This is certainly a pleasant surprise. Tim Burton, purveyor of the wacko, has created, along with his amazing team, a real classic work. Seldom does a film bank on so much originality, from the incredible creation of Halloween Town, with its denizens, marvelous in their diversity and variety, to a really interesting plot. The character of Jack Skellington is a scene-stealer. Considering he pretty much a stick with a round, skeletal head, he has amazing expression and energy. He is an artist and a rebel, dissatisfied with the continuing shortsightedness of his frightening peers. When his world opens up through an accidental fall into another town, paralleling his own, he tries to bring Christmas back with him. The problem is that he really doesn't understand the concept well enough. He mixes his own social foundation with an alien one and the results are hilarious. Wonderful to look at with some of the finest animation you will ever see, each moment carefully scripted and produced.

Who would ever think that a musical about the overlap between Halloween and Christmas would work? However, it does work with the songs not exactly being Christmas - or Halloween - classics, but fitting the dark mood of this film perfectly.

The movie opens with Jack Skellington, AKA the Pumpkin King, facing an identity crisis of sorts. Halloween has just ended in his hometown of Halloween Town, and he has been receiving kudos from everyone in town for making this year's Halloween the scariest ever. But Jack is seeking purpose in his life, and scaring people to death once a year just isn't doing it for him anymore. He takes a walk in the woods and he discovers a group of trees each with doors and different symbols on each door. He opens the door with the tree symbol on it, and finds himself in Christmas Town. While there, he is fascinated by the contrast of Christmas Town with his own world. Jack returns home, along with a sampling of trinkets from Christmas Town, to contemplate the meaning of what he has found there. Ultimately he decides that this year, Halloween Town is going to take charge of Christmas. Jack has also decided that he will replace "Sandy Claws" on his yearly sleigh ride, delivering presents to all of the children of the world. All of the citizens of Halloween Town are enthused by the idea except Sally, a creation of Halloween Town's mad scientist, who coincidentally is also looking for something new in her life. She alone sees the danger of Halloween Town hijacking the Christmas holiday.

While the Grinch tried to destroy Christmas and came away with a true understanding of the meaning of the holiday, Jack Skellington, with the best of intentions, is on the road to ruin Christmas. In preparation for the big event, he enlists the townspeople to help make toys, and they just can't get the hang of making or doing anything that is not designed to terrify. In fact, when Jack makes his Christmas ride and the town hears on the radio of the terror Jack is causing, they actually see this as a sign of success. To them, horror equals happiness.

Like most good films designed for all age groups, the movie is actually weaving a tale on two levels. The story itself is very straightforward so that children can easily follow it. On a second level, there is deft humor and one-liners that are obviously aimed at adults, such as the mayor's plea to Jack -"I'm only an elected official here! I can't make decisions!" Or when the scientist who created Sally gets tired of her running away and builds a new creation to replace her. This one turns out to be just a female version of the mad scientist himself to which he has endowed half of his own brain. His conclusion is "You will be a decided improvement over that treacherous Sally. We'll have conversations worth having." You'll see quite a bit of similarity between the style of art design here and that done in some of Tim Burton's other films, such as "Beetlejuice". You'll also probably recognize Danny Elfman's style of score that has come to decorate so many of Burton's other films. I highly recommend this film as great entertainment for the whole family.

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS / (1993) ***1/2

Starring the voices of: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, Ken Page, Ed Ivory, and William Hickey Directed by Henry Celiac. Written by Michael McDowell. Running time: 76 minutes. Rated PG (for horrific images and some animated violence).

Tim Burton seems like the only being on the planet who could come with characters such as the ones found in "The Nightmare Before Christmas." The feature is literally a tale likely to be found in a child's dreams. It creates a world of its own, inhabiting unforgettable characters and events that should be shared with generations. This film is a visual masterpiece; a movie that deserves to be a holiday favorite for some time to come.

The atmosphere director Henry Celiac captures in "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is truly breathtaking. The cities and setting in which these characters live are visually perplexing, yet descriptive and develop the production's mood perfectly. We, as audiences starving for originality and imagination, are able to enter a scope so believable and unrelentingly convincing we lust for every last minute of it.

The movie's protagonist is Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of the holiday town of Halloween. Jack is the role model for much of the cities population. The only problem is that Jack has been around for ages, parked in a town where every single year builds up for a conventional holiday, Halloween. This character has grown depressed and saddened by the routine living style he inhabits. We learn of his passion for new events and a and new life through a musical number that is both effective and engaging.

Later on that vary night, Jack wonders off into a nearby woods and stumbles upon an area surrounded with magical doors leading to specific holiday worlds. Jack, blooming with curiosity, enters Christmas town: a joyful, happy place with snow, glitter, children singing, and colorful lights decorating the village in its entirety. Jack is mystified by the glamorous atmosphere, and rushes home to tell the Town of Halloween about his adventures.

We realize the internalconflict is Jack's boredom of routine. This becomes more complex when he tries to figure out the meaning of Christmas. The external problem comes later in the plot, where we predict an uneasy disaster upcoming due to his intentions of recreating Christmas in Halloween style.

Other key characters are Sally, the puppet-like creation of an angry professor, the city's Mayor who has a head for both his good and bad personality, the Oggie Boogie, the film's villain who is everything we ever dreamed of regarding a diabolical animated bad guy, and the inevitable character of Santa Clause.

"The Nightmare Before Christmas" is not necessarily a children's movie, it might be too strange or fanatical for the very young. It is certainly a musical production, and at times, I felt that the songs replaced essential development. However, the musical numbers are challenging and memorable, containing passion and emotion. The picture is a walk into the mind of some of the most wildly imaginative filmmakers of our time. "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is titled wonderfully, although the film is truly not a nightmare, but a dream--a dream brought to life on the big screen.

Brought to you by Touchstone Pictures.