The one with the skeletal reindeer …
Do you ever stop and think, “Kids' movies just aren’t scary enough these days?”
Sounds weird to say, but I challenge you to a rewatch of the 1993 masterpiece, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Between the spooky Halloween Town setting, the undead protagonist Jack Skellington, and a burlap sack bad guy filled with bugs, they simply don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
With its gothic vibes and creepy imagery, The Nightmare Before Christmas was the first foray into scary stuff for many kids back then. The stop-motion animation and Danny Elfman score let kids like me take a peek into darker themes without causing any actual nightmares.
But did you know …
1. ‘Twas the night before what?
As it turns out, Tim Burton was actually quite the poet. The Nightmare Before Christmas is actually based on a poem he wrote inspired by the famous “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” (listen to it here).
Burton’s Halloween-inspired version featured just three characters: Jack Skellington, Zero the dog, and Santa Claus. He even made designs to go with it, hoping to turn it into a stop-motion TV special like those made by Rankin/Bass Productions (think classics like 1964's Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and 1970’s Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town). Burton even referred to the story as being like “The Grinch in reverse,” referring to another famous holiday special.
2. Little by little
Stop-motion animation sounds like a cool job, right? Well, you need the patience of a saint to actually make all those little puppets come to life. Just ONE minute of the movie required about a week of filming, and the movie took three years to complete! At 24 frames per second, the entire film has around 110,000 frames.
This behind-the-scenes special shows all the effort the crew put into making The Nightmare Before Christmas. Don’t miss special trapdoors that were used to allow the crew to manipulate the puppets without being caught on film.
3. It’s all in the eyes.
Jack Skellington almost got a makeover before the movie went into production. Apparently, Walt Disney Studios wanted Jack to have actual eyes instead of just blank cavities in his head. They believed that without the eyes, it would be too hard to make Jack expressive enough for audiences to connect with him.
Fortunately, Burton doubled down on the empty sockets with full confidence that his protagonist could show allllll the feels. Ultimately, there were 400 heads made for Jack Skellington, with different versions swapped out to show various facial expressions.
4. Oogie Boogie oops
What if Oogie Boogie had a different demise? Director Henry Selick came up with a wild idea, imagining that “Oogie Boogie was actually Dr. Finkelstein in disguise — sort of a Scooby-Doo sort of ending.” But producer Tim Burton didn’t go for it. In fact, he reportedly hated the idea so much that he went into a rage and kicked a hole in the wall. Yikes.
5. Lost voices
Guess who almost got cast in The Nightmare Before Christmas? Vincent Price was the first choice for Santa Claus, but sadly he ended up dropping out of the film due to the passing of his wife. Ed Ivory ultimately took over the role, but not before Don Ameche and James Earl Jones were considered. Coincidentally, those two are fondly remembered for other ‘90s voice acting roles: Ameche was the voice of Shadow in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, while Jones is the voice of Mufasa in The Lion King.
Although his voice wasn’t used for a character, Sir Patrick Stewart recorded narration for a prologue and epilogue that didn’t make it into the final cut. But for the real Nightmare-heads out there, don’t worry — you can hear it on the film’s official soundtrack.
6. A familiar face
Could Jack be the most recognizable skeleton of all time? Maybe. It sure helps that his likeness has been featured in other movies over the years, most noticeably in James and the Giant Peach. The Jack figurine was actually reused for Captain Jack, the Skeleton Pirate. When Centipede first sees him, he even asks, “A Skellington?”
You’ll also see quick references to Jack’s familiar face in Beetlejuice (which was actually released prior to The Nightmare Before Christmas) and Coraline (also directed by Henry Selick). Some claim to have also spotted him in films like Sleepy Hollow, Finding Nemo, and The Princess and the Frog.
7. Where’s Mickey?
If you haven’t heard about hidden Mickeys, you’re about to unlock a whole new level of Disney fandom. It’s actually a long-standing tradition to sneak the famous mouse ear silhouette into unexpected places in Disney films and theme parks, and The Nightmare Before Christmas is no exception. Watch this scene closely to see what’s featured on the kids’ pajamas.
8. Hot and heavy
As it achieved cult classic status, the fan base for The Nightmare Before Christmas grew exponentially. Countless pieces of themed merchandise for the film have been created, from Hot Topic clothing and accessories to Jenga sets that arrive in coffin-shaped boxes.
Fans have also paid tribute to the movie in some unexpected ways. In Japan, a Halloween show featured actors dressed as the characters but added in a heavy dose of sexual content (plus some vampires for good measure). As Selick tactfully explained, “It pushed it into a whole other zone that wasn’t in the movie.”
9. Festive fan theories
Nothing brings out those warm, fuzzy holiday feelings like … Tim Burton? Despite his decidedly dark, gothic motifs, some fans consider this movie to be part of an unofficial “Dark Christmas Trilogy” with Burton’s signature style. The three films in the trilogy — Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, and The Nightmare Before Christmas — make for an unconventional holiday movie marathon.
10. It’s all connected!
Speaking of fan theories, this one stopped me dead in my tracks (no pun intended). What if the main characters in three Burton films are all the same person at different stages of life? Victor Frankenstein is a child in Frankenweenie, Victor VanDort navigates adulthood in The Corpse Bride, and Jack Skellington is an afterlife version in The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The same child and adult names are only the beginning of the cinematic connections. A closer look also reveals that all three characters demonstrate scientific curiosity and have a beloved dog sidekick: Sparky, Scraps, and Zero. On second thought, maybe it’s the same dog all along …
Is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie? Forward this to someone willing to take you up on the debate.
Editorial: Ashley
Illustration: Nick