What the corpus says about The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

The 60 lines php artisan corpus:ask hands a model, in the order it gets them, and nothing else. The model writes a clerk's answer from these and only these.

What was said about it (26)

  1. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:45:36 · Michael Rianda (0.60)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ The Haunted Mansion (Disney ride) · programming · The film's iconography now powers a seasonal Haunted Mansion overlay. · "the haunted mansion ride is like so amazing."
  2. [Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:32:50 · David Sims (0.50)] Wendell and Wild ↔ The Nightmare Before Christmas · theme · Nightmare has one major objective everyone is on; Wendell & Wild is just so much plot. · "Night before Christmas has like one major objective that everyone's right on."
  3. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:03:55 · Griffin Newman (0.55)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ The Wizard of Oz · theme · The film's cult growth into mainstream pop culture is compared to Oz. · "in that sort of Wizard of Oz conversation of like movies that came out, did okay at the time and are now just like so deeply woven into the tapestry of pop culture"
  4. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:41:48 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Toy Story · theme · The first breakthrough film in each form of animation becomes the template: CGI follows Toy Story, stop motion stays creepy. · "And then the CGI becomes so defined by Toy Story."
  5. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:57:52 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ The King of Comedy · theme · Jack and Santa Claus are read as Rupert Pupkin and Jerry Langford (transcribed Pumpkin/Lanford). · "the relationship between Jack and Santa Claus, excuse me, is just Rupert Pumpkin and Jerry Lanford."
  6. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:57:59 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Toy Story · craft · Like early Pixar films, this one squeezes every joke out of its premise (Halloween monsters). · "those early Pixar movies like hit the, the concept of the movie like a piñata until all of the joy fell out of it"
  7. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:01:07 · David Sims (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope · craft · The film's background characters beat everything since Star Wars for feeling like a real ecosystem. · "I think since Star Wars, no better background characters."
  8. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:17:23 · Michael Rianda (0.80)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Busby Berkeley musicals · craft · The swirling camera makes the musical numbers feel like Busby Berkeley. · "it feels like a Busby Berkeley musical"
  9. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 2:07:06 · David Sims (0.60)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Prince of Darkness · craft · A man made of bugs works for the speaker in Prince of Darkness as an adult but frightened him in Oogie at seven. · "when I saw like Prince of Darkness later in life and there was a man made of bugs, I was like, cool."
  10. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 2:08:55 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Peanuts · craft · The present-delivery montage plays by Peanuts rules: no grown-up faces. · "they play by like fucking peanuts rules where you're never going to see grown up faces"
  11. [Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:31:00 · David Sims (0.50)] Wendell and Wild ↔ The Nightmare Before Christmas · contrast · Imagines Nightmare's Halloween Town opening as ten minutes of dialogue introducing each denizen as a plot function, to describe how Wendell & Wild feels. · "It feels like if in the opening, this is Halloween sequence of nightmare before Christmas."
  12. [Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:36:39 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Wendell and Wild ↔ The Nightmare Before Christmas · contrast · Nightmare doesn't open with civic politics, so its underworld needs no explaining; Wendell & Wild front-loads dense plot. · "Yeah, it also helps that like nightmare before Christmas doesn't start with 10 minutes of like the political infrastructure of a small town."
  13. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:21:10 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Corpse Bride · contrast · Corpse Bride's mechanical puppet faces look frozen; Nightmare's replacement faces stay expressive. · "Like all the characters in that movie feel kind of Botox."
  14. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:27:33 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Universal horror films · contrast · Universal horrors run 70 to 75 minutes with padding, while Nightmare zooms without simplifying. · "And like all of those movies are pretty much 70 to 75 minutes."
  15. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:28:15 · David Sims (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Aladdin · contrast · Disney princess films open with an I-want song; Jack's opening is a triumph followed by unexplained ennui. · "the Disney princess movies of this time have the big, I want song, right?"
  16. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:33:25 · Michael Rianda (0.80)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Edward Scissorhands · contrast · Scissorhands keeps its real and fantasy worlds firmly separate; Nightmare has no totally real reality. · "They don't pull any punches, even, even like, you know, a movie like um, Edward Scissorhands or something"
  17. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:37:02 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Hotel Transylvania · contrast · Monster-hotel comedies are enjoyed, but Halloween Town's residents are not stock archetypes. · "I like that, look, I enjoy Hotel Transylvania."
  18. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 2:07:50 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Batman Forever · contrast · Oogie Boogie's dice rules echo Two-Face in Batman Forever. · "He does a classic, uh, two-faced Batman forever thing"
  19. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:21:40 · Michael Rianda (0.60)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Wendell and Wild · career · Selick's newest film is praised as sharpening, not shaving, his edges late in his career. · "you're not shaving any of the edges, any of the edges away."
  20. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:47:22 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] Slow Bob in the Lower Dimensions ↔ The Nightmare Before Christmas · career · Selick left Slow Bob to make Nightmare and sees it as his fulcrum point. · "I left Slobob to make nightmare before Christmas and I'm always, you know, I always think of this as his fulcrum point."
  21. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:09:38 · David Sims (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Child's Play · people · Chris Sarandon is identified as the cop who shot Chucky. · "We need the cop who shot Chucky."
  22. [Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 2:11:00 · Griffin Newman (0.60)] Coraline ↔ The Nightmare Before Christmas · verdict · Griffin ranks Nightmare over Coraline; both masterpieces, though Coraline is the greater auteur achievement; David flips them. · "I think I got to give the hair to nightmare over Core a lot."
  23. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:29:00 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Who Framed Roger Rabbit ⇒ The Nightmare Before Christmas (the host's read) · industry · Katzenberg was looking at Roger Rabbit's success as a reason to try different styles and techniques. · "looking at the success they had with Roger Rabbit and saying, like, we should try different styles"
  24. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:40:45 · Michael Rianda (0.50)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ⇒ James and the Giant Peach (the host's read) · industry · The film's long tail made Disney try stop motion again, back to back with Peach, before Laika and others. · "James and the Giant Peach is almost made like right back to back with this movie"
  25. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 2:17:23 · David Sims (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ The Three Musketeers · industry · Nightmare beat Disney's big live-action release of the year. · "it did a lot better than Disney's big release of that year, which was non-animated."
  26. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 2:22:47 · David Sims (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Jurassic Park · industry · Nightmare's first-ever animated VFX nomination lost to Jurassic Park. · "It lost to Jurassic Park."

