If you’re a 90’s kid like me, chances are you had a pretty extensive VHS collection. In that collection, you had one movie in particular that you kept coming back to. Old faithful. The one movie that became your “go-to.” I asked a few of my friends what this movie was for them, and got such answers as: Space Jam (like Ocean’s 11 for kids, this had all the greats), The Sandlot (a good movie, but this is vanilla ice cream. There also seems to be a correlation between liking this movie and being more likely to wear a sports jersey unironically. “I want to date a guy like Turtle,” said no girl ever), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (one look at Jessica Rabbit and my sexual identity was formed at 6 years old), The Mighty Ducks (GOLDBERGGGG…also, D2 > D1), and Home Alone…

Sure they’re all great movies, but none did it for me quite like Tim Burton’s, The Nightmare Before Christmas (from here on out referred to as “TNBC”). For starters, I don’t really consider this a kid’s movie. You’re talking about a film by a guy who’s got his name on stuff like Edward Scissorhands, Batman, Batman Returns, and Beetlejuice. Animated does not equal juvenile (go ask Archer). It’s all stop-motion, which somehow makes the characters even creepier than had it been fully digitally-animated. This movie is visually stunning. Burton has a certain aesthetic that really comes through in his films.

See what I mean? They’re dark and brooding and very very beautiful. Side note: Burton looks like the kind of guy who listens to The Cure (and apparently he does, as Edward Scissorhands was inspired in part by The Cure frontman Robert Smith). TNBC will make you laugh and then pull back and hit you in the feels. It’s as fun and lighthearted as it is scary, suspenseful, and dramatic. Did I mention the protagonist, Jack Skellington? Yeah, he’s the fucking MAN.

How about the music? I guarantee you will have these songs stuck in your head for weeks and you won’t even mind (it was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe… should have won both).

Even with all this praise, I’m not doing this movie justice. You just need to trust me and go watch it, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. I don’t know how to end, so I’ll just throw up this photo of Jessica Rabbit and mic drop.

-jaliner