Now that we've managed to remove Mister Burns from the building
(I'll be back! Just you wait! I'll bide my time, let you twist in the wind, and then, when you least expect it...)
Yes yes! Bake him away, toys! Anyway, now we can get back to properly looking at what is on the telly over Xmas, and despite what Burnsy says, there are some great shows that are almost always on over the festive period. Here's another.
The nightmare before Christmas (Touchstone Pictures, 1992)
One of the greatest animated movies ever. Toy Story? Nah, this is miles better mate. A splicing of comedy and semi-horror as we visit Halloweentown, where Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, inadvertently discovers Christmas Town, and is so taken with it that he decides to have Santa captured so that he can take his place and experience the joy of the festive season. But of course he gets it all wrong and it really does become a nightmare, as the folk of Halloween Town have no idea what makes a good gift --- “No, no! That’s been dead too long! That will never make a present!” --- and don’t even know what Christmas is, beyond the picture Jack paints for them.
Conceived in the fertile imagination of Tim Burton, it’s one of the few of his films I’ve seen that doesn’t star Johnny Depp, with supremo composer Danny Elfman taking the main role instead --- God damn it! In addition to being a musical genius the guy can
sing! Is there no end to his talents? --- and bringing the Pumpkin King alive as both a sympathetic and a tragic figure. ni eht gnimoc Great soundtrack of course, as you’d expect, and peopled with some amazing characters, this is just the movie to put on, pretending it’s for the kids when you actually want to watch it yourself. Be warned though: you’ll find yourself singing the oh-so-catchy songs well after the end credits have rolled!