Vinylmation Review - The Nightmare Before Christmas #1

Release Date: September 10, 2010

Open Window Series

I wanted to do a Vinylmation Review of The Nightmare Before Christmas Series #1 because this year marks the 20th anniversary of the movie (can you believe it?), in my opinion it's a Halloween classic and there's only 25 days left til Halloween! Plus The Nightmare Before Christmas #2 is scheduled to release at the end of this month.

I don't currently own any vinyls from this series, but I do remember seeing it in my local Disney Store after its release, and thinking that they were pretty cool. I didn't really "get" Vinylmation back then and it didn't register to me that that's what they were. I thought they were just cool Halloween themed toys. However, they made an impression on me back then as a well produced set and I still really like this series. It's appealing to Disney fans and movie-goers, and is easily recognizable.

Unlike movie series that can be fleeting in appeal if you happened to see the movie at the time of its release (such as John Carter) The Nightmare Before Christmas is a theme that won't date. It's stood the test of time and is popular across generations. This set also uses the old mold, which I think works really well here.

Reasons to love this series:

• There's a good selection of characters here, from the well-known main characters Jack and Sally to the less obvious (but still memorable) characters like Lock, Shock and Barrel. Fans of the movie will definitely appreciate the inclusion of the latter
• I love the precision and accuracy of each figure's appearance. Every figure looks spot on and I can't fault how any of them look. A special mention goes to the expression of Dr. Finkelstein, the face of Sandy Claws, the Mayor's faces and also how menacing the Pumpkin King looks. Casey Jones did a great job!
• I also love the level of detail used on the characters. The spider around the Mayor's neck along with his Mayor ribbon, the patchwork look of Sally and the stitching on Oogie Boogie
• The ears in my opinion have been used well all around, especially for the extension of the character's features on Zero, Oogie Boogie, Lock, Shock, Sandy Claws and the Pumpkin King. Where the ears are left as a solid color, this also works well
• The Mayor's hat accessory has got to be one of my favorites of all time! It looks exactly like it does in the movie and I'm glad this essential accessory was added, not missed out (as happened with Fozzie Bear from Muppets #1)

Things that aren't so great:

• I don't really have anything to say for criticisms of this series! At a push I would say that Lock, Shock, Barrel and the Corpse Kid will be the least popular, on the basis that they're the least recognizable characters in the series. Those unfamiliar with the movie probably won't know who they are, but that's the case with any series based on movies and even the parks. It's unavoidable. But that's somewhat been redeemed by the open window format

I am certainly tempted to go back and get some of these figures to add to my Halloween home decor! Thanks for joining me for another Vinylmation Review!