date stop animation just makes this almost unbearable to watch. Definitely a movie I'll never watch again.
shareIt was made in '93...and stop motion is never out-dated...its supposed to look the way it does. Well most Disney movies from the 90's and today all have musical numbers.
"You give my regards to St. Peter or whoever has his job... but in Hell."
Stop motion is out-dated technology, was only used because it was the best they had at a certain time... The stop-motion in this movie is just dull and clunky and painful to look at. Having musical numbers wasn't the issue, most of the movie being a musical was the issue. I watched it with headphones and it kept playing loud annoying themes, grrr.
I actually don't even understand how so many people love this movie and put it at such a high pedestal. Because of the musical numbers? They weren't that catchy and were easily forgettable to me. Other animated films like The Lion King and Aladdin are far superior in music...
Its a movie a bunch of kids grew up with. It has a special place in the hearts of many.
As for the Stop-motion its supposed to be awkward and strange that's the point of it. Stop Animation is still being used today ie Coraline, ParaNorman, and Frakenweenie.
Some like it some don't. Opinions vary.
"You give my regards to St. Peter or whoever has his job... but in Hell."
So?
I know that...
No *beep* The stop-motion in this movie just annoyed me.
No need for the attitude. Thought this was friendly...christmas spirit dies quick.
"You give my regards to St. Peter or whoever has his job... but in Hell."
I don't have an attitude, just imagine it like how I talk in real life.
shareThe internet makes that extremely difficult.
"You give my regards to St. Peter or whoever has his job... but in Hell."
Yeah I know...I don't mean to sound aggressive or like that, unless someone trying to e-fight lol
shareSorry if I came off touchy E-fights...never a good thing. I respect that you don't like NBC...a healthy debate is always fun.
"You give my regards to St. Peter or whoever has his job... but in Hell."
Stop motion is out-dated technology, was only used because it was the best they had at a certain time...
The stop-motion in this movie is just dull and clunky and painful to look at.
most of the movie being a musical was the issue.
I watched it with headphones and it kept playing loud annoying themes, grrr.
I actually don't even understand how so many people love this movie and put it at such a high pedestal. Because of the musical numbers? They weren't that catchy and were easily forgettable to me. Other animated films like The Lion King and Aladdin are far superior in music
Haha, can you imagine what it would be like if people argued about food the way they do movies and music? "Gaah, just because you didn't like eating the broccoli doesn't mean it's nasty or has a weird texture; it's just your taste! Opinions vary! Gaaahh!"
Appearances can be...deceptive.
No. A conscious decision to use stop motion as an art form was made. If you can't appreciate that for what it is, that is sad for you. It does not diminish the movie.
shareStop-motion is a beautiful art form of movie making.
NBC was the first of it's kind, and has just become a cult classic... nobody knows why. (Just like the Rocky Horror of example)
And yes, it's pretty much back to back music. Something Henry Selick was worried about and didn't like.
I love it.
I've never liked this movie like others. But I thought the music was catchy and I thought it looked fine too.
share[deleted]
I agree with you so much. I can enjoy stop motion if it's well executed, but in this movie it just feels really off. It's not as seamless as I would've liked and the twitchy movements are just too distracting. And the music is really annoying. Not only are there way too many of them, they're also completely uninteresting and the lyrics don't really do anything for the plot. Plus, yes, they're forgettable. They're just overall really bad songs. I can understand that people like this for the nostalgia and because they saw it as kids, but for me who saw it for the first time today, being 19, it's just a really mediocre film.
shareThey lyrics don't do anything for the plot? Huh!?
Each song has a purpose in the movie. Some of them are used to introduce different worlds and characters, but all of Jack's songs are major plot points. Without them, we wouldn't have any idea of what his character is about, how he feels, why Christmas is so special to him, why he decides to take it over. Without them, we're left with a hollow character with no feeling or motivation. I'd say the songs are very important to the plot.
Stop motion is far from outdated. It's still used and still exceeds CGI. It takes so much more work and talent than CGI. The music in this movie is hilarious! Based on your assessment I'm not even sure why you watched it. Everyone knows its a stop motion animation musical lol!!!
Why would anyone watch a movie that's of a type they don't like? What a complete waste of time. For example I hate all comic book movies. So other than Superman 1 & Tranformers 1, I've never watched any others. And therefore I'm not bothered by the lame films they are. And I don't waste everyone's time making pointless posts.
I'm surprised this board doesn't have more activity......it's a "popular" cult film - it sells a lot of merchandise and even Disney has adopted it as it's own now (it was originally released under Disney's Touchstone banner for being too "dark") and you can find plenty of merchandise at its parks and they completely re-do the Haunted Mansion into a Nightmare Before Christmas theme every year during the holidays.
Having just only recently seen the film for the first time, I can say I may have been a victim of overblown expectations on the first viewing.......but I still thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere of the film and the use of stop animation. While stop animation may not be as "seamless" as CGI per say, it's still a unique and rare art form nowadays. The fact that these are real models and the incredible intensive effort that goes into making stop motion.....you have to appreciate it for that. Definitely part of the films charm.
Danny Elfman wrote some great, memorable music and again - clearly part of the films charm. There's something about musicals and stop motion that seem to go hand-in-hand.....maybe it's because they both hark back to an earlier time in movie making? A more innocent time of filmmaking? I don't know.
And as for the story itself, I love the holidays and this is certainly an interesting twist on a seasonal film. I also like that the themes are subtle and not overblown or spoon-fed.
So while I can't necessarily say I was knocked off my socks and jaw to the floor....I certainly did enjoy it and the film is definitely unique for the reasons mentioned above. It definitely has repeat watchability and will be one I revisit more than a few times this upcoming holiday season.
I also recently saw it for the first time, and it sounds like I was even more disappointed than you. I respect the work that was put into the movie, but for me it wasn't the classic I had heard it was. I was blown away by the animation, it actually looked as good as modern animated films today. Burton has never lacked an imaginitive mind, and he had a lot of good ideas visually. Having said that, I was really let down by the story and the songs. There wasn't much to the story or characters. At 75 minutes, there isn't enough time to flesh out any characters. I thought it was slow and seemed much longer than 75 minutes. While Danny Elfman does some good work with the score, I didnt find any of the songs catchy or memorable. It was originally meant to be a short film and I think that would have worked better. Character development wouldnt have been necessary. As is, it feels like a 20 minute story spread out to a full movie. This may just not be my kind of movie. Or I need to give it another chance. Regardless, I agree with you that my first impression didn't meet my expectations.
sharewell said...my sentiments exactly
shareWhile I can see where you're coming from, I actually enjoy the music in this movie. It has more witty songs than any other Disney film and while I also like the other Disney films I love how this one has a different feel to it. Not sure what you mean when you said the animation is out of date. It was made in 1993, therefore making that type of animation normal for that time.
shareI always thought that the animation was awesome. The songs are catchy to me and always get stuck in my head.
No one in their right mind would ride on a buggy driven by Klaus Kinski.