Films put beside it more than once (3)

  1. [pairs] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Wendell and Wild · said 5 times in 2 episodes
  2. [pairs] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ The Wizard of Oz · said 2 times in 2 episodes
  3. [pairs] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Toy Story · said 2 times in 1 episode

Fun items about it (6)

  1. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:05:37 · Michael Rianda (0.80)] The Nightmare Before Christmas · fun · Michael dodged the film as a teen because of Hot Topic, then watched it around age 20 and loved it. · "and then I watched it in college and I was like, this movie is so wonderful."
  2. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:06:38 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas · fun · Hot Topic reclaimed the weird Disney movie: Disney did not want it, released it under Touchstone, and now Hot Topic mostly sells Disney merchandise. · "Disney didn't even want it."
  3. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:34:44 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas · fun · Development was backwards: Burton's poem, Elfman writing songs from story beats, then Thompson writing a script to fill the gaps; animation started before a script. · "But they are animating this movie before they have a script."
  4. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:53:45 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas · fun · Title card shot with candy corn letters before Burton's name was added late; Selick says he understands it and will rue it until he dies. · "I understand it, and I will rue it until the day I die."
  5. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:56:46 · David Sims (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas · fun · Fans on Blu-ray message boards beg Disney to restore the Touchstone logo opening. · "when will Disney release the version with the touchstone logo at the beginning?"
  6. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:16:52 · Michael Rianda (0.80)] Nightmare Before Christmas · fun · Camera moves in most shots; a motion-control rig and a green digitized screen showing only the previous two frames let animators check work. · "But in these guys only had 3 frames to work with."

