The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
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The Pumpkin King of Halloween Town becomes obsessed with the spirit of Christmas after stumbling upon a neighboring land.
The story
Halloween Town is a fantasy world populated by various monsters and supernatural beings associated with the eponymous holiday. Jack Skellington, the well-respected Pumpkin King, leads the town in organizing its annual celebrations. This year however, Jack is weary of the same routine and longs for something new. Upon discovering trees containing doors to other holiday-themed worlds, Jack stumbles through the one leading to Christmas Town and is fascinated by the unfamiliar holiday. Jack returns home and shares his discovery with his friends and neighbors, but they struggle to grasp the concept of Christmas. After several futile attempts at finding a way to rationally explain Christmas, Jack decides to "improve" the holiday instead.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town and becomes obsessed with the holiday. He decides to 'improve' Christmas by taking over its celebration, assigning his residents various tasks like making presents and building a sleigh. His creation, Sally, warns him of a disastrous outcome, but he ignores her. Jack enlists a trio of trick-or-treaters, Lock, Shock, and Barrel, to abduct Santa Claus. However, they bring Santa to his rival, Oogie Boogie, who plans to gamble with Santa's life. While Jack is in the real world delivering terrifying, Halloween-themed gifts that cause a panic, Sally tries to rescue Santa from Oogie but is captured. Jack is eventually shot out of the sky and crashes in a cemetery, where he realizes his mistakes but also finds new inspiration for Halloween. He eventually returns to Halloween Town, saves Santa and Sally, and defeats Oogie Boogie. Santa makes amends by replacing Jack's gifts with real ones, and the town celebrates as the Christmas spirit arrives.
- First release year
- 1993
- Runtime (minutes)
- 76
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Henry Selick
- Writers
- Caroline Thompson · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Danny Elfman · Jack Skellington (singing voice); Chris Sarandon · Jack Skellington (speaking); Catherine O'Hara · Sally; William Hickey · Doctor Finkelstein; Glenn Shadix · The Mayor of Halloween Town; Paul Reubens · Lock; Ken Page · Oogie Boogie; Ed Ivory · Santa Claus
- Genres
- stop-motion animated; musical; fantasy
- Themes
- identity; tradition vs. innovation
- Tone and mood
- Gothic; dark; whimsical
- Setting
- Halloween Town and Christmas Town
- Premise and plot tags
- fantasy; holiday; stop-motion
- Source material / true-story basis
- poem written by Tim Burton in 1982
- Content notes
- scary
- Reception
- The film was met with critical and commercial success upon release, and has since garnered a cult following.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 95% · review count: 106; Metacritic · score: 82 · scale: 100 · review count: 30
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Visual Effects · nomination; Saturn Award · Best Fantasy Film · win; Saturn Award · Best Music · win; Golden Globe Award · Best Original Score · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2023.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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