Hollywoods El Capitan Theatre will debut Tim Burton's THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS In Disney Digital 3-D on Oct. 19 with special opening night tricks and treats (including the first-ever display of original puppets from the film).
At both sold-out opening night performances 7:00 and 9:45 pm the festivities include a filmmakers' panel featuring talent associated with the making of NIGHTMARE, along with other surprises. The film will have seven shows a day through Oct. 31, including a late night show at 11:30 pm. From Nov, 1st through Jan. 4, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS can be seen daily at 10:30 pm and 12:15 am.
An exhibit of film sets, props, and original puppet characters (on loan for the first time from Disney's Animation Research Library) will be on display through Oct. 31. Tickets for the El Capitan's special engagement are available at the box office, online at www.elcapitantickets.com, or by calling 1-800-DISNEY6.
The enormously popular stop-motion animated feature, directed by Henry Selick and presented by Walt Disney Pictures, has been converted from its original 2-D format into a much more immersive 3-D version using the latest advancements in 3-D technology and animation. It is the first movie in industry history to be released exclusively in Digital 3-D, and it represents the first time that a 3-D feature has been created from an existing animated classic.
On the same bill throughout the engagement will be a newly rendered digital 3-D version of Pixar's delightful 1989 computer-animated short film, KNICK KNACK, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker John Lasseter. The Disney Digital 3-D version of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS will open on Oct. 20 in more than 200 theaters worldwide.
Burton remarked, "For me, turning NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS into digital 3-D has taken a very pure little gem and made it that much better. I am extremely happy about the fact that the movie has kept its purity and the 3-D actually adds much more to it. It's almost like being on the set you can see the texture of the puppets, and see the characters in the foreground and others in the background. When we were making the movie, we felt in our hearts like our characters were real. When you see it in 3-D, everything comes to life and you can literally see through the eye sockets of Jack Skellington. I am thrilled that all the die hard fans, as well as a new generation of moviegoers, will get the opportunity to experience the movie in a whole new way."
Disney Digital 3-D combines premier Disney creative content with state-of-the-art Digital 3-D projection technology to deliver an unparalleled 3-D motion picture experience that is not only presented with digital clarity, but is also exhibited in a manner that makes it incredibly comfortable for the audience to experience. An award-winning team of technicians and animators at Industrial Light & Magic, in collaboration with In-Three Inc., helped Disney to convert the film from 2-D to 3-D by creating a new right eye image (by animating digitized versions of the original puppet characters and projecting footage of the sets onto dimensional geometry).
First released in 1993, NIGHTMARE is based on a story and characters by Burton, and features 10 ghoulishly delightful songs by Danny Elfman (who also provided the singing voice for Jack), as well as the vocal talents of Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Paul Reubens and Ken Page.
Meanwhile, on Oct. 24, Walt Disney Records unveils THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS 2-DISC SPECIAL EDITION SOUNDTRACK ($18.98). Disc One of the soundtrack includes the original score and songs by Elfman. Disc Two contains nine songs: five new versions of original soundtrack songs specially re-recorded by alternative rock superstars Marilyn Manson, Panic! At the Disco, Fall Out Boy, Fiona Apple and She Wants Revenge, plus four never-before-released demo tracks performed by Elfman.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
