“The Nightmare Before Christmas” can be seen as both a Halloween and a Christmas movie due to its content. Filled with pumpkins, nightmares, and trying to fix Halloween. In and out of Christmas Town, stealing their ideas and Christmas cheer. It is perfectly crafted to get you into the holiday spirit.
Background info
Since its first release in 1993, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” has been a hit movie for children all over. It was one of the stop-motion films that made them popular amongst people. Another factor in its popularity was the producer, Tim Burton. He is known for his dark films. Burton’s inspiration for TNBC was a three-page poem called “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” The poem mentions infamous Jack Skellington and his dog Zero; it also features Santa Claus.
Alongside Tim Burton, many people played a significant role in the creation and coming together of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Voicing Jack Skellington was Chris Sarandon, but Danny Elfman also voiced him when Jack sang. Danny Elfman not only voiced Jack Skellington, but also the Clown with the Tear-Away Face and Barrel, a third of the trick-or-treaters that Jack asked to help him out with his task. Catherine O’Hara voiced Sally and Shock, another one of the trick-or-treaters. The last trick-or-treater, Lock, was voiced by Paul Reubens. Oogie Boggie, Dr. Finklestein, and the Mayor were voiced by Ken Page, William Hickey, and Glenn Shadix. Henry Selick directed the film, while Michael McDowell and Caroline Thompson contributed to the direction with Tim Burton. IMDB has a full list of voice actors and the roles they played.
Ratings
According to Rotten Tomatoes, (“The Nightmare Before Christmas”) TNBC has a 92% “popcornmeter” overall. While being highly rated by all audiences, movie critics also gave the movie a positive review. Their good reviews gave TNBC a 95% “fresh tomato” rating and 5% “rotten tomato” rating.
Plot
Halloween ends, and the town is satisfied, eager to start preparing for the next. All except for Jack Skellington. He needs to spice up the holiday, to make things better; something is missing. In moments of doubt, he flees the town and walks for hours until stumbling upon trees. The whole town gets turned upside down while he’s gone; they are looking for him in complete distress. But little do they know, Skellington has come across something that will flip Halloween around, make it better, so he thinks…
Subplots
Sally and Dr. Finklestein are engaged in a feud. Sally is his creation, so he feels he knows what’s best for her. She does not think he knows what’s best, and she doesn’t want to listen to him, so on multiple occasions, she runs away. This subplot doesn’t really add or take away anything from the movie. Sally is an important character, while Dr. Finklestein isn’t necessary.
Sally and Jack Skellington also have a subplot of their own. She has a crush on him. This reels in tension and worry in the movie. Sally becomes concerned about Jack; it seems that he is depressed, and she wants to help but cannot. She even sings about his infatuation with him and how she wants him to feel the same way. She even helps Jack realize that what he’s doing isn’t wrong and causes chaos.
Songs
Throughout the course of “The Night Before Christmas,” a series of songs plays. The most infamous consist of “This is Halloween.” This is the first song we (the audience) hear. It is Halloween, and everyone in town is singing about their traditions and love for spooky things.
Jack flees the town to be alone shortly after Halloween is over. In this time, he expresses his feelings with yet another song, “Jack’s Lament.” This song is clearly about how Jack feels misplaced and lonely. He feels trapped being the Pumpkin King. Everything gets repetitive year after year.
When stumbling upon Christmas Town, Skellington is mesmerized. He finds Christmas to be full of wonder and inspiration and gets the very idea to join Halloween and Christmas into one. This is where the song “What’s this?” comes from.
The town sings about Jack sitting in his home; they are curious about what he’s working on. The three trick-or-treaters sing when they’re trying to capture Santa Claus. There are many attributing songs to the movie; however, the most important are displayed at the beginning.
Audience
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a PG-13 movie, so it’s often considered a kids’ movie. Many children would be scared by the darkness and creatures in the movie, although there are bright moments. Saheb Singh, a Colonia High School sophomore, was asked if he liked “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, and his response was “No.” When asked why, he exclaimed, “I tried to watch the movie, but it was scary. I was in third grade when I tried to watch it.” TNBC combines charm and nightmares to create a diverse audience across all ages; however, for this reason, Common Sense Media recommends TNBC for ages 7+.
Critique
Since the movie is PG-13 and recommended for children, the creators of the characters could’ve done a better job of making the characters look more friendly. As a Colonia School student, Nahryah Murphy, stated, “I think it should’ve been filmed by actors or an actual cartoon.” Given that the movie is stop-motion, the characters have a more raunchy appearance that children may not like. Other than that, the movie is well thought out, combining the traditions of Halloween and Christmas, and showcasing the theme of self-acceptance. The creators do a good job of using songs to make kids focus better, rather than just speaking, due to their attention spans and appeal to a wide variety of ages.
