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 / W.W.D. (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 (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 | halloween | villain | christmas movie | scientist | 

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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

Walt Disney Animation Studios' first film to be composed by Danny Elfman, who eventually became a recurring composer after Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith, Oliver Wallace, Edward H. Plumb, Charles Wolcott, Eliot Daniel, George Bruns, Buddy Baker, and Alan Menken.

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Goofs

When the citizens of Halloween Town gather up for the town meeting, the megaphone on the roof of the Mayor's car changes position during the clip.

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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

The special edition DVD version has never-before-seen footage of this movie and are the following:

• Lock, Shock and Barrel (the trick-or-treaters) are bored so they grab some snacks and go inside their cage/elevator to watch oogie boogie torture Santa and Sally. And later, a thought to be dead Jack Skellington enters the lair by jumping on the cage/elevator with the kids inside and he scares them which can explain how he got inside the lair at the nick of time. Pictures of the scene were in the promotional booklets, postcard books, and storybooks.
• Jack's further experiments with Christmas such as having a illustrating "Sandy Claws" as a human/lobster hybrid.
• a deleted part of oogie boogie's song that shows his shadow dancing.
• a scene where the vampires are playing hockey with the head of Tim Burton, this was corrected and Tim's head was replaced with a Jack O' Lantern.

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Connections

Referenced in Opening Night of Close-Up (1996)

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Soundtracks

Poor Jack
(1993) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Danny Elfman
Performed by Danny Elfman

User Reviews

Wonderful movie!

This movie has always been a favorite of mine. I never like holiday movies, because i always find them to be full to bursting with slapstick comedy, or way too sugary-sweet and dramatic. both of these things are okay in moderation, but most Christmas movies seem to go to one side of the spectrum or the other. this wonderful fairy tale is perfect for someone like me, who likes a little bit of a darker movie, but expects a Christmas movie to have a good message. the darkness in the movie is not without cause-it shows the joy of Christmas in great contrast to the scariness of Halloween, and it made me love both holidays all the more for that reason. i don't know, maybe that's just because Halloween and Christmas are my favorite holidays, but i really feel that this movie is great for older children and adults. younger children (up to 5 or 6 years) may find this simply frightening, but older children would find it wonderful.

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:

$77,368,668

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$91,491,247

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Skellington Productions Inc., Tim Burton Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1