Every Christmas, without fail, I see The Nightmare Before Christmas, and it's not like I even want to. Since it's considered one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time, I kind of have to, because it's either on in the background at some Christmas party, or I have to actually sit through the whole movie.
So, as you can probably tell, I'm not the biggest fan (Give me Jingle All the Way any day of the week over it). That said, I AM a big fan of another animated stop-motion movie from the ‘90s, and that's 1996's James and the Giant Peach, which I feel like a lot of people have forgotten about.
Now, you might be wondering why I'm bringing up James and the Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas in the same breath. Well, there's a reason for that. Let's talk.
For One Thing, I Think People Forget About James And The Giant Peach Because They Don't Mistakenly Think It Was Directed By Tim Burton
Ask most people who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas, and they'll likely tell you, “Oh, that's easy. Tim Burton!” Except, he didn't direct it. Did he produce it? Yeah. Did he conceive of the idea and some of the characters? He did! Is it also often referred to as “Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas”? Indeed it is. But, if you were to look at a list of Tim Burton's best movies, you're not going to find it on there.
I do, however, think Tim Burton's name being attached to it has helped its reputation. Because the movie is weird, and Tim Burton tends to make weird movies. So, the two naturally seem to go together. However, as I already said, Tim Burton did NOT direct TNBC. Instead, that distinction goes to stop motion maestro Henry Selick, who also directed Monkeybone (Which I seriously need to write about someday), Wendell & Wild, as well as the best Laika movie (in my humble opinion), Coraline.
Oh, and he ALSO directed the subject of this article, 1996’s James and the Giant Peach. Like TNBC, it was also produced by Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi, but unlike Nightmare, it didn't feature Tim Burton’s name plastered on the poster. It was also based on a Roald Dahl novel, so I think that might be another reason why it never reached the same popularity as TNBC.
Even so, I definitely think it deserves to be as popular (if not more so) than TNBC, and for a few reasons, such as…
I Think The Stop-Motion (Especially The Icky Centipede!) Is Even Better In James And The Giant Peach Than It Is In The Nightmare Before Christmas
Here’s the thing about stop-motion animation. Even though it’s really cool, it has an inherent jerkiness to it. Sometimes, this jerkiness is really effective in making something feel disturbing, such as the stop-motion T-800 in the first (and best - also in my opinion) Terminator movie. I think this is effective in The Nightmare Before Christmas, too, which is a little different since the whole movie is stop-motion animation.
However, the more I watch it, the more the jerkiness kind of just doesn’t work for me. The film came out in 1993, and it kind of looks dated when viewed today. A lot of people will say that’s part of its charm, but honestly, I much prefer the later stop-motion work of James and the Giant Peach.
The characters and animation just look so much smoother, and in that way, even more believable (Especially since there are also live-action sequences in this film as well that meld with the stop-motion). In this movie, there are several bug characters, and they all move in such unique ways that really work in stop-motion. There’s a grasshopper, a ladybug, a spider, an earthworm, a glowworm, and…a centipede. Now, you might wonder why I put an ellipsis before centipede, and the answer is…I HATE CENTIPEDES!
They’re so hideous! And every time I watch this movie, I get squeamish (in a good way!) since he’s animated SO WELL with the way his legs (arms?) move. I think this movement ALONE is better than anything found in TNBC. But, there’s another reason why I think this movie should be remembered.
I Even Like The Story Better
Is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie, or a Christmas movie? I’m being dead serious because I could never tell, even as a child. This has actually always bothered me since I don’t know what TONE the movie is going for. Now, a lot of people have told me to “not worry about it,” and that “It’s both a Halloween movie, AND a Christmas movie,” but that’s just never worked for me. Like, pick a holiday already, PLEASE!
Thankfully, James and the Giant Peach has never had this problem. Being that it’s based on a Roald Dahl story, it’s very bizarre, of course, but it’s also really straightforward. James is an orphan with two nasty aunts since his parents were killed by a rhinoceros (Just roll with it). One day, he receives magical crocodile tongues that make things grow big. James drops the tongues (as one does when they’re rushing), and they make a peach grow massive. James eats through the peach, and he finds a bunch of human-sized bugs living inside of it.
They then go on an adventure together, hitching the peach to some seagulls, and flying it to New York since his parents always wanted to go there, most notably the Empire State Building. Our heroes encounter some challenges along the way, but eventually make it to the Empire State Building, and then James confronts his aunts (the two REAL antagonists) with his bug friends, and everybody lives happily ever after.
It’s a simple story with a consistent tone, and it’s a lot of fun. There’s none of that “This is Halloween, this is Halloween, Halloween! Halloween!” taking place in a possible CHRISTMAS movie. Oh, and about the music…
I Also Like The Music Better In James And The Giant Peach
I know the music is one of the biggest appeals of TNBC, but can I just admit that I don’t like a single song in that movie? It again comes back to the tone of the film, as the songs are super somber one minute, and then lively the next. One might say that that makes the score diverse, and it does. But, with the movie being the way it is, the juxtaposition just makes me feel…uncomfortable? I guess that’s the best word for it. The songs make me feel uncomfortable in TNBC.
The songs in James and the Giant Peach, however, totally fit the fun tone of the movie. Like “Eating the Peach,” which has a bouncy quality to it, and “That’s the Life,” which has a whimsical, light melody going for it.
I also like how the various bugs have unique voices when they sing, like Richard Dreyfuss as Mr. Centipede. It also doesn’t hurt that all of the songs were written by Randy Newman (as opposed to the score being composed by Danny Elfman, whom I love, but not for TNBC).
The songs just really make all the difference, and add to my enjoyment of the film. So, while I know it’s not considered one of the best movies of the ‘90s like The Nightmare Before Christmas is, I still much prefer James and the Giant Peach 100%, and I think it should be more remembered!
