The Nightmare Before Christmas

By Catrina Thomen, Staff Reporter

Image Courtesy of GOOGLE

Disney's timeless tale of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” has defined holiday spirit since 1993, telling the whimsical story of Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King who falls into a world completely opposite of his own. It provides a fun play on the spookiest parts of Halloween while showing the jolliest traditions of Christmas, which makes people wonder which holiday the film fits better? While Skellington does try to make his own Christmas, the movie is filled with the quirky antics of Halloween.

There are many Halloween themes throughout the film. The main setting of the movie is in Halloween town,where the monstrous cast of the film embodies the Halloween spirit. Throughout the film, Skellington aims to be successful in creating Christmas type activities. However, he can never seem to shake the spirit of Halloween.

“It’s Halloween mainly because the main characters are [a] skeleton, [a] mummy, a ghost dog, Oogie boogie, etc. It’s about them taking over Christmas,” sophomore Selena Carrillo said.

Released on Oct. 13, 1993, the movie was meant for the Halloween season. Furthermore, with the film also being referred to as “Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas,” is similar to gothic and horror type themes often seen in Burton's other movies, including “The Corpse Bride,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street,” “Edward Scissorhands,” etc.

The Christmas elements of the movie are brought out through the plot; changing Halloween town to Christmas town. These things make “The Nightmare Before Christmas” seem like a Christmas movie. Burton’s first thoughts of the film were inspired by both Christmas and Halloween. In the DVD’s commentary, Burton brings attention to the time between seasons when decorations from the different seasons would collide, and explains how it sparked the idea of the films plot.

“I think that it’s both Halloween and Christmas movie,” junior Brianne Garin said. “A skeleton from a Halloween world that gets tired of his life and decided to find something new, which is Christmas.”

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” showcases the unique characteristics within each holiday, however the film’s overall aesthetic and creation background proves it is made for the Halloween season.