One hop out: what recommends the films most often joined to it (19)

  1. [Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 0:53:45 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Jordan Peele ⇒ Wendell and Wild (the maker said so: Selick's account of seeing Key and Peele) · lineage · Selick saw Key and Peele on Comedy Central and realized they were Wendell and Wild. · "then it hit me, Wendell and Wild."
  2. [Blank Check — Patreon · 2022 MARCH MADNESS UPDATE 2 PRESENTED BY THE CHIP REPORT · 0:37:57 · unknown (0.30)] The Wizard of Oz ↔ Oz the Great and Powerful · programming · If Oz won the Patreon bracket, they'd time the series around Oz the Great and Powerful. · "if Oz were to win, we would want it to be done around the same time as Oz the Great and Power."
  3. [Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House · 0:14:03 · David Sims (0.40)] Bryan Adams ↔ Toy Story · lineage · The Bryan Adams song sounds to a host like the Toy Story song. · "He's just doing the Toy Story song."
  4. [Blank Check — Patreon · 2022 MARCH MADNESS UPDATE 2 PRESENTED BY THE CHIP REPORT · 0:47:01 · unknown (0.30)] Batman Forever ↔ The Lego Batman Movie · programming · The Patreon order runs Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, then BvS Ultimate Edition, Lego Batman, The Batman. · "It's Batman forever. Batman and Robin, the Lego Batman movie."
  5. [Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:09:45 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Pablo Lobato ⇒ Wendell and Wild (the host's read) · lineage · Selick picked a flat, cutout caricature style that should not be adaptable to 3D and asked the team to build it. · "Wendolyn Wilde, Argentinian artist, Pablo Lobato, is the big inspiration for the look of a lot of these guys."
  6. [The Rewatchables · ‘After Hours’ · 0:11:14 · Sean Fennessey (0.60)] The Wizard of Oz ⇒ After Hours (the host's read) · lineage · Dark-side-of-the-yellow-brick-road version; Dorothy walks into black and white instead of color, with 'surrender Dorothy' graffiti and Marcy's Seconal tie to Judy Garland. · "it is like very much a Wizard of Oz kind of homage, and it's like if Dorothy instead walked into the black and white darkness"
  7. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:09:31 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] Anton Chigurh ↔ Toy Story · craft · Raftery says Chigurh's terrible haircut reminds him of Slinky Dog. · "it always kind of reminds me of Slinky Dog from Toy Story."
  8. [Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:27:30 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Batman ⇒ Batman Forever (the host's read) · lineage · Burton had a plane and a boat which Schumacher updated in Batman Forever; Batman & Robin gave Robin a motorcycle. · "Burton has a plane and a boat."
  9. [Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:16:53 · David Sims (0.50)] Wendell and Wild ↔ Beetlejuice · craft · Wendell and Wild are Beetlejuice-like in that the story is really about the human teen (Lydia/Kat) and they are the colorful characters. · "They're Beetlejuicy in the movie in that it's like, well, it's really about Lydia."
  10. [The Big Picture · The 1990 Movie Draft · 1:11:10 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] The Wizard of Oz ⇒ Wild at Heart (the host's read) · lineage · Wild at Heart is a homage to the Wizard of Oz. · "kind of a blanket homage to Wizard of Oz"
  11. [The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:12:25 · Amanda Dobbins (0.70)] Batman Forever ⇒ Captain Marvel (the host's read) · craft · The prosthetic-ears-and-face-paint alien look recalls the trashy 1990s comic book movies, specifically Batman Forever. · "It felt a little bit like Batman forever at times where I was like, that guy is definitely just wearing face paint."
  12. [Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:28:33 · David Sims (0.40)] Wendell and Wild ↔ Coraline · craft · The kindness shown to Kat, with quiet sadness, is likened to the boredom sequences in Coraline. · "it's it's similar to the sort of the boredom sequences and core line where, uh, Everyone's kind to cat."
  13. [The Big Picture · The 1990 Movie Draft · 1:11:19 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] Diane Ladd ↔ The Wizard of Oz · lineage · Diane Ladd plays something like the Wicked Witch. · "playing kind of like the Wicked Witch in some ways"
  14. [Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:52:28 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Wendell and Wild ↔ Avatar · craft · Big sci-fi blockbusters like Inception and Avatar earn their virtuoso final acts with an hour of clumsy exposition; Wendell & Wild operates the same way. · "And they're things like Inception or Avatar, where you're like, you know what?"
  15. [The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:42:25 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] The Wizard of Oz ⇒ Avatar (the host's read) · lineage · Avatar is described as a deep Wizard of Oz homage. · "In case you were wondering, this is a deep wizard of a homage, among other things."
  16. [Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:53:13 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Wendell and Wild ↔ Inception · craft · The whole movie spends its running time on clumsy rules-exposition so the final act can pay off, like Inception. · "the whole movie is Inception style explaining to you, well, this is a kick, and this is a totem"
  17. [The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:53:51 · unknown (0.40)] The Wizard of Oz ⇒ Avatar (the host's read) · lineage · Avatar is an original story but inspired by Oz and John Ford movies. · "It's just like hugely inspired by not just the Wizard of Oz, but like lots of John Ford movies"
  18. [Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 2:12:32 · Griffin Newman (0.60)] Wendell and Wild ↔ Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery · craft · Griffin hoped a second viewing would work like Glass Onion, with setup gaining meaning, but it did not. · "I was curious if watching it a 2nd time, it would have like a glass onion effect"
  19. [The Big Picture · Best Picture Power Rankings and a ‘Poor Things’ Deep Dive. Plus: Julianne Moore and Todd Haynes! · 0:46:39 · unknown (0.30)] The Wizard of Oz ⇒ Poor Things (the host's read) · craft · The black-and-white film turns to color once Bella discovers sex in Lisbon. · "the movie turns to color once she knows about sex. So Wizard of Oz."

