The Nightmare Before Christmas
The film initially received positive reviews from critics; it has since gone on to receive widespread critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 95%, based on 88 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The site's consensus reads, ""The Nightmare Before Christmas" is a stunningly original and visually delightful work of stop-motion animation." On Metacritic the film has a score of 82 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Danny Elfman
In 1985, Tim Burton and Paul Reubens invited Elfman to write the score for their first feature film, "Pee-wee's Big Adventure". Elfman was apprehensive at first, because of his lack of formal training, but with orchestration assistance from Oingo Boingo guitarist and arranger Steve Bartek, he achieved his goal of emulating the mood of such composers as Nino Rota and Bernard Herrmann. In the booklet for the first volume of "Music for a Darkened Theatre", Elfman described the first time he heard his music played by a full orchestra as one of the most thrilling experiences of his life. Elfman immediately developed a rapport with Burton and has gone on to score all but three of Burton's major studio releases: "Ed Wood", which was under production while Elfman and Burton were having a serious disagreement, "" and, most recently, "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children". Elfman also provided the singing voice for Jack Skellington in Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and the voices of both Barrel and the "Clown with the Tear-Away Face". In 1990, Elfman composed the iconic orchestra piece, "Ice Dance", for the Tim Burton film "Edward Scissorhands". Years later he provided the voice for Bonejangles the skeleton in "Corpse Bride" and the voices of the Oompa-Loompas in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".