This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown’s beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the “real world.” When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life — he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry.
For thoughts on The Nightmare Before Christmas, please check out our previous discussion on the Homedance Film Festival podcast here (around the 42:35 mark).
Video Quality
The Nightmare Before Christmas finally arrives on 4K UHD Blu-Ray courtesy of Disney with a stunning 2160p/HDR transfer that far outpaces any previous release of the film. The company released a new Blu-Ray in 2018 for the 25th anniversary of the film, which was nearly identical to the 2008 release that came out near the beginning of the format. Both of those older releases are quite striking, but fans are finally getting what they truly want from this new disc delivering a fresh 4K master. Stop motion animation is already a visual delight, but experiencing it in such sumptuous quality makes this one of our favorite discs.
Right from the beginning, you are treated to the wonders of HDR with a deeper shade of orange in the title sequence. The colors present in this transfer will thrill and delight with the wide range of hues saturating the frame. Each color is presented with more depth and nuance so that everything appears more natural to the intended aesthetic. You might not be as impressed when you start out in Halloween Town with its more monochromatic aesthetic, although we would argue that some of the colors in Doctor Finkelstein’s lab are quite a sight. It is when we get to Christmas Town that you will be blown away by the holiday hues. No matter the land, black levels are significantly improved with no hint of compression artifacts or digital anomalies of the sort. The depth of field is also increased by a nice margin, especially in the shadows. The highlights are executed with greater stability in a way that captures this film fabulously.
Where this disc really shines is the boost in textures and details with this new release. Every single frame is a showcase for the unfathomable small facets that make up this world. Every element you can imagine from clothing to character models and environments is presented with richer clarity than ever before. The ridges on cloth and the rounded edges on furniture are more prevalent and immediate. The more brightly lit Christmas scenes are especially pleasing to witness with an unparalleled visual splendor. There is zero doubt that the animators put the utmost care into each environment to make the experience seamless for the viewer. This is a transfer free of major encode issues. This is a dazzling 4K UHD Blu-Ray presentation that crushes the previous Blu-Ray, and it is an experience that fans will love.
Audio Quality
This release boasts an enveloping DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio track that opens up this world brilliantly. Our only small complaint is that we wish this had been complemented with the original stereo tracks as an option. The most prominent element of the film, and what stands out from the very opening moments, is the music from Danny Elfman which is brought to life with splendid fidelity. Beyond this you are treated to a sonic landscape replete with creepy environmental effects. The sound design is executed with flawless precision as it conveys a real sense of dimensionality to the different worlds and settings. The track engages all of the channels with panning effects and environmental sounds that create a fully three-dimensional world.
There is some welcome activity in the low end when things get a bit more adventurous with Jack trying to take over as the Sandy Claws. Dialogue and singing comes through clearly without getting overshadowed by any competing sound effects or score. There have been some reports of customers having an unpleasant distortion that seems to be associated with either soundbars or using a PS5, but we did not experience this and have no additional information to add beyond to be sure to test your disc and troubleshoot your audio hookup if you are impacted. The only issue we noticed was the typical quieter Disney mix which requires you to bump up the volume a few notches more than normal. Otherwise has delivered a dynamite audio presentation that brings this story to life quite nicely. There are a wide array of subtitles included such as English SDH, Spanish, French, Italian and many more for those who want them.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Producer Tim Burton, director Henry Selick and composer Danny Elfman deliver a very informative commentary track that has been recorded separately and stitched together with Elfman proving to be the most engaging subject. In this track, Burton and Selick discuss the journey of bringing this world to life, the voice performances, weaving in elements of their personalities into the story, the character designs and much more while Elfman really takes you through his process of creating these songs.
- What’s This? Jack’s Haunted Mansion Holiday Tour: A nearly 38-minute look at the yearly Haunted Mansion overhaul at Disney with Nightmare Before Christmas setting up shop complete with insights from the team that helped bring it to life and some great behind-the-scenes footage.
- Tim Burton’s Early Film – Frankenweenie: The 30-minute short that would later inspire the feature-film of the same name is provided here. The version included on this disc is difficult to watch due to the poor quality frame jittering that plagues much of the runtime.
- Tim Burton’s Original Poem Narrated by Christopher Lee: A 12-minute piece introduced by Tim Burton in which the great Christopher Lee narrates the original poem.
- The Making of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: A 25-minute overview of some of the various craft elements that went into bringing this movie to life.
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- The Beginning (3:12)
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- Music (1:34)
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- Storyboards (1:07)
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- Art Direction (6:37)
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- Puppets (2:48)
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- Animation (9:24)
- Deleted Storyboards: Three storyboard sequences totaling three minutes are provided here of small moments that were unable to be included in the final film.
- Deleted Animated Sequences: Three animated sequences totaling three minutes are provided here of small moments that were unable to be included in the final film.
- Storyboard-To-Film Comparison: A four-minute look at how the film evolved from early drawings to what we got in the final product.
- Posters and Trailers
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- Posters: A gallery of different posters are provided.
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- Teaser Trailer (1:42)
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- Trailer (1:26)
Final Thoughts
The Nightmare Before Christmas is the perfect multi-purpose blend of creepy and festive that has led it to becoming a classic across several generations. The music from Danny Elfman is god-tier level catchy as it perfectly ushers you throughout this heartfelt narrative which is relatable to all beneath the macabre exterior. The animation is simply stunning as you marvel at the subtle facets these animators were able to include in each character and environment. It is a breezy watch, and it is one we look forward to pretty frequently. Disney has provided the film with a 4K UHD Blu-Ray release that boasts a terrific A/V presentation and an assortment of special features that are not to be missed. Even if you already own this one on Blu-Ray, you owe it to yourself to upgrade and see this film in the best presentation possible. Highly Recommended
The Nightmare Before Christmas is currently available to purchase on Limited Edition SteelBook and Standard 4K UHD + Blu-Ray Combo Pack.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Disney Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.