The Nightmare Before Christmas - ep 90 - 1993 plus Poltergeist -1982 -

This is Halloween… or this is Christmas… or when are we supposed to watch “The Nightmare Before Christmas” every year?

The short answer, of course, is anytime, as the Henry Selick-directed stop-motion animated musical has become a certifiable classic. People love this movie, especially people who buy all their clothes at Hot Topic. It’s a pretty great story about how a ghoul (Jack Skellington) goes through a mid-life crisis and nearly ruins the world. But with songs! The Danny Elfman music rules, and the animation and character/production design has aged incredibly well, especially compared to other Disney animated entries from the 90s.

The Old Millennials discuss the “sweet spot” time period to watch “Nightmare Before Christmas” (hint: around the early November release date of this podcast feels right), how their little kids reacted to all the spooky creatures and the kidnapping of Sandy Claws on first viewing, the Tim Burton influence (it’s called “Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas” for a reason) and the enduring awesomeness of Catherine O’Hara (aka Sally, the only one smart enough to realize Jack is buying out the Jerk Store). We also unpack those accusations of racism made against the movie, and Tyler talks about how “cool” he was for liking animated musical at age 9.

Oh, and what’s this?! This episode also features what the Old Millennials watched for Halloween, which includes an extended discussion on 1982’s “Poltergeist” from director Tobe Hooper and writer Steven Spielberg. It’s like a mini-episode on “Poltergeist” to start the program, almost like the Old Millennials originally intended to devote an entire episode to the movie… hmmm. Life is stressful in 2020.

Also discussed in this episode

Bad Hair (2020)
Psycho (1960) and Psycho II (1983)
Red Dragon (2002)
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
The Invisible Man (2020)

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