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IMDbPro

The Nightmare Before Christmas

  • 19931993
  • PGPG
  • 1h 16m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
330K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,291
43
Danny Elfman and Chris Sarandon in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Offcial Trailer
Play trailer1:14
11 Videos
99+ Photos
AnimationFamilyFantasy
Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
330K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,291
43
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Henry Selick
    • Writers
      • Tim Burton(story and characters)
      • Michael McDowell(adaptation)
      • Caroline Thompson(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Danny Elfman(voice)
      • Chris Sarandon(voice)
      • Catherine O'Hara(voice)
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Henry Selick
    • Writers
      • Tim Burton(story and characters)
      • Michael McDowell(adaptation)
      • Caroline Thompson(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Danny Elfman(voice)
      • Chris Sarandon(voice)
      • Catherine O'Hara(voice)
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 599User reviews
    • 228Critic reviews
    • 82Metascore
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 6 wins & 17 nominations total

    Videos11

    The Nightmare Before Christmas: 2018 Edition
    Trailer 1:14
    The Nightmare Before Christmas: 2018 Edition
    The Nightmare Before Christmas
    Trailer 2:00
    The Nightmare Before Christmas
    Hidden Gems to Watch on Disney+
    Clip 3:20
    Hidden Gems to Watch on Disney+
    Holiday Movies and TV Specials That Get You in the Spirit
    Clip 2:06
    Holiday Movies and TV Specials That Get You in the Spirit
    The Nightmare Before Christmas: 3D
    Clip 1:48
    The Nightmare Before Christmas: 3D
    The Nightmare Before Christmas: 3D
    Clip 1:09
    The Nightmare Before Christmas: 3D
    The Nightmare Before Christmas: 3D
    Clip 1:59
    The Nightmare Before Christmas: 3D
    The Nightmare Before Christmas: 3D
    Clip 1:42
    The Nightmare Before Christmas: 3D
    The Nightmare Before Christmas
    Clip 1:38
    The Nightmare Before Christmas
    The Nightmare Before Christmas
    Clip 1:59
    The Nightmare Before Christmas
    What Are These Stars Watching This Holiday Season?
    Full Episode 3:11
    What Are These Stars Watching This Holiday Season?

    Photos181

    Glenn Shadix in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
    Danny Elfman, Paul Reubens, Catherine O'Hara, and Edward Ivory in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
    Danny Elfman and Chris Sarandon in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
    Danny Elfman and Chris Sarandon in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
    Catherine O'Hara and William Hickey in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
    The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
    Tim Burton and Henry Selick in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
    Tim Burton and Danny Elfman in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
    Danny Elfman, Catherine O'Hara, and Chris Sarandon in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
    Catherine O'Hara and Chris Sarandon in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
    Danny Elfman and Chris Sarandon in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
    Danny Elfman and Chris Sarandon in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Danny Elfman
    Danny Elfman
    • Jack Skellington - Singing Voice
    • (voice)
    • …
    Chris Sarandon
    Chris Sarandon
    • Jack Skellington
    • (voice)
    Catherine O'Hara
    Catherine O'Hara
    • Sally
    • (voice)
    • …
    William Hickey
    William Hickey
    • Dr. Finkelstein
    • (voice)
    Glenn Shadix
    Glenn Shadix
    • Mayor
    • (voice)
    Paul Reubens
    Paul Reubens
    • Lock
    • (voice)
    Ken Page
    Ken Page
    • Oogie Boogie
    • (voice)
    Edward Ivory
    • Santa
    • (voice)
    • (as Ed Ivory)
    Susan McBride
    • Big Witch
    • (voice)
    • …
    Debi Durst
    • Corpse Kid
    • (voice)
    • …
    Greg Proops
    Greg Proops
    • Harlequin Demon
    • (voice)
    • (as Gregory Proops)
    • …
    Kerry Katz
    • Man Under Stairs
    • (voice)
    • …
    Randy Crenshaw
    Randy Crenshaw
    • Mr. Hyde
    • (voice)
    • …
    Sherwood Ball
    • Mummy
    • (voice)
    • …
    Carmen Twillie
    Carmen Twillie
    • Undersea Gal
    • (voice)
    • …
    Glenn Walters
    • Wolfman
    • (voice)
    • Director
      • Henry Selick
    • Writers
      • Tim Burton(story and characters)
      • Michael McDowell(adaptation)
      • Caroline Thompson(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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."
    • Goofs
      (at around 37 mins) In "Kidnap the Sandy Claws," just before Lock launches Barrel across the room, Lock is singing and his words are aligned. But when Barrel begins to sing, Lock's lips are moving to the words that Barrel should be singing. Barrel's lips don't move at all.
    • Quotes

