Is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween Movie? Henry Selick Decides

When you think of The Nightmare Before Christmas, which holiday comes to mind? Whether the animated classic should be watched during the Halloween or Christmas season remains one of cinema’s most contested questions. Released on October 29, 1993 (which is perhaps a rather compelling argument for the Halloween side of the debate), The Nightmare Before Christmas was a commercial and critical success. It gained an Oscar nomination and eventually inspired one of the most pronounced cult followings of all time. Considered a marvel of animation and stop-motion technology, it will go down in history as one of Tim Burton’s greatest creative achievements. Yet, it seems to break a convention of holiday cinema in that it cannot be defined by any one holiday.

Thus, with the popularity of the film and its nebulous status as simultaneously a Halloween and Christmas movie, it remains a hot topic (see what I did there?) of discussion. In which camp does The Nightmare Before Christmas truly belong? There is plenty of “evidence” on the side of it being a predominantly Halloween movie. After all, the title alone suggests that it takes place before Christmas. However, according to a new exclusive interview from the New York Post, the film’s director, Henry Selick, has conclusively chosen a side. Selick is saying that The Nightmare Before Christmas is definitively a Christmas movie, and here’s why.

In Defense of Halloween

Release Date

October 9, 1993

Director

Henry Selick

Runtime

76

Writers

Tim Burton , Michael McDowell , Caroline Thompson

Expand

The Nightmare Before Christmas follows Jack Skellington ( voiced by Chris Sarandonand sung by Composer Danny Elfman), the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown who yearns for something more. When he discovers a portal to Christmas Town, he becomes obsessed with and kidnaps the mysterious “Santy Claws” with plans to usurp the holiday. Of course, the town eventually discovers the power of Christmas and Jack finds love in the form of Sally (voiced by Catherine O’Hara).

Despite the film’s ending, there are many reasons some viewers have been inclined to believe The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Halloween movie first. Firstly, a good bulk of the movie takes place in Halloweentown. This is where the exposition takes place through moments like the song “This is Halloween” (which itself also tilts the scales toward Halloween).

Moreover, the look of the film is pretty spooky, so much so that Disney executives were initially hesitant to release it for fear it was too scary for children. It is full of traditional Halloween imagery, from pumpkins to witches. The protagonist of the film is a skeleton and the antagonist is the boogeyman. Seeing as the traditional Christmas movie is devoid of these elements, it is easy to understand why audiences have associated The Nightmare Before Christmas with the Halloween season for so long. Still, many others (including Selick) disagree with this verdict.

Related

Coraline Almost-Sequel in the Works From Henry Selick & Neil Gaiman

An adaptation of the beloved children’s book by Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, is now in development.

The Christmas Argument

Buena Vista Pictures 

On the other side of the debate, there are those who view The Nightmare Before Christmas as a Christmas classic. Santa Claus and Christmas are the main catalysts for the plot and climax of the film. Jack sings songs like “What’s This?” about the wonder of discovering Christmas Town. The aforementioned conclusion of the film is that they end up defeating the boogeyman (representing Halloween) and allowing Christmas to reign.

While it all has the same Tim Burton-esque look, there is arguably an equal amount of Christmas imagery as there is Halloween imagery. Perhaps less overtly sweet than typical Christmas flicks, The Nightmare Before Christmas still certainly contains all the essential ingredients; it has snow, romance, presents, and more. So, with so many elements of both holidays existent in the film, why has Selick decided to take such a firm stance for Christmas?

Related

8 Things You’ll Find in Just About Every Tim Burton Movie

You can always tell when you’re watching a Tim Burton movie. And that’s because the same few things tend to happen.

Selick Says Christmas Reigns

For Selick, the distinction lies more in The Nightmare Before Christmas’ essence than its creepy aesthetic. The message of the film is one of Christmas spirit. The love that Jack Skellington ultimately learns for Sally and for Christmas, he feels, are signs that it is, above all, a warm family film. He compares it to something like The Grinch, which simply sees the infusion of dark and evil themes into what is an underlying wholesome story.

Fundamentally, Selick believes, “beneath its candy corn coating, skeletons and vampires, corpse child and witches, I know ‘Nightmare’ at its heart is a Christmas movie.” There are also more technical reasons. Selick encourages viewers to consider that the events of the film take place after Halloween, with “This is Halloween” serving as a farewell to the holiday and the film’s introduction to a new season (Christmas). With that, it seems that we have at least one authoritative answer on the subject. According to the film’s director, The Nightmare Before Christmas should be regarded as a Christmas movie.

The Debate Goes On

Buena Vista Pictures 

Like any age-old debate, there will always be differing opinions. This particular issue may remain as black-and-white as Jack Skellington for a while despite Selick’s input. In fact, according to the Post article, Selick himself was quoted as being on “Team Halloween” in 2015. It seems he strongly holds the Christmas conviction now, but his past conflict on the matter is a sign of how deeply this question runs.

The film’s composer Danny Elfman, for example, also went on record saying he thought that The Nightmare Before Christmas was first and foremost a Halloween movie (which is arguably reflected in his eerie score). Maybe the world will never really decide the true holiday that The Nightmare Before Christmas pays homage to, or maybe it has equal parts of both. Either way, despite Selick’s avid opinion, the discourse will likely go on in the hearts of viewers everywhere. The Nightmare Before Christmas is available to stream now on Disney+.

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}