During the holidays people love to grab their most comfortable blanket, make some hot chocolate and put on their favorite Christmas movie. There are many types of Christmas movies including the widely popular stop motion animation.
For instance, the 1964 stop motion movie, “Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer” was a big hit at the time with its unique style of animation. From the bright red nose of the Rudolph figure to the impressive Yeti monster, back then it was hard to compete with the film.
Over the years, the stop motion technique has improved greatly. Tim Burton’s, “The Nightmare before Christmas” has become more popular. The animation style of Burton has a more updated look with fluid figures and smoother movement. This story was also unique to the movie screen, unlike Rudolph there aren’t many remakes of this movie. “The Nightmare before Christmas” seems like a Halloween movie because of the freaky figures, but it examines the interesting tale of a pumpkin king wanting to know what Christmas is.
So, which Christmas classic is better?
The children who grew up between the 60’s and early 90’s might tell you that Rudolph is the only stop motion Christmas movie that is deemed acceptable. They have watched it their entire lives.
Now, children who grew up in the 2000’s might think otherwise. They might like Burton’s film more because of the newer animation. Sure, Rudolph is a classic, but their animation and movement is stagnant.
With Burton’s film they had more stage area and power to move the figures. In a video about how the film was made, they mentioned that the crew designed a trap door system so they could go to the scene and change it smoothly. The film also had blinking and more eye and body movement than Rudolph.
The characters in Rudolph had limited movement in general, they would dance to the songs on the movie. It almost looked robotic instead of natural. Also, the figures were creepy looking.
Popularity is also a huge factor of both movies.
“The Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland is transformed every Christmas into Burtons film. There is also merchandise sold at retail stores like Hot Topic, the Disney Store and Target that relate to the movie. Even at some Christmas stores you can find ornaments of your favorite character.
Meanwhile, the Rudolph movie only seems to consist of the movie, ornaments and the soundtrack. People are not as into the movie, well at least the younger generation.
In 1964, Rudolph was playing all throughout America on televisions. Burton’s stop motion film was released into the movie theaters worldwide 29 years later.
Both movies are classic Christmas movies and it is your choice for which stop motion film you like. But statistics don’t lie and, with technology changing rapidly, it seems like the new stop motion is here to stay.
