The Nightmare Before Christmas- Special Edition
For those who never thought Disney would release a film in which Santa Claus is kidnapped and tortured, well, here it is! The full title is Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, which should give you an idea of the tone of this stop-action animated musical-fantasy-horror-comedy. His benignly scary-funny sensibility dominates the story of Halloweentown resident Jack Skellington (voiced by Danny Elfman, who also wrote the songs), who stumbles on a bizarre and fascinating alternate universe called... Christmastown! Directed by Henry Selick, this PG-rated picture has a reassuringly light touch.

James and the Giant Peach - Special Edition
Roald Dahl's modern classic for children becomes a delightful combination of live-action footage and stop-motion animation. The story concerns young James (played for real and through voiceovers by Paul Terry), who is orphaned and left in the charge of two cruel aunts (Miriam Margolyes and Joanna Lumley). Rescued by a mysterious fellow (Pete Postlethwaite), James ends up inside a giant peach, drifting over the Atlantic Ocean in the company of a gentleman grasshopper (voiced by Simon Callow), a fast-talking centipede (Richard Dreyfuss), an anxious earthworm (David Thewlis), a matronly ladybug (Jane Leeves), and a sexy spider (Susan Sarandon). The collection of actors and their creepy-crawly alter egos are a delight, especially when some of the song-and-dance numbers (tunes written by Randy Newman) get everyone going.