The Nightmare Before Christmas Poster
MOVIEmeter
Top 5000
Down 59 this week

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

PG  76 min  -  Animation | Family | Fantasy   -  29 October 1993 (USA)
8.0
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 8.0/10 from 107,260 users  
Reviews: 365 user | 159 critic

Jack Skellington, king of Halloweentown, discovers Christmas Town, but doesn't quite understand the concept.

Director:

Henry Selick

Writers:

Tim Burton (story), Michael McDowell (adaptation), and 1 more credit »
Watch Trailer
 Loading Watchlist 

Watch now

Buy it from Amazon »
Oscar Nominations    Photos    more »

Related Lists

image of title
a list of 245 titles by whitethomas61 created 10 months ago
 
image of title
a list of 1,132 titles by JLucasRJ created 6 months ago
 
image of title
a list of 512 titles by tmzLL created 8 months ago
 
image of title
a list of 329 titles by nazlihunca created 8 months ago
 
image of title
a list of 63 titles by Matthew-108 created 2 months ago
 

Connect with IMDb


Pre-Order the Kindle Fire
Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations See more awards »

Related Videos

The Nightmare Before Christmas -- Home video trailer for this classic from Tim Burton The Nightmare Before Christmas -- Clip: Voices The Nightmare Before Christmas -- Jack Skellington, king of Halloweentown, discovers Christmas Town, but doesn't quite understand the concept.
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Danny Elfman ...
Chris Sarandon ...
Catherine O'Hara ...
Sally / Shock (voice)
William Hickey ...
Dr. Finklestein (voice)
Glenn Shadix Glenn Shadix ...
Mayor (voice)
Paul Reubens ...
Lock (voice)
Ken Page Ken Page ...
Oogie Boogie (voice)
Edward Ivory Edward Ivory ...
Santa (voice) (as Ed Ivory)
Susan McBride Susan McBride ...
Big Witch / WWD. (voice)
Debi Durst Debi Durst ...
Corpse Kid / Corpse Mom / Small Witch (voice)
Greg Proops ...
Harlequin Demon / Devil / Sax Player (voice) (as Gregory Proops)
Kerry Katz Kerry Katz ...
Randy Crenshaw Randy Crenshaw ...
Mr. Hyde / Behemoth / Vampire (voice)
Sherwood Ball Sherwood Ball ...
Mummy / Vampire (voice)
Carmen Twillie ...
Edit

Storyline

Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, is bored with doing the same thing every year for Halloween. One day he stumbles into Christmas Town, and is so taken with the idea of Christmas that he tries to get the resident bats, ghouls, and goblins of Halloween town to help him put on Christmas instead of Halloween -- but alas, they can't get it quite right. Written by Jon Reeves <jreeves@imdb.com>  

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Halloween | Pumpkin | Woods | Christmas Tree  | See more »

Taglines:

We're changing the face of 3-D See more »

Genres:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Musical

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some scary images See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace | Official site [Japan] | See more »

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

(USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas See more »

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$191,232 (USA) (17 October 1993) (2 Screens)

Gross:

$50,379,629 (USA) (1 January 2001)
See more »

Company Credits

Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2001, Walt Disney Pictures began to consider producing a sequel, but rather than using stop motion, Disney wanted to use computer animation. Tim Burton convinced Disney to drop the idea. "I was always very protective of [Nightmare] not to do sequels or things of that kind," Burton explained. "You know, 'Jack visits Thanksgiving world' or other kinds of things just because I felt the movie had a purity to it and the people that like it," Burton said. See more »

Goofs

Continuity: In some shots, the 'Man Under the Stairs' has visible nipples on his chest, in some shots, they are missing. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Santa: 'Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems in a place perhaps you've seen in your dreams. For the story you're about to be told began with the holiday worlds of auld. Now you've probably wondered where holidays come from. If you haven't I'd say it's time you begun.
See more »

Crazy Credits

No credits are shown, except the company and the film's name. See more »

Connections

Referenced in "Siskel & Ebert: Episode dated 13 April 1996" (1996) See more »

Soundtracks

"Sally's Song"
(1993) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Danny Elfman
Performed by Catherine O'Hara See more »