The Nightmare Before Christmas
Deluxe Jack Skellington with interchangeable heads review
By Michael Crawford

The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of those rare movies - a concept so bizarre, so unlikely, that how it ever got made is astounding. Here is a film done with stop motion animation in a time of CGI, that's filled with signing in a time where musicals are considered dead, that looks like it's aimed for kids, but has a very distinctly adult feel. Somehow it did manage to get made - and no one paid attention. It faired poorly at the box office, and the original toy line from Hasbro based on the film languished in discount bins everywhere.

And then a funny thing happened. The DVD hit the market, and people that hadn't considered spending 7 bucks to go see it at the theater, rented it. And suddenly, it's popularity skyrocketed. It found an audience, particularly with the 16 - 30 crowd, and those toys that they couldn't give away a year earlier were now selling for ridiculous sums on the secondary market.

 

A few years ago, NECA picked up the license, and began producing a cornicopia of merchandise. Of course, action figures were high on their list, but they started out slowly in that arena, simply reissuing some of the original figures under their banner. That didn't last too long though, and last year they released their first all new series of figures, including Jack, Sally, the Major and the Vampire. The quality was excellent all the way around, light years ahead of the original mass market line, and fans were thrilled.

 

 

It took them awhile to get the second series out though, and they just hit shelves about 2 months ago. That series includes Santa Jack, the Harleyquinn Demon, the Witches, and Dr. Finklestein. The third series was quick to follow though, and is now on the pegs, including the Cyclops, the Werewolf, and a second version of both Santa Jack and Sally.

But that's not what I'm here to review at Eternal Collector. Nope, this review is on perhaps the coolest NMBC collectible ever produced, the 13" tall Jack with 12 swappable heads. NECA took what they've learned from the smaller lines and scaled it up, and this big boy is on shelves right now at stores like Media Play or Suncoast for about $23.

Packaging - ***1/2
Jack comes in a window box, with all the heads on display. It shows off the product well, and is built around the standard NMBC graphics and colors. There's not a ton of text, but the box will keep things safe while giving you a good chance to see what you're buying right in the store.

Sculpting - ****
If you've checked out the smaller figures, then you've seen this body sculpt before. It matches the film extremely well, with almost perfect proportions and design. The sculpt and articulation also work quite well together, so it's obvious that the amount and type of articulation was considered right from the start, rather than after the sculpt had been completed.

The amount of detail in the various expressions and heads varies of course, but it's always appropriate to the source material and the style. The NMBC line is some of NECA's (and the Four Horsemen, who did the actual sculpt) finest work, and fans should definitely be paying attention. It's highly unlikely that we'll ever get a better version of any of these characters from any other company.

He can't stand on his own of course, due to the design of the character, but they've included a stand to help you out. His hands are sculpted in great poses, that work well with a variety of the expressions and possible arm poses.

 

Paint - ***1/2
While I've had some issues with the paint work on the smaller line in some very specific cases, I'm happy to say that's not the case here. The one I picked up is almost perfect, with no over spray or bleed, even between the difficult black and white areas.

Out of all the heads there's the one here or one there that has a stray mark or an uneven edge, and one is not quite the same color of white as the others, but these problems are quite rare. The small pin stripes in his suit are nead and clean, and follow the flow of his body properly.

 

Articulation - ***1/2
This large scale Jack has all the articulation of the smaller versions, but has the added avantage of being less fragile. There's the ball jointed neck, ball jointed shoulders and hips, cut biceps and thighs, pin elbows and knees, pin wrists, and a ball chest joint.

The pin knees and elbows are 'clicky'. That means they click into place as you move them through the range of movement. The joints are all fairly sturdy, and work well as long as you use the stand.

 

 

Accessories - ****
The accessories are the additional heads, and there's so many here, some of them end up being awfully close in expression. That's not surprising though considering the number, and how few expressions the average person, or average Jack Skellington in this case, really has.

The heads are a little tough to get on and off, so you'll want to take some care. They might end up being frustrating for kids, but with a little adult help, they should be alright. I waffled around for awhile before I finally decided which head was my favorite, and I bet it will be tough for you to choose as well. Every one of them shows great attention to detail and excellent sculpting and paint.

He also has a stand, since there's no way you'd ever get him to stay standing on those itty bitty feet. The stand works fine, and gives you a broader range of posing possibilities.

Fun Factor - **1/2
If you can get past the difficulty in swapping heads, this can be a really fun figure. There's plenty of articulation to go around, and with the stand, he can strike just about any pose.

Kids might find the head swapping frustrating though, and the articulation might actually work against the figure for them. The joints are likely to loosen up with any real 'play', so while he's a fun figure, it's mostly for adults.

Value - ***
It's pretty rare to get a figure this big for anywhere around twenty bucks anymore, and considering the sheer number of heads that are included, he's certainly a better than average value. The closer to $20 you can find him, the closer this gets to ***1/2 stars.

Things to watch out for -
I'd be careful swapping the heads, since they fit tightly, and damaging the neck post is possible. And while the larger figure has less fragile joints than the smaller versions, I'd still be careful breaking any of them free in the case that they are stuck. Treat it like you would a bear - take your time, and don't make any sudden moves.

Overall - ****
I waffled around for awhile between ***1/2 and ****, since I rarely give out four. I review over 200 toy lines each year, and less than 10% manage to get four stars. Still, the more I goofed around with this guy, the more I appreciated just how cool he was. He makes a great addition to any Halloween - or Christmas! - decor, and the various heads allow him to match you, sort of like the mood ring version of action figures.

This isn't an idea that would work for just any character, but the many faces of Jack has been a major reason for his popularity. And if Disney has anything to say about it, he'll be a recognizable character for many generations to come, no matter what his expression.