This film makes for a nice transition review for me: it’s Halloween-related, to finish up my Halloween reviews, it’s Christmas-related, to get myself excited for Christmas far too early, and it’s an animated film, which fits with November being my animated movie month (still trying to come up with a better name for this month, but we’ll figure that out later). Thus we come to a film that bears Tim Burton’s name, but was only conceived and produced by Burton, and directed by Henry Selick; this is, of course, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is still dripping with Burton’s signature surreal and dark imagery. And for many years, people have wondered: is this a Halloween movie trying to be a Christmas movie, a Christmas movie trying to be a Halloween movie, or is it something to be enjoyed in the in-between time? I’m inclined to say that this movie is a late-Halloween movie, something to enjoy when you’ve depleted all of your candy reserves, you start thinking about throwing out your Jack-O-lantern, and the department stores start to promote Christmas way too freaking early. This is a Halloween movie with a few Christmas tendencies, and, above all, it’s a fun, musically-inclined, and darkly cute animated film.
Tag Archives: Stop-Motion
Top 5 Stop-Motion Animated Films
Filmmaking by means of stop-motion animation is unquestionably an extraordinary art. With this week’s highly anticipated release of “The Boxtrolls,” audiences everywhere will surely be reminded of how visually captivating and pleasant it is to view such an incredible medium. The process, however, is far from pleasant. Travis Knight the producer of “The Boxtrolls” himself (with films such as “Coraline” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas” already under his belt) recently claimed that, “it’s the worst way to make a movie,” “It makes no sense. You’re cutting your hands and contorting your body. But it’s an incredible art form that is so rare and so beautiful.” If you do end up seeing “The Boxtrolls” this week, just keep this statistic in mind: while creating the film, the crew was able to complete one to two minutes of footage per week. With that being said, let us appreciate this rare and underappreciated style of filmmaking by counting down the five projects that best exemplify the excellence of stop-motion animation.
Frankenweenie
As a director, is there anything worse than a creative dry spell? Throughout much of the late 80’s and 90’s, Tim Burton was Hollywood’s most daring and demented visionary with films like Beetlejuice, Batman, and Edward Scissorhands. Flash-forward a couple of decades and his name has become synonymous with films that provide nothing more than style over substance. Between directing the dreadful Dark Shadows and producing the abysmal Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, 2012, in particular, has been Burton’s deadliest year thus far. And yet, just when you thought Burton was running on empty, he roars back to ghoulish life, in the month of Halloween no less, with Frankenweenie, a freaky little tale with spooks and heart to spare. Get ready, folks, this is the best thing Burton has done in years!
Reel Reactions 