caroline thompson Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Retro Cinema: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Filed under: Animation », Comedy », Music & Musicals », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom », Family Films », Home Entertainment », Comic/Superhero/Geek », 12 Days of Cinematicalmas », Retro Cinema »
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is not technically Tim Burton's. He produced the film and conceived it, but it was, in fact, written by Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands) and directed by Henry Selick (who later helmed the bizarre but unjustly hated Monkeybone). Still, you feel Burton in every single frame. As audiences eagerly await Burton's Sweeney Todd, I thought this would be an ideal time to look back at his previous stab at the musical genre.
The story of Nightmare is a simple one. Jack Skellington (voiced by Prince Humperdinck himself -- Chris Sarandon, with composer Danny Elfman handling singing duties) is the "Pumpkin King" of Halloweentown, but he has become bored in the role. He literally stumbles into a place called Christmas Town, loves what he sees, and decides to hijack the holiday. Skellington even (in the film's funniest segment) takes over the gift delivery duties for Santa Claus ("Sandy Claws"). And of course, there's a not entirely necessary love interest -- Sally, voiced by an unrecognizable Catherine O'Hara.
Speaking of Elfman, the scores he has written for Tim Burton's films are some of the most memorable in modern film. Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman/Batman Returns, and Edward Scissorhands wouldn't have been nearly as wonderful without Elfman's glorious music. In The Nightmare Before Christmas, the music of Elfman is front and center, and his songs -- whose staccato rhythms and mixture of singing and speaking certainly owe a debt to Sweeney Todd composer Stephen Sondheim -- suit the film perfectly. The catchiest of Elfman's tunes is "What's This?" It's the kind of song you'll find yourself singing days later, during the most mundane of activities. Just this morning, I walked into the bathroom singing "What's this, what's this? My toothbrush on the sink! What's this, what's this? I'll brush my teeth I think!" Thank God I live alone.
Bill Murray Signs for 'City of Ember'
Filed under: Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Scripts », 20th Century Fox »
Unless you want to count his voice stint in Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, and I'd rather not, it has been a few years since Bill Murray has been on-screen. Getting back into the swing of things, Mr. Murray has signed on to star in City of Ember, the latest Walden Media cinematic adaptation. He will be joined by Dobby-voice Toby Jones and the girl who outs Keira Knightley in the upcoming Atonement, Saoirse Ronan. This will be the sophomore helming effort for Monster House director Gil Kenan, and the adaptation is coming from an old-pro and quirky stories -- Caroline Thompson. Her pen has previously whipped up worlds like Edward Scissorhands, The Secret Garden and Corpse Bride.City of Ember is a funky-sounding young adult book about an almost light-less city, where there is no moon/star light, only yellowish floodlamps. With the understanding of fire and electricity lost, the inhabitants are stuck in their small city, and live a direction-less, mundanely happy existence -- one that isn't even thwarted by the increasingly empty shelves of their vast storerooms. After 200 years, the people of Ember were supposed to get directions about how to leave, but the corrupt mayor lost them years ago. In typical Y-A fashion, two twelve-year-olds, Doon and Lina, plot to get some answers, foil the mayor and find a way out. So, I'd say Saoirse is probably Lina, and Murray will probably be the mayor, so who would Jones play, because it sure isn't a twelve-year-old! Production will start this summer in Belfast, and 20th Century Fox already has a release date -- October 10, 2008. In the meantime, I'm going to hope for a funky Christopher Pike adaptation to get in gear, and zoom me back to my youth -- one that isn't, of course, anything like Fall Into Darkness.
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