Henry Selick. It’s a name few remember but many unconsciously adore because of four simple words: The Nightmare Before Christmas. Contrary to popular belief, Tim Burton didn’t direct this legendary holiday masterpiece. The movie may have been based on a poem written by Burton but he himself was involved in the movie as a producer and co-writer. The man who really brought the iconic Jack Skellington to life is a New Jersey-born stop motion animator by the name of Henry Selick.
This amazing man is perhaps my favorite director of all time because of two things: his choice of medium and his choice of movies. Stop motion animation in itself is a rather difficult art to master as not only does it require infinite amounts of patience and a talented yet steady hand, but also because very few professional animators and even less animation studios actually make use of this style of animation in favor of utilizing computer animation to breathe life into stories. Aardman Animations is currently the most famous major studio to use this dying art, while Henry Selick himself is one of the more popular artists using this animation technique. It is this dedication and mastery of stop motion that has caught my undying admiration.
And then there’s his movies, all four of which are big screen adaptations of written and published material. The Nightmare Before Christmas is based on a poem, Monkeybone on a graphic novel, and James and the Giant Peach and Coraline on children’s books. While Monkeybone wasn’t entirely stellar a movie and I have yet to watch Coraline, the two movies of his that I have seen have convinced me that Henry Selick has mastered the art of making children’s movies that are anything but shallow and patronizing. (Sorry Disney, I will always love you, but when you started pandering the teeny-bop lifestyle to the youth then you just lost a good chunk of my respect.) What makes his movies so great is that they’re often both welcoming and uninviting at the same time. Both of his protagonists aren’t perfect-looking but are innocent and optimistic dreamers full of heart, and it is they who draw you in. Both of the worlds his heroes inhabit are beautiful to look at but are also cruel and unforgiving, and it is these that push you away. Yet when you see the hero rarely faltering as they strive to reach their impossible goal even when all the odds are stacked against them, you can’t help but cheer them on, and you know that the movie is good when you sympathize for the main character. But perhaps what makes both movies really excellent to me is the hidden message for adults to find.
The brutality and unfairness of reality is inevitable, but we must never grow up completely because it is our imagination and our hope that will help get us through the worst of what life can throw at us.
Bottom line: Henry Selick’s movies look good and are good in so many ways, hence why he is my favorite director.
