USA 1993
Director:Henry Selick
Producers: Tim Burton, Denise Di Novi
Director of photography: Pete Kozachik
Screenplay: Caroline Thompson
Editor: Stan Webb
Music: Danny Elfman
Main cast: Animation
Production company: Touchstone Pictures, 500 South Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA
91521, USA. Tel: 1.818.560 10 00.
Swedish distributor: Buena Vista International (Sweden), Birger Jarlsgatan 32A, Box
5631, 114 86 Stockholm. Tel: 46.8.679 15 50, Fax: 1.46.8.678 07 28
Running time: 76 mins
Format: 35mm/1:1.85, colour
Original language: English.

Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas is a new kind of Disney which we have never
encountered before. Dark, brilliant, bizarre and superbly unpredictable - adjectives which the
giant could not even comprehend before. A world filled with sickly sweet infantile romance which
is suddenly invaded by Tim Burton's peculiar characters. Disney is therefore able to proudly
present a film which for once is completely unique, pioneering and contradictory, all at once!

Tim Burton become notorious for his original style and strange characters in films such as
Beetlejuice, Batman and Edward Scissorhands. However, these were only a hint of things that
were to come later. Because in Nightmare all of Burton's characteristics are fully developed and
united in a sparkling visual firework never seen before. It ranges from the classic fairytales of the
brothers Grimm to Rocky Horror Picture Show with its exhilarating and refreshing madcap
comedy.

Burton has previously shown that he loves this type of over the top comedy, spiced with satirical
overtones. A difficult act to follow when applied to a human character. When you work with
dolls, however, and makes use of the animated form, everything gains in gravity and clarity. A
totally wild Jack Nicholson/The Joker would for example have gained a completely different
resonance than what was the case in Batman.

Tim Burton's statement

In Nightmare the setting reminds you of a frantic collage of the numerous horror films from the
40's and 50's. And true enough this remained one of the strongest sources of influence on Tim
Burton. A hint of how he recharges his batteries and in particular with the help of the most famous
actors within the genre: "Vincent Price was like my psychologist. Those movies were very
inspirational. They just made me understand my own problems… I'm always thankful I had
weird material to grow up on because if I didn't have these outlets I would have exploded by
now. I'd probably be in prison somewhere."

Henry Selick

Born in 1952 in Glenridge, New Jersey. Studied art at Syracuse University, St Martin's School of
Art and CalArts. Awarded for two films that he made while still a student, Phases and Tube
Tales. Began working at Disney Studios and went on to become assistant animator for Pete's
Dragon. Animator on Fox and the Hound. Founded his own production company, Selick
Projects, which has among other things made commercials for MTV, such as the short Slow Bob
in the Lower Dimensions, which won an award in 1990.

Filmography: 1994 Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas

Those page are created by Federica Giulietti
a very devote fan of this great movie, which changed her life from the first time she has seen it
in a journal's review in her dentist's waiting room in the far 1994!!

La trascrizione italiana è stata fatta, tranne che per le canzoni, a memoria.
Mi scuso per eventuali inprecisioni.