Who said it, by their latest sketch (3)

  1. [speaker] Griffin Newman · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Calls Last Temptation his college-era favorite Scorsese; loves Scorsese's smaller 80s and the film's closing transcendence and Gabriel score. Cannot stand fundamentalist outrage at it. A sucker for casting trivia and Tom Cruise-silliness. · stances: Hot take: Last Temptation structurally mirrors New York, New York as a better version; Outrage over the film is stupid; it is respectful to Jesus; Scorsese's smaller 80s work beats his later baroque phases
  2. [speaker] David Sims · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Prepares history: novel, casting, budgets, box office. Reveres the film and thinks it reads as a normal ground-level story. A sucker for Hollywood deal backstory and box office game. · stances: Praises Keitel and Dafoe casting; Respects Scorsese's persistence and Corman discipline; The film is now well regarded though not 'canonical Marty'
  3. [speaker] Michael Rianda · latest sketch, Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · Loves hand-made animation with visible thumbprints, Ren and Stimpy, The Simpsons, experimental animators and Pixar's manifesto culture. Can't stand CG-printed stop-motion faces and celebrity casting. A sucker for the Willy-Wonka feel of a stop-motion set. · stances: Animators are inwardly little artists chafing at studios; Treat a movie like a jailbreak; Celebrity casting doesn't matter; Hand-made imperfections make stop motion magic

The shows' running bits (3)

  1. [bits] The Big Picture: Drafts (Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument); Hall of Fame (A star's or director's best, ranked and argued); Countdowns (Ranked lists, top five or top ten)
  2. [bits] Blank Check: The box office game (Guessing the film's opening weekend and what it was up against); The sung theme ("Blank Check with Griffin and David", sung; the transcriber garbles it)
  3. [bits] The Rewatchables: Apex Mountain (The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits); Who Won the Movie (The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off); The Ebert review (Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show); Casting what-ifs (Who was almost cast, or who should have been); Most rewatchable scene (The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels); Aged best / aged worst (What holds up and what does not); Picking Nits (The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits); Double feature (The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick)

The whole prompt

As the model gets it, from app/Ai/Prompts/CorpusAsk.md 
You are a clerk at Video Culture, a video store. A customer just finished The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and wants to know what to watch next.

Below is what people who love movies said on three podcasts (Blank Check, The Rewatchables, The Big Picture) about The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and the films around it, one line each. Every line starts with where it came from, in brackets: [show · episode · time · speaker (how sure we are it was them)]. A [pairs] line says how often two films were put side by side. A [speaker] line says what that person likes. A [bits] line lists a show's running bits: a format, not an opinion.

