Henry selick – Smaller Pictures

For those who enjoy alternative Christmas films, there’s Tim Burton’s marvellous creation The Nightmare Before Christmas. Based on characters created by Burton and directed by Henry Selick, the film follows the residents of Halloween Town and popular figure Jack Skellington on his quest to bring Christmas joy in a bid to change things up. A mash up of Halloween and Christmas films that also flits across various genres such as light horror, musical, drama and comedy. The Nightmare Before Christmas also has the added bonus of being a great choice for family viewing as well which I have discussed in a previous post that you can read here.

The screenplay by Caroline Thompson perfectly encompasses Tim Burton’s vision with Selick’s direction perfectly complimenting the darkly comic tones of the writing. As we shift between the two worlds, we really get the inner struggle Jack has as he remains loyal to Halloween Town but also wants to explore the Christmas traditions. The Nightmare Before Christmas feels like a collaborate effort between its various creators in production and is clearly a labour of love. The stopmotion animation is perfect for the film as it brings something new to the Disney animation catalogue. Full of amazing sequences throughout, the contrast between the darker, murkier tones of Halloween Town and the bright dazzling colours of Christmas Town keep the audience attention as the two eventually merge together.

The voice acting in this film is among the best in animation with Chris Sarandon and Catherine O’Hara doing brilliant performances as Jack and Sally. Elfman provides Jack’s singing voice and does a superb job as well. Sarandon’s voice is hugely energetic and charismatic and captures that childlike wonder that Jack has when venturing into Christmas Town and bringing the Christmas cheer to Halloween Town. Likewise, Elfman’s vocal performances are all stellar and particularly in “What’s This?” when Jack is exploring Christmas Town. O’Hara’s take on Sally is a contrast, however, as she is melancholy and longing for freedom and Jack’s affection. There are so many beautiful sequences in this film but few get as iconic as the image of Jack and Sally on the whirly tree in the graveyard (you know which one I mean).

The star of the film comes in the form of the amazing Ken Page as antagonist, Oogie Boogie. A character that is literally a sack of bugs, Oogie Boogie is hellbent on taking Jack Skellington down with the help of his three minions: Shock (O’Hara), Lock (Paul Reubens) and Barrel (Elfman). Page’s voice is full of power and his performance of the appropriately named “Oogie Boogie Song” is fantastic. You can also sense how much fun Page is having with the role. Everytime I watch this film, I am always in awe of his performance. It is definitely among my favourite voice performances of all time.

Danny Elfman’s score and songwriting is a wonder to behold and his signature whimsical sound marks another amazing collaboration between him and Burton. In many ways, this feels like Elfman’s film as much as Burton’s with Elfman providing his usual genius score and songs as well as his singing voice for various characters. The soundtrack is full of many highlights from the instantly memorable “This Is Halloween” that opens the film to the sinister “Kidnap the Sandy Claws” in which Oogie Boogie’s henchmen, Shock, Lock and Barrel plan various ways to kidnap Santa Claus.

Overall, The Nightmare Before Christmas is a film that demands to be watched time and time again. It can be watched at Halloween and certainly at Christmas, making it a perfect film to crossover between the two. Despite not being directed by Burton, it remains a key part of his filmography and has become synonymous with his image. Burton’s vision is so strong that people tend to forget that it was Henry Selick that directed the film. The resulting film is a fantastic look into the dark side of imagination that manages to be both creepy and fun at the same time.

What do you think of The Nightmare Before Christmas? Let me know in the comments below!

The Nightmare Before Christmas is streaming on Disney+.

We love to discuss animation on this site and I thought it’d be a great idea to delve into one of the most exciting American animation studios and it isn’t Disney. This is all about Laika Film Studio, owned by Nike co-founder Phil Knight. Initially known as Will Vinton Studios before being renamed as Laika in 2005, the studio carried out contract work before diving into exciting features starting with Coraline in 2009. Followed by four more films, Laika has garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Animation Feature for each of its films without a win.

Laika has time and time again grown to become a serious contender in the critical and commercial eye. Using beautiful stopmotion animation with flawless designs and techniques. Their use of textures are particularly brilliant and this can even be seen in their early contract work such as Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride and has only grown over the years. Their films are hugely topical with a particular penchant for exploring identity across a spectrum of races and cultures. Laika’s fearlessness has earned its place among the big animation studios and it’ll be great to see what else they have up their sleeves but for now, this post is all about the five features they have released and includes a ranking which won’t be easy. All five films are of such high quality so I’m doing giving myself an easy task at all.

Here are my reviews for the features from Laika:

Coraline (2009)

Laika’s debut comes in the form of fan-favourite, Coraline. Following the titular character, a young girl who has moved home with her parents to a new mansion that has been split up into apartments. Coraline finds an alternative universe known as The Other World where everyone exists with button eyes but appear to be nicer with the house looking brighter than reality. Coraline enjoys spending time with her Other Parents but the facade quickly fades away as all is not as it seems. She has to figure out how to stop her Other Mother from sewing buttons over her eyes and joining them in the Other World which is revealed to be a dark and miserable place. Directed and written by Henry Selick and based on a book by Neil Gaiman, Coraline brought Laika to the spotlight with its unique stopmotion designs and dazzling story-telling. A wonderfully dark film that has appealed to all ages and accumulated a huge fan base, Coraline is a spectacular achievement and a great start for Laika’s legacy.

