10 Holiday Movies

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Rated: PG

Year: 1993

Cast: Voices of Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman, Catherine O'Hara

Christmas gets a wicked makeover when Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, crashes neighboring Christmastown. The haunting result is a fantastical brew of stop-motion animation and delightfully ghoulish surprises. Among the gifts director Tim Burton bears: skeletal reindeer, a sacked Santa, and a tree-eating snake.

What Parents Like: Adults will appreciate the naughtiness it takes to deliver such a subversive take on such a cheery time of year.

What Kids Like: The movie is a visual feast of quirky details, backed up by Danny Elfman's dark musical score.