I am an enormous fan of the film. I usually do not enjoy games made based on films, so I was VERY worried about this one. Lucky for me, it was a VERY far cry from the original story. It takes place one year after the movie (despite being made more than ten years later (and in my head it also takes place after the events of Kingdom Hearts II)) and we're not "taking Christmas" this time around.
The game play is wonderfully thought out and original, perfect for the world it takes place in; there's singing, dancing, battle banter, and it's genius.
The difficulty of the game is on par as well. Even on easy there are certain levels that are decidedly frustrating and daunting. When played on hard, it becomes downright impossible (especially of mediocre players like me)
The dialogue is, like the movie, wonderfully cheesy and full of camp. It's all spoken at a heightened sense of drama, perfect for such a theatrical character as Jack Skellington. The voice work was a little patchy; Jack's speaking and singing was performed by Chris Sarandon, and though I was saddened by lack of Danny Elfman involvement, he does a wonderful job and has a more than adequate voice. Sally, Lock, Shock, and Barrel bugged me for a while, but the characters were done right and the actors owned it.
The animation is a little dodgy, but it's beautiful. Everything I loved about the look of the movie can be found in the game, and it's amazing to explore it.
There are a lot of hidden goodies in the game, and many things that make me think that this is the best Nightmare game we're going to get. Awesome game.