Entertainment | Film & Cinema
Home entertainment for couch potatoes
If you've not seen this 1993 movie on the big or small screen, you've got to see it now. Even if you've watched it before, the goodies on this two-disc set will tempt you to buy this animated musical directed by the legendary Tim Burton.
- By Cyril Pinto, e+ Editor
- Published: 23:29 December 24, 2008
- Image Credit:
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Voices: Danny Elfman (Jack singing), Chris Sarandon (Jack's voice), Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix
If you've not seen this 1993 movie on the big or small screen, you've got to see it now. Even if you've watched it before, the goodies on this two-disc set will tempt you to buy this animated musical directed by the legendary Tim Burton. Trust me, you will watch this classic again and again.
The story: Halloweentown's Pumpkin King Jack Skellington is bored. Every year Halloween is the same and Jack wonders why it should be so. One day, wandering in the forest, he finds a tree with a portal to Christmastown. He enters the gateway and is intrigued by the cheerful atmosphere. It's a totally different world, where the denizens lead a happy life.
He wonders why Halloween cannot be Christmassy, why should it be so dreary and frightening. He returns to his town and tells his mates about his discovery but they don't seem interested. But when he describes Santa as Sandy Claws, a weird character, it piques their interest.
They then kidnap Santa, create frightening presents like vampire teddies and spread their own version of festive cheer (fear). Can the evil forces be thwarted?
Bonus features include Jack's Haunted Mansion Holiday Tour with a trivia track, Tim Burton's original poem narrated by Christopher Lee (Burton says he got the idea when he saw a shop window look being changed from Halloween to Christmas), The Making of The Nightmare before Christmas (over 100 animators spent more than three years to make the movie), and Frankenweenie (a mini movie by Burton about a boy who uses electricity to bring a dead dog back to life).
Rating: PG
Shaun the Sheep: Off The Baa
Shaun the naughty sheep living down on the farm is back in our midst. The king of the barn has been making regular appearances on e-junior, but we had big-time fun when we last met him in August in Shape Up With Shaun to share eight of his adventures.
Get set for eight more fun episodes. There's mayhem in the meadows, but Shaun manages to keep his crew on track. Bitzer the sheepdog also pitches in to maintain
the peace.
The adventures begin at sunrise when the cock starts crowing. One by one, Shaun, the other sheep, the dog, the farmer wake up and get ready to face the world, little knowing that the day will be more than ordinary.
In episode 1, Off The Baa, Shaun comes across a lettuce and gets his mates involved in a game of football. Timmy in A Tizzy, episode 2, is about a baby sheep whose teddy is seized by the farmer. Shaun mounts a mission to restore the bear to the kid, and even a ferocious cat can't stop him.
Buzz of Bees, episode 3, actually belongs to the winged creatures as they treat us to team performances that are worthy of an Olympic gold medal. Other episodes: Things That Go Bump in the Night, Mower Mouth, Fleeced, Shaun Shoots the Sheep and Mountains Out of Molehills.
This is a treat for little ones.
Rating: G
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