Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas: The Film, the Art, the Vision - Softcover

Frank Thompson has written forAmerican Filmmagazine,Film Comment,Boston Globe,Houston ChronicleandSan Francisco Chronicle, among other publications. He is the author ofAlamo Movies,William A. Wellman, andBetween Action and Cut: Five American Directors.

This year's holiday animation release from Walt Disney is a real departure for the studio. The first major movie done entirely in three-dimensional stop-action animation, Nightmare before Christmas is the macabre story of Jack Skellington, "the Pumpkin King of Halloween," who is so delighted when he discovers Christmas that he decides to take over the role of Santa Claus. Tim Burton (Batman, Beetlejuice) came up with the idea 10 years ago when he worked as an animator at Disney during a more straitlaced era; since, things have loosened up enough at the studio for Burton to get the green light on his pet project. This volume, timed to coincide with Nightmare's theatrical release, chronicles the film from its inception through all stages of production, with commentary from Burton and the other creators. It's loaded with artwork ranging from Burton's original sketches through scenes from the finished film. The groundbreaking movie is a commercially and artistically risky venture, but considering the track record of Burton and the success of Disney's recent animated features, it might just become a holiday perennial; if so, libraries would do well to have this print tie-in on hand. Gordon Flagg