This week on the Total Movie Recall Holiday Special, Steve and Ryan visit the mopey, gothy early 90s when Generation X looked to the high school Gloom King Tim Burton to express their so dark vision of Christmas. Stop motion animation is such a labor intensive craft that creates beautiful visions that aren’t all that interesting, which is going to enrage a bunch of high school Wiccans that love this movie. It does look great, though.

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

d. Henry Selick

Starring:
Danny Elfman
Chris Sarandon
Catherine O'Hara
William Hickey
Paul Reubens

The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown's beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the "real world." When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life -- he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry.

Things discussed in the show:

Babe Pig in the City

Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton)

Dark Shadows (Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green)

Dumbo 2019 (Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito)

Beetlejuice 2

Yule logs, holiday presents and the Krampus

Saturn and Jupiter aligning in 2020

Supernatural's final season (Eric Kripke, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins)

Armageddon and kaijus

X-Files (Chris Carter, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi)

power ranking Young Sheldon episodes

Mom (Allison Janney, Anna Faris, Mimi Kennedy)

The internet turning on Chris Pratt

Johnny Depp & Amanda Heard drama

The Straight Story (David Lynch, John Roach, Mary Sweeney, Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Jane Galloway Heitz)

Tom Cruise freaking out on staff not adhering to covid restrictions and Scientology

Mission Impossible 7 (Christopher McQuarrie, Vanessa Kirby, Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell)

Mission Impossible Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie, Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames)

The M