You know I’m a fan of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (I’ve been writing about it for years). I was thrilled to discover that Burton was stop-motion animating his way onto the big screen again with Corpse Bride. It’s not an original Burton tale, but it’s certainly Burtonesque. I’m not going to give away any part of the plot for those of you who have not yet seen it, but I’ll tell you that it’s worth catching at least once. Personally, I don’t believe it held the same magic as The Nightmare Before Christmas. I’ll be tuning into it soon enough; the widescreen DVD should look spectacular on my new plasma HDTV screen. Yes, the Holiday season approacheth. Jack Skellington is back - he’s back!

Holiday films I must view at least five times each season: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (both the Chuck Jones cartoon as well as the full-length feature film with Jim Carrey), The Santa Clause, A Christmas Story, every single Rankin Bass production, a Charlie Brown Christmas, and most definitely - the Nightmare Before Christmas. I’ve decided to venture downtown on Friday to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Much like my dad, I enjoy watching the holiday crowds rush about. Every year, my parents would give my two younger brothers and me a few bucks to spend on each other. One at a time, we’d venture out to the toy stores and pick out presents. It’s one of the traditions I can’t wait to pass along to my kids, should Ponzi and I ever decide to venture down the road of parenthood. Until then, I’ll just keep acting like a kid.

What’s this? What’s this!?