      Jack Skellington: [singing] Just because I cannot see it, doesn't mean I can't believe it!

    • Crazy credits
      No credits are shown, except the company and the film's name.
    • 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.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Making of Tim Burton's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' (1993)
    • Soundtracks
      Here Comes Santa Claus
      (1947)

      Written by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman

    User reviews599

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    One of the most memorable holiday classics of all time. A visual masterpiece. ***1/2 out of ****.
    THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS / (1993) ***1/2

    Starring the voices of: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, Ken Page, Ed Ivory, and William Hickey Directed by Henry Celiac. Written by Michael McDowell. Running time: 76 minutes. Rated PG (for horrific images and some animated violence).

    Tim Burton seems like the only being on the planet who could come with characters such as the ones found in "The Nightmare Before Christmas." The feature is literally a tale likely to be found in a child's dreams. It creates a world of its own, inhabiting unforgettable characters and events that should be shared with generations. This film is a visual masterpiece; a movie that deserves to be a holiday favorite for some time to come.

    The atmosphere director Henry Celiac captures in "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is truly breathtaking. The cities and setting in which these characters live are visually perplexing, yet descriptive and develop the production's mood perfectly. We, as audiences starving for originality and imagination, are able to enter a scope so believable and unrelentingly convincing we lust for every last minute of it.

    The movie's protagonist is Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of the holiday town of Halloween. Jack is the role model for much of the cities population. The only problem is that Jack has been around for ages, parked in a town where every single year builds up for a conventional holiday, Halloween. This character has grown depressed and saddened by the routine living style he inhabits. We learn of his passion for new events and a and new life through a musical number that is both effective and engaging.

    Later on that vary night, Jack wonders off into a nearby woods and stumbles upon an area surrounded with magical doors leading to specific holiday worlds. Jack, blooming with curiosity, enters Christmas town: a joyful, happy place with snow, glitter, children singing, and colorful lights decorating the village in its entirety. Jack is mystified by the glamorous atmosphere, and rushes home to tell the Town of Halloween about his adventures.

    We realize the internalconflict is Jack's boredom of routine. This becomes more complex when he tries to figure out the meaning of Christmas. The external problem comes later in the plot, where we predict an uneasy disaster upcoming due to his intentions of recreating Christmas in Halloween style.

    Other key characters are Sally, the puppet-like creation of an angry professor, the city's Mayor who has a head for both his good and bad personality, the Oggie Boogie, the film's villain who is everything we ever dreamed of regarding a diabolical animated bad guy, and the inevitable character of Santa Clause.

    "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is not necessarily a children's movie, it might be too strange or fanatical for the very young. It is certainly a musical production, and at times, I felt that the songs replaced essential development. However, the musical numbers are challenging and memorable, containing passion and emotion. The picture is a walk into the mind of some of the most wildly imaginative filmmakers of our time. "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is titled wonderfully, although the film is truly not a nightmare, but a dream--a dream brought to life on the big screen.

    Brought to you by Touchstone Pictures.
    helpful•97
    31
    • Movie-12
    • Mar 14, 2000

    FAQ6

    • What is "The Nightmare Before Christmas" about?
    • Is "The Nightmare Before Christmas" based on a book?
    • Is this really a Disney movie?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 29, 1993 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D
    • Filming locations
      • Skellington Productions - 375 7th Street, San Francisco, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Touchstone Pictures
      • Skellington Productions Inc.
      • Tim Burton Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $18,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $77,368,668
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $191,232
      • Oct 17, 1993
    • Gross worldwide
      • $91,221,845
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 16 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
      • Dolby SR
      • Dolby Digital

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