ParaNorman (2012)

The follow-up feature released by Laika was the supernatural comedy-horror, ParaNorman. Following Norman Babcock, a young boy who appears normal but has a gift of seeing dead people. This has given Norman a reputation for his weirdness in his town but with the help of his best friend, Neil, he is able to get by. There is a threat from witches who were hunted down centuries before and it’s up to Norman and his gift to save everyone. ParaNorman is an exciting and fresh film, blurring the line between children and adult films. Enjoyable for ages, it isn’t afraid to push taboo subjects and includes the first openly guy character in an animation. It may only be one line and not seem like much, but it had such a huge affect on how filmmakers can approach these topics for children. It was even the first PG rated film to be nominated for the GLAAD Best Film award which is a brilliant step forward and has helped to inspire more discussion in mainstream animation films.

The Boxtrolls (2014)

The third film by Laika comes in the form of The Boxtrolls, a film that follows Eggs, a young boy who is raised by the titular Boxtrolls, creatures who collect and hoard rubbish. It is up to Eggs to save the Boxtrolls when they are threatened by an exterminator. It’s critically known as Laika’s weakest work to date but this is by no means suggesting that it is a terrible film. When faced with films of such high calibre, there will always be a film that falls a little bit short with critics. I am inclined to agree as The Boxtrolls doesn’t have the right balance between silliness and sincerity, often favouring the former which makes for some absurd and overly childish watching. The villains are the best part of the film with Ben Kingsley voice performance as the ridiculous Snatcher an absolute delight but sadly, his character arc doesn’t seem to pay off. The Boxtrolls is a film filled to the brim with creativity and visually it’s great but the script is not as consistent and controlled as it could have been which lets it down slightly.

Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

Kubo and the Two Strings shows just how big Laika can go. Using the same budget as its predecessors, Kubo and the Two Strings follows the titular character on his quest across lands and sea to defeat his aunts and grandfather who are after his one eye after taking the other when he was an infant. Set in Japan and inspired by origami in its animation style as well as the magic Kubo has, the film is beautifully textured and atmospheric. It also features a brilliant cast led by Art Parkinson as Kubo with supporting turns from Charlie Thereon, Matthew McConaughey and Rooney Mara. There is a real rawness to Kubo and the Two Strings that feels unseen and new in that it has such a mature outlook for a children’s film but is engaging and exciting at the same time. The music scored by Dario Marianelli is astonishingly beautiful taking inspiration from traditional Japanese music with heavy use of the shamisen. Deservedly winning the BAFTA for Best Animated Feature in what was a fantastic win, it sadly lost the Oscar which I think it should have won. However, the BAFTA shows that there is a place for Laika and they will get that deserved Oscar.

Missing Link (2019)

The latest Laika feature to be released is the road film, Missing Link. Following Sasquatch, Mr Susan Link, who is accompanied by English explorer, Sir Lionel Frost, to travel to the Himalayas to be reunited with his Yeti relatives. Sadly, Missing Link was a huge box office bomb despite its universal acclaim and award nominations including a win for the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature. What makes it even worse is how amazing Missing Link is. Equipped with a massive $102 million, Laika were able to go bigger and better with this film and brought a star-studded cast led by Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana and Zach Galifianakis. The results are exquisite with the studio taking advantage of the film’s global journey by creating a brilliant scope of flawless sets. The animation department did a stellar job with this, particularly the Washington woodlands were Susan comes from and the Yeti’s home in Shangri-la which are spectacular and jaw-dropping to look at. Hopefully in time, there will be more love for this film because it is such a light-hearted and beautiful feature that is enjoyable for all ages. A really wonderful addition to the Laika filmography.

With all the reviews said and done, I can’t recommend enough that if you haven’t seen these films then you do so immediately and if you have then watch them again because they are phenomenal and beautiful. Laika has proven that there is a place for stopmotion animation in the modern age with each film looking so distinctly unique from the other. Laika’s refusal to adhere to a formulaic method of filmmaking has made it one of the most exciting animation houses in the world and the critical acclaim it receives only adds to the encouragement and push for even more progressive films. I am so excited to see what the future holds for this studio and hope that they recover from the commercial loss of Missing Link because it is a necessary animation house and one that refuses to conform, inviting its audience to think about what they’re watching.

Without further ado, here is my Laika Studio ranking:

1) Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

2) Paranorman (2012)

3) Coraline (2009)

4) Missing Link (2019)

5) The Boxtrolls (2014)

So that’s all the reviews and ranking done and dusted. Not easy as I predicted but it’s always great to appreciate the quality of animation, particularly from a studio where the process takes even longer than usual computer or handdrawn animated films.

What do you think of my ranking? Which Laika film is your favourite? Let me know in the comments below!