[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:45:36 · Michael Rianda (0.60)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ The Haunted Mansion (Disney ride) · programming · The film's iconography now powers a seasonal Haunted Mansion overlay. · "the haunted mansion ride is like so amazing."
[Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:32:50 · David Sims (0.50)] Wendell and Wild ↔ The Nightmare Before Christmas · theme · Nightmare has one major objective everyone is on; Wendell & Wild is just so much plot. · "Night before Christmas has like one major objective that everyone's right on."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:03:55 · Griffin Newman (0.55)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ The Wizard of Oz · theme · The film's cult growth into mainstream pop culture is compared to Oz. · "in that sort of Wizard of Oz conversation of like movies that came out, did okay at the time and are now just like so deeply woven into the tapestry of pop culture"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:41:48 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Toy Story · theme · The first breakthrough film in each form of animation becomes the template: CGI follows Toy Story, stop motion stays creepy. · "And then the CGI becomes so defined by Toy Story."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:57:52 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ The King of Comedy · theme · Jack and Santa Claus are read as Rupert Pupkin and Jerry Langford (transcribed Pumpkin/Lanford). · "the relationship between Jack and Santa Claus, excuse me, is just Rupert Pumpkin and Jerry Lanford."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:57:59 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Toy Story · craft · Like early Pixar films, this one squeezes every joke out of its premise (Halloween monsters). · "those early Pixar movies like hit the, the concept of the movie like a piñata until all of the joy fell out of it"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:01:07 · David Sims (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope · craft · The film's background characters beat everything since Star Wars for feeling like a real ecosystem. · "I think since Star Wars, no better background characters."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:17:23 · Michael Rianda (0.80)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Busby Berkeley musicals · craft · The swirling camera makes the musical numbers feel like Busby Berkeley. · "it feels like a Busby Berkeley musical"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 2:07:06 · David Sims (0.60)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Prince of Darkness · craft · A man made of bugs works for the speaker in Prince of Darkness as an adult but frightened him in Oogie at seven. · "when I saw like Prince of Darkness later in life and there was a man made of bugs, I was like, cool."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 2:08:55 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Peanuts · craft · The present-delivery montage plays by Peanuts rules: no grown-up faces. · "they play by like fucking peanuts rules where you're never going to see grown up faces"
[Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:31:00 · David Sims (0.50)] Wendell and Wild ↔ The Nightmare Before Christmas · contrast · Imagines Nightmare's Halloween Town opening as ten minutes of dialogue introducing each denizen as a plot function, to describe how Wendell & Wild feels. · "It feels like if in the opening, this is Halloween sequence of nightmare before Christmas."
[Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:36:39 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Wendell and Wild ↔ The Nightmare Before Christmas · contrast · Nightmare doesn't open with civic politics, so its underworld needs no explaining; Wendell & Wild front-loads dense plot. · "Yeah, it also helps that like nightmare before Christmas doesn't start with 10 minutes of like the political infrastructure of a small town."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:21:10 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Corpse Bride · contrast · Corpse Bride's mechanical puppet faces look frozen; Nightmare's replacement faces stay expressive. · "Like all the characters in that movie feel kind of Botox."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:27:33 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Universal horror films · contrast · Universal horrors run 70 to 75 minutes with padding, while Nightmare zooms without simplifying. · "And like all of those movies are pretty much 70 to 75 minutes."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:28:15 · David Sims (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Aladdin · contrast · Disney princess films open with an I-want song; Jack's opening is a triumph followed by unexplained ennui. · "the Disney princess movies of this time have the big, I want song, right?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:33:25 · Michael Rianda (0.80)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Edward Scissorhands · contrast · Scissorhands keeps its real and fantasy worlds firmly separate; Nightmare has no totally real reality. · "They don't pull any punches, even, even like, you know, a movie like um, Edward Scissorhands or something"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:37:02 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Hotel Transylvania · contrast · Monster-hotel comedies are enjoyed, but Halloween Town's residents are not stock archetypes. · "I like that, look, I enjoy Hotel Transylvania."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 2:07:50 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Batman Forever · contrast · Oogie Boogie's dice rules echo Two-Face in Batman Forever. · "He does a classic, uh, two-faced Batman forever thing"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:21:40 · Michael Rianda (0.60)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Wendell and Wild · career · Selick's newest film is praised as sharpening, not shaving, his edges late in his career. · "you're not shaving any of the edges, any of the edges away."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:47:22 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] Slow Bob in the Lower Dimensions ↔ The Nightmare Before Christmas · career · Selick left Slow Bob to make Nightmare and sees it as his fulcrum point. · "I left Slobob to make nightmare before Christmas and I'm always, you know, I always think of this as his fulcrum point."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:09:38 · David Sims (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Child's Play · people · Chris Sarandon is identified as the cop who shot Chucky. · "We need the cop who shot Chucky."
[Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 2:11:00 · Griffin Newman (0.60)] Coraline ↔ The Nightmare Before Christmas · verdict · Griffin ranks Nightmare over Coraline; both masterpieces, though Coraline is the greater auteur achievement; David flips them. · "I think I got to give the hair to nightmare over Core a lot."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:29:00 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Who Framed Roger Rabbit ⇒ The Nightmare Before Christmas (the host's read) · industry · Katzenberg was looking at Roger Rabbit's success as a reason to try different styles and techniques. · "looking at the success they had with Roger Rabbit and saying, like, we should try different styles"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:40:45 · Michael Rianda (0.50)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ⇒ James and the Giant Peach (the host's read) · industry · The film's long tail made Disney try stop motion again, back to back with Peach, before Laika and others. · "James and the Giant Peach is almost made like right back to back with this movie"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 2:17:23 · David Sims (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ The Three Musketeers · industry · Nightmare beat Disney's big live-action release of the year. · "it did a lot better than Disney's big release of that year, which was non-animated."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 2:22:47 · David Sims (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Jurassic Park · industry · Nightmare's first-ever animated VFX nomination lost to Jurassic Park. · "It lost to Jurassic Park."
[pairs] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Wendell and Wild · said 5 times in 2 episodes
[pairs] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ The Wizard of Oz · said 2 times in 2 episodes
[pairs] The Nightmare Before Christmas ↔ Toy Story · said 2 times in 1 episode
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:05:37 · Michael Rianda (0.80)] The Nightmare Before Christmas · fun · Michael dodged the film as a teen because of Hot Topic, then watched it around age 20 and loved it. · "and then I watched it in college and I was like, this movie is so wonderful."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:06:38 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas · fun · Hot Topic reclaimed the weird Disney movie: Disney did not want it, released it under Touchstone, and now Hot Topic mostly sells Disney merchandise. · "Disney didn't even want it."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:34:44 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas · fun · Development was backwards: Burton's poem, Elfman writing songs from story beats, then Thompson writing a script to fill the gaps; animation started before a script. · "But they are animating this movie before they have a script."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:53:45 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas · fun · Title card shot with candy corn letters before Burton's name was added late; Selick says he understands it and will rue it until he dies. · "I understand it, and I will rue it until the day I die."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 0:56:46 · David Sims (0.40)] The Nightmare Before Christmas · fun · Fans on Blu-ray message boards beg Disney to restore the Touchstone logo opening. · "when will Disney release the version with the touchstone logo at the beginning?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · 1:16:52 · Michael Rianda (0.80)] Nightmare Before Christmas · fun · Camera moves in most shots; a motion-control rig and a green digitized screen showing only the previous two frames let animators check work. · "But in these guys only had 3 frames to work with."
[Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 0:53:45 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Jordan Peele ⇒ Wendell and Wild (the maker said so: Selick's account of seeing Key and Peele) · lineage · Selick saw Key and Peele on Comedy Central and realized they were Wendell and Wild. · "then it hit me, Wendell and Wild."
[Blank Check — Patreon · 2022 MARCH MADNESS UPDATE 2 PRESENTED BY THE CHIP REPORT · 0:37:57 · unknown (0.30)] The Wizard of Oz ↔ Oz the Great and Powerful · programming · If Oz won the Patreon bracket, they'd time the series around Oz the Great and Powerful. · "if Oz were to win, we would want it to be done around the same time as Oz the Great and Power."
[Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House · 0:14:03 · David Sims (0.40)] Bryan Adams ↔ Toy Story · lineage · The Bryan Adams song sounds to a host like the Toy Story song. · "He's just doing the Toy Story song."
[Blank Check — Patreon · 2022 MARCH MADNESS UPDATE 2 PRESENTED BY THE CHIP REPORT · 0:47:01 · unknown (0.30)] Batman Forever ↔ The Lego Batman Movie · programming · The Patreon order runs Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, then BvS Ultimate Edition, Lego Batman, The Batman. · "It's Batman forever. Batman and Robin, the Lego Batman movie."
[Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:09:45 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Pablo Lobato ⇒ Wendell and Wild (the host's read) · lineage · Selick picked a flat, cutout caricature style that should not be adaptable to 3D and asked the team to build it. · "Wendolyn Wilde, Argentinian artist, Pablo Lobato, is the big inspiration for the look of a lot of these guys."
[The Rewatchables · ‘After Hours’ · 0:11:14 · Sean Fennessey (0.60)] The Wizard of Oz ⇒ After Hours (the host's read) · lineage · Dark-side-of-the-yellow-brick-road version; Dorothy walks into black and white instead of color, with 'surrender Dorothy' graffiti and Marcy's Seconal tie to Judy Garland. · "it is like very much a Wizard of Oz kind of homage, and it's like if Dorothy instead walked into the black and white darkness"
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:09:31 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] Anton Chigurh ↔ Toy Story · craft · Raftery says Chigurh's terrible haircut reminds him of Slinky Dog. · "it always kind of reminds me of Slinky Dog from Toy Story."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:27:30 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Batman ⇒ Batman Forever (the host's read) · lineage · Burton had a plane and a boat which Schumacher updated in Batman Forever; Batman & Robin gave Robin a motorcycle. · "Burton has a plane and a boat."
[Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:16:53 · David Sims (0.50)] Wendell and Wild ↔ Beetlejuice · craft · Wendell and Wild are Beetlejuice-like in that the story is really about the human teen (Lydia/Kat) and they are the colorful characters. · "They're Beetlejuicy in the movie in that it's like, well, it's really about Lydia."
[The Big Picture · The 1990 Movie Draft · 1:11:10 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] The Wizard of Oz ⇒ Wild at Heart (the host's read) · lineage · Wild at Heart is a homage to the Wizard of Oz. · "kind of a blanket homage to Wizard of Oz"
[The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:12:25 · Amanda Dobbins (0.70)] Batman Forever ⇒ Captain Marvel (the host's read) · craft · The prosthetic-ears-and-face-paint alien look recalls the trashy 1990s comic book movies, specifically Batman Forever. · "It felt a little bit like Batman forever at times where I was like, that guy is definitely just wearing face paint."
[Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:28:33 · David Sims (0.40)] Wendell and Wild ↔ Coraline · craft · The kindness shown to Kat, with quiet sadness, is likened to the boredom sequences in Coraline. · "it's it's similar to the sort of the boredom sequences and core line where, uh, Everyone's kind to cat."
[The Big Picture · The 1990 Movie Draft · 1:11:19 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] Diane Ladd ↔ The Wizard of Oz · lineage · Diane Ladd plays something like the Wicked Witch. · "playing kind of like the Wicked Witch in some ways"
[Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:52:28 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Wendell and Wild ↔ Avatar · craft · Big sci-fi blockbusters like Inception and Avatar earn their virtuoso final acts with an hour of clumsy exposition; Wendell & Wild operates the same way. · "And they're things like Inception or Avatar, where you're like, you know what?"
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:42:25 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] The Wizard of Oz ⇒ Avatar (the host's read) · lineage · Avatar is described as a deep Wizard of Oz homage. · "In case you were wondering, this is a deep wizard of a homage, among other things."
[Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 1:53:13 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Wendell and Wild ↔ Inception · craft · The whole movie spends its running time on clumsy rules-exposition so the final act can pay off, like Inception. · "the whole movie is Inception style explaining to you, well, this is a kick, and this is a totem"
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:53:51 · unknown (0.40)] The Wizard of Oz ⇒ Avatar (the host's read) · lineage · Avatar is an original story but inspired by Oz and John Ford movies. · "It's just like hugely inspired by not just the Wizard of Oz, but like lots of John Ford movies"
[Blank Check · Wendell & Wild · 2:12:32 · Griffin Newman (0.60)] Wendell and Wild ↔ Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery · craft · Griffin hoped a second viewing would work like Glass Onion, with setup gaining meaning, but it did not. · "I was curious if watching it a 2nd time, it would have like a glass onion effect"
[The Big Picture · Best Picture Power Rankings and a ‘Poor Things’ Deep Dive. Plus: Julianne Moore and Todd Haynes! · 0:46:39 · unknown (0.30)] The Wizard of Oz ⇒ Poor Things (the host's read) · craft · The black-and-white film turns to color once Bella discovers sex in Lisbon. · "the movie turns to color once she knows about sex. So Wizard of Oz."
[speaker] Griffin Newman · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Calls Last Temptation his college-era favorite Scorsese; loves Scorsese's smaller 80s and the film's closing transcendence and Gabriel score. Cannot stand fundamentalist outrage at it. A sucker for casting trivia and Tom Cruise-silliness. · stances: Hot take: Last Temptation structurally mirrors New York, New York as a better version; Outrage over the film is stupid; it is respectful to Jesus; Scorsese's smaller 80s work beats his later baroque phases
[speaker] David Sims · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Prepares history: novel, casting, budgets, box office. Reveres the film and thinks it reads as a normal ground-level story. A sucker for Hollywood deal backstory and box office game. · stances: Praises Keitel and Dafoe casting; Respects Scorsese's persistence and Corman discipline; The film is now well regarded though not 'canonical Marty'
[speaker] Michael Rianda · latest sketch, Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas · Loves hand-made animation with visible thumbprints, Ren and Stimpy, The Simpsons, experimental animators and Pixar's manifesto culture. Can't stand CG-printed stop-motion faces and celebrity casting. A sucker for the Willy-Wonka feel of a stop-motion set. · stances: Animators are inwardly little artists chafing at studios; Treat a movie like a jailbreak; Celebrity casting doesn't matter; Hand-made imperfections make stop motion magic
[bits] The Big Picture: Drafts (Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument); Hall of Fame (A star's or director's best, ranked and argued); Countdowns (Ranked lists, top five or top ten)
[bits] Blank Check: The box office game (Guessing the film's opening weekend and what it was up against); The sung theme ("Blank Check with Griffin and David", sung; the transcriber garbles it)
[bits] The Rewatchables: Apex Mountain (The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits); Who Won the Movie (The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off); The Ebert review (Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show); Casting what-ifs (Who was almost cast, or who should have been); Most rewatchable scene (The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels); Aged best / aged worst (What holds up and what does not); Picking Nits (The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits); Double feature (The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick)

Recommend three to six films, and only films that appear in these lines. A series, a TV film, or a franchise counts too when a line recommends it or pairs it with The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993); name it the way the line names it. Don't recommend The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) itself. For each one, give one short reason in your own words and say whose reason it is: the show, named exactly as the brackets name it, and the speaker when the line names one (an "unknown" speaker is just the show). If the lines are thin, say so plainly rather than stretching them.

Keep a contrast a contrast. When a line sets two films apart, the reason is how they differ; never turn it into a way they're alike. A line with ⇒ puts the source first and what drew on it second, and one marked "the maker said so" is still the host reporting it: say who said it, and never state an influence as fact.

You know only what's on these lines. Add no fact they don't state: not who directed a film, not what kind of film it is, not when it came out, unless a line says so. Say nothing about the store or how anything rents here.

Talk the way a clerk talks to a customer at the counter: plain text, titles written plainly with no asterisks or other markup, no headings, no lists of more than six, no JSON.