The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.

Director:

Henry Selick

Writers:

Tim Burton (story and characters), Michael McDowell (adaptation)

Stars:

Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Danny Elfman	...	Jack Skellington - Singing Voice / Barrel / Clown with the Tear Away Face (voice)
Chris Sarandon	...	Jack Skellington (voice)
Catherine O'Hara	...	Sally / Shock (voice)
William Hickey	...	Evil Scientist (voice)
Glenn Shadix	...	Mayor (voice)
Paul Reubens	...	Lock (voice)
Ken Page	...	Oogie Boogie (voice)
Edward Ivory	...	Santa (voice) (as Ed Ivory)
Susan McBride	...	Big Witch / WWD. (voice)
Debi Durst	...	Corpse Kid / Corpse Mom / Small Witch (voice)
Greg Proops	...	Harlequin Demon / Devil / Sax Player (voice) (as Gregory Proops)
Kerry Katz	...	Man Under Stairs / Vampire / Corpse Dad (voice)
Randy Crenshaw	...	Mr. Hyde / Behemoth / Vampire Corpse Dad (voice)
Sherwood Ball	...	Mummy / Vampire (voice)
Carmen Twillie	...	Undersea Gal / Man Under the Stairs (voice)

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.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas movie | christmas | halloween | gothic | stop motion animation | 

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Taglines:

A ghoulish tale with wicked humour & stunning animation.

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some scary images

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jack rides across the sky under a Christmas Eve full moon. Between the end of World War II and the end of 1993 (year of the film's release) there were only five Christmas Eves with a full moon, or as close to full as no matter: 1950, 1958, 1969, 1977 and 1988.

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Goofs

When Jack is in Christmas Town, at one part he jumps across from house to house. For about several frames, you can see wires suspending the puppet.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

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

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Alternate Versions

In 2006, Industrial Light and Magic used computer technology to create a stereoscopic 3D version of the film that was released to digital 3D theaters on October 20. There are only a few differences in this version:

• The version begins with a countdown to when you should put your 3-D glasses on, which shows a jack-in-the-box that pops out revealing a Jack-o-lantern.
• The Touchstone logo has been replaced with the 2006 Disney logo, and the film now says 'Walt Disney Pictures Presents' instead of 'Touchstone Pictures Presents'
• The end credit roll features concept art from the movie that goes with the music. The credit roll itself is extended to include credits for people involved with the 3-D version of the film.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Fictional Movie Pets (2015)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

A true must see for all Halloween fans

I am not a big Tim Burton fan, but this movie is in my top 3 of all time. Perhaps the fact that Halloween is my favorite holiday influenced my opinion, but I doubt it. The more I hear and read about this movie, the more I love it.

Based on a parody of the famous "Night before Christmas" poem by Moore that Burton wrote and illustrated while employed at Disney, this idea was stagnant for many years prior to filming. In many ways this was a good thing, technology was able to catch up to Burton's ideas.

In NBC, we see our hero Jack Skellington, aka The Pumpkin King, depressed as another Halloween passes. In the background we hear the residents of Halloween Town celebrate another wonderful holiday. But Jack is sad. The only one who notices is the Rag Doll-style woman Sally.

Other characters, including many town-monsters, are introduced. We meet the wonderful mayor with two faces, the evil scientist and his assistant, three local children and our evil boogie-man.

After an accident, Jack develops a plan to kidnap "Sandy Claws" and give presents out for Christmas in place of Christmas Town. You will have to view this movie to discover the rest.

The claymation is not what I expected, it was of a high quality and the movements are not jerky like the old Christmas Specials. Danny Elfman's music has little resemblance to his work with Ongo Bongo and "What's this?" (which Jack sings when he discovers the colorful world of Christmas Town) is closer to a tune mixed from Cabaret and The Music Man. The voices match the mouth movements nearly perfectly. This was a project from the heart and all the little touches to make it 'just' right show this fact.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 October 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D

Filming Locations:

Skellington Productions - 375 7th Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$191,232, 17 October 1993

Gross USA:

$75,082,668

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$89,140,058

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Skellington Productions Inc., Tim Burton Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby (35mm)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1