Perfectly charming and, as ever, exquisitely animated, the latest offering from Laika Studios (“Kubo And The Two Strings”, “The Boxtrolls”) is nonetheless feels like the lesser of their efforts so far. While it’s acknowledged inspirations include “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” and the stories of Sherlock Holmes, there’s no escaping it’s an almost complete lift from Jules Verne’s globetrotting…

It was a bit of a coin toss as to whether I included this in the countdown. Is it a Christmas film about Halloween or a Halloween film about Christmas? Tricky one, but I decided it qualifies as a Christmas film as it’s ultimately about Jack Skellington discovering ‘the true meaning of Christmas’.

Way back in 1993, when Tim Burton’s trademark aesthetic still felt fresh and different, not tired and…