Around this time every year I try to watch the classic film "The Nightmare Before Christmas" at least once. The question is when. Honestly anytime from October 1 to December 25 works. I like watching it after Halloween, but before the Christmas season has really started yet. It's a preview for Christmas, but also a way to say goodbye to Halloween, which I never feel like I celebrated enough.
The movie is always rewatchable because magically there's always something new to notice. This year I paid more attention to Jack and Sally's romantic subplot, and I must say that I think it was done perfectly.
How do I know this?
It's simple. I watched this movie a ton as a kid, and didn't even notice it. Then one year when I was old enough to understand more of the context, the fact that Sally liked Jack magically appeared into the story.
Of course I always noticed that they end up together, but the beautiful thing about this movie is that everything leading up to that was extremely subtle.
If you got rid of everything to do with the romantic subplot, the story wouldn't change at all. It would lose a nice song, but this is the perfect sign the larger story isn't being dragged down.
Nothing took too much time out of the story, and Sally's motivations could absolutely be explained otherwise. You know, like by her being a good person.
Remember when Sally dropped off a basket of dinner for Jack and then sat behind a wall and picked the petals from a flower?
This moment is perfectly subtle, charming, and only noticeable by those who would understand it. It's so also short lived because we then immediately have the warning that the main plot is getting higher stakes once the flower turns into a Christmas tree and then burns.
There are tons of less interesting and at times annoying ways romantic subplots get revealed. No one had to jealous for instance. Jack just didn't notice. And that's beautiful.
Sally is also an extremely interesting character all on her own. In fact she's a pretty major component in getting to save the day. She was the voice of reason, and if Jack listened to her the whole disaster could have been avoided.
In the meantime this romantic subplot led to this beautiful song and iconic moment.
Which was a reprise of another beautiful song.
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" is such a beautiful film, standing the test of time by being, believe it or not 24 years old. It also hosts the perfect romantic subplot with the best skeleton-and-mad-scientist’s-creation couple the world has ever seen.
