See, this particular collectorвЂ™s edition actually came in two distinct runs, and luckily the one in my possession is from the original run. Special Features and QualityД«efore we get into the special features included with this edition, IвЂ™ll tell you about the noteworthy packaging I mentioned earlier. Roger EbertвЂ™s review of the film even said that the visual innovation fund in the film was comparable to the likes of Metropolis, The Cabinet of Dr. The film is filled with iconic characters and worlds, and the creative team behind it pushed the medium to heights it had previously never been able to reach. Stop-motion animation had been around since all the way back in 1898, with a major resurgence coming in the 50s and 60s thanks to the aforementioned Rankin/Bass holiday specials and the work of animation legend Ray Harryhausen, but Nightmare is likely the mediumвЂ™s crowning achievement on both an artistic and a technical level.

ItвЂ™s the same style used by the famous Rankin/Bass holiday specials-one of several influences on the film-and it makes the world and the characters within it feel alive in a way that no other medium can. Rather than traditional animation, The Nightmare Before Christmas is done in stop-motion-what weвЂ™re seeing is clay sculptures carefully being manipulated and photographed one frame at a time in order to simulate motion. Visually, it remains one of the most imaginative and stunning films ever created. ItвЂ™s a fairly simple story, but its unique Halloween-meets-Christmas aesthetic, songs, and memorable cast of characters-Jack, Sally, and Oogie Boogie to name a few-gave the film a cult following that eventually grew into one of the cornerstones of Disney fandom. When he finds himself in Christmas Land, he seemingly finds what heвЂ™s looking for and decides that this year, both he and all the citizens of Halloween Town will put on Christmas instead.

Storywise, the film is the story of Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween Town who has grown bored with his life of scares and screams and is looking for something new. It also happens to be a personal favorite of mine, and one of the jewels of my physical media collection is a hard-to-find, two-disc collectorвЂ™s edition of the film that comes in some of the most unique packaging I have come across. Originally distributed under the Touchstone banner out of concern it might frighten or alienate the younger audience that was the studioвЂ™s bread and butter, the film went on to be a modest hit before eventually finding a cult following and-seemingly against all odds-becoming one of the most popular films in the studioвЂ™s canon. Of the many, many iconic films in DisneyвЂ™s long history, there is perhaps none that enjoys the unique popularity of Tim BurtonвЂ™s stop-motion classic The Nightmare Before Christmas. EditorвЂ™s Note: Welcome to Film ObsessiveвЂ™s newest feature series, вЂњOff the Shelf.вЂќ Each Saturday our writers share the joys of physical media, from reviews of new 4K and Blu-ray releases to reflections on the treasured media theyвЂ™ve come to collect and cherish over the years.

I am alive song ricky and morty