Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon and sung by Danny Elfman) is renowned in his world called Halloween Town. He plans out each year's festivities and does a screaming good job at it. He is so good, in fact, he doesn't even have to work at it. This year is no different, except for the fact that he has been getting increasingly bored with Halloween and wants a little change. Thankfully, his late-night wanderings have led him to a place known as Christmas Town. Here elves work year-round, lights are hung on trees and boxes with bows on them are placed under the tress. And oddly enough, its all run by a large man in a red suit.
When Jack stumbles upon this other holiday, he is stricken, and tries to bring it back home. He convinces the town of the sheer joy this strange new thing can bring, and with the whole town behind him, they set out to do Christmas this year, instead of those people in that other city.
Of course to do that, they need a few things. For one, flying reindeer, presents, a sleigh, the music and a costume for Jack. For a lot of the stuff, Jack turns to the local mad scientist, Dr. Finkelstein, but for the suit, he turns to Finkelstein's creation Sally (who seems to have a bit of a crush on Jack). As their efforts continue, Jack sends out three troublemakers by the name of Lock, Shock and Barrel (who work for the sinister Oogie Boogie (Ken Page) to go to Christmas Town and bring Santa Claus back so he can take Christmas Eve off.
Meanwhile,. Sally (Catherine O'Hara) has a vision of Jack's night, and it doesn't look like it will turn out all that well, at least not for Jack. But despite her warnings, Jack continues his plans and, well let's just say it becomes a very unique Christmas, with everything from man-eating wreaths to vampire dolls.
There is a lot about this release that fans will enjoy. The re-mastered nature of this Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Collector's Edition means that all of the colors and music come through loud and clear, which is good since both the drab visuals and strange songs are what sets the mood for this film. The only issue might be the fact that there are a few times when the animation doesn't feel as fluid as it used to, and I think a lot of that has to do with the enhanced nature of this release.
But at least it has a whole slew of special features, including a digital copy on a separate disc for you pop into your computer and download to iTunes or Windows Media Player. Other special features include a new commentary with Tim Burton, concept artwork from the movie and Christopher Lee (known most recently for playing Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels) reciting the original poem that Burton wrote which the movie is based on. This was interesting because it really helps to show how the original concept evolved, but didn't really change a whole lot. In fact, besides a lack of Sally, the overall plot of the poem didn't change.
Another enjoyable feature is a tour of Disney World's Haunted Mansion during the time that Jack takes over every year. Each year, between Halloween and Christmas, the attraction gets a makeover and gets re-themed as if Jack himself is trying to bring Christmas to the ghosts of the mansion. This special feature is actually broken into two versions. One is just a tour with pop-up trivia, while the other one interrupts the tour to show interviews with the various Imagineers who reshape the ride.
If you have enjoyed The Nightmare Before Christmas in the past (not everyone does, mind you), then you will definitely want to look into this edition. If you don't have a Blu-ray player already, then check out the DVD version, but if you do, then this is the media to